When Handel was writing Israel in Egypt in1738, he thought
of a good wheeze. The oratorio was originally intended just
to be a setting of Exodus chapter 15, Moses’ song; more
of a grand choral anthem than a full-scale oratorio. In the
new scheme, Moses’ song would be balanced with a lament
for the death of Joseph and in between a narration of the plagues
of Egypt. The whole oratorio would be heavily choral-based with
few solos. But Handel's bright idea was to re-use the Funeral
Anthem for Queen Caroline as part one of the oratorio, the
lament for George II's wife being relatively easily converted
to the Israelites’ lament for Joseph. Only, somehow the
piece didn't quite take. It fell flat at the first night and
subsequently Handel included extra solos for soprano La Francesina.
Whilst nowadays we do not find the piece exceptional, Handel's
audience probably did not appreciate an oratorio which consisted
almost exclusively of choruses. The result is that Israel
in Egypt has come down to us as just Parts 2 and 3, without
overture and starting rather oddly with a tenor recitative.
On CD, various conductors have tried different solutions to
the problem, starting the work with one or other of Handel's
instrumental works. John Eliot Gardiner did approach something
like Handel's original form; his recording includes the Funeral
Anthem for Queen Caroline in its original form, but placed
after Israel in Egypt. It is Andrew Parrot who first
recorded the work in Handel's original format, making a strong
case for Handel's conception.
Now Peter Dijkstra, the Choir of Bavarian Radio and Concerto
Köln have recorded Handel's 1739 version. It’s pleasing
to find another complete Israel in Egypt coming into
the catalogue. And this one starts well, with a nicely modulated
performance of the overture from Concerto Köln. But Israel
in Egypt is a choral work and it is the choral contribution
by which it must stand or fall.
For part one, it is sufficient to produce well modulated intensity,
but in part two the chorus drives the narrative forward and
in part three they must rise to the grandeur of Handel's celebratory
choruses. The Choir of Bavarian Radio start off well, giving
a creditable performance of part one and even impressing somewhat
with the standard of their English.
But the performance only remains creditable and never rises
above this. They are musically talented and put over the piece
quite strongly. But oratorio is about words, and they simply
fail to make the most of these. I'm not talking simply about
diction, though theirs can be rather patchy, but rather the
ability to use the text to create a dramatic impetus. This doesn't
happen and Handel's marvellous choruses come out a little undercooked.
The soloists are slightly mixed group, but their contribution
is of rather less importance than the choir's. Rosemary Joshua
and Atsuko Suzuki make a fine contribution with The Lord
is my strength and Simon Pauly and Thomas Hamberger are
similarly strong in The Lord is a man of War. But tenor
Kobie van Rensburg seems to suffer from rather uneven production.
The CD booklet includes an article on the background to the
oratorio, plus the full text in English and German.
The recording was made live, and perhaps the problems with the
performance might be attributable to the vagaries of live recording.
However this is a recording whose heart is in the right place,
but which doesn't quite come off. There is a slightly unformed
feel to the performance and if you want to hear Israel in
Egypt in its original conception then my advice would be
to seek out Andrew Parrott's recording.
Robert Hugill
Rosemary Joshua (soprano); Atsuko Suzuki (soprano); Gerhild Romberger
(alto); Kobie van Rensburg (tenor); Simon Pauly (baritone); Thomas
Hamberger (bass-baritone) 
