Betulia liberata

SKU: UT.NAP-5

ISBN 9790215318465. 9 x 12 inches.

Napoli e l'Europa (Naples and Europe) - Masterpieces of the Neapolitan School selected by Riccardo Muti for the Salzburg Whitsun Festival Project in association with the Ravenna Festival

Betulia liberata, for four voices, strings, two oboes, two horns and basso continuo, was the second oratorio by Niccolo Jommelli (1714-1774), following Isacco figura del Redentore. It was composed in 1743 to a commission from the Fathers of the Congregation of the Oratorio of Saint Philip Neri, and was widely performed in Italy throughout the 18th century, as well as in Prague and in London. Metastasio's text proved popular with composers, and Jommelli's version of this text is one of the most felicitous on account of its impact, variety and consistent inventiveness, and also for the care he took in matching the music to the drama.

The brilliant combination of different styles and forms, the attention to dramatic characterisation, and the power of invention displayed by Jommelli in Betulia liberata make him the foremost Italian composer of the mid-eighteenth century, pre-eminence recognised by the music critics and historians of his age.