Israel in Egypt A Zeneakadémia saját szervezésű programja

The same Charles Jennens who created the libretto for Messiah compiled, from Biblical scripts, the oratorio libretto for Israel in Egypt on the commission of Händel. He composed the work in a month, according to his own tempo in the autumn of 1738, and in the following season the premiere of this (alongside Saul) was the outstanding event within music circles. However, in contrast to its accompanying piece, it did not garner unanimous praise among the contemporary English audience, probably due to its preponderance of choral movements. Although Händel created a version awash in Italian arias, the work’s remarkable popularity in the 19th century lay in these choral movements. The monumental composition, which sets to music the exodus of the chosen people from Egypt, paints with unparalleled ingenuity the Seven Plagues and describes a captivating arc from the first part, which mourns Joseph, to the third part, which celebrates the deliverance of the Jews. The work is performed by selected soloists and the ensembles of Hungarian Radio and Television under the baton of Zoltán Pad. The conductor graduated from the Liszt Academy as a student of Péter Erdei, and he took his doctorate there as well. He led the Debrecen Kodály Chorus for four years, he is a teacher at the International Kodály Institute, and he has been principal choirmaster of the Hungarian Radio and Television Choir since 2013.