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Recording

Handel: Israel in Egypt

A Dramatic Oratorio, adaptation by Jeannette Sorrell
Margaret Carpenter Haigh, Molly Netter, Daniel Moody, Jacob Perry, Edward Vogel, Apollo’s Singers, Apollo’s Fire, directed by Jeannette Sorrell
74:13
Avie AV2629

I should start by addressing the edition of Handel’s Israel in Egypt created by the director Jeannette Sorrell for this recording. She ‘restores’ the opening Lament of the Israelites for the Death of Joseph included by Handel in his 1739 version, but sometimes omitted from later editions and performances. This is indeed a worthwhile exercise, although not nearly as radical a move as Sorrell’s note suggests – in fact most of the recordings I consulted open with the Lament. However, her further concomitant decision to cut down the remaining two sections is much more controversial. Her stated aim ‘to keep the length of the oratorio manageable for modern audiences’ seems ridiculous – are we to trim other extended musical masterpieces in response to the shortening attention span of the modern public? This decision would seem to me to have much more to do with fitting the work on a single CD, and to run directly contrary to the group’s vision of an authentic performance on period instruments. The CD package does prominently announce that this performance uses an adaptation of the original score, but I doubt that any prospective buyers would suspect the extent that the music has been compromised. This is so disappointing as the singing and playing of the Apollo forces is compelling and utterly convincing and Sorrell’s direction crisp and insightful. What a pity they didn’t decide just to trust the composer’s dramatic instincts – he was hardly a man inexperienced in the arc of drama – and use their excellent forces to record the piece as he wrote it. I have recently encountered several  ‘adaptations’ of Baroque pieces, designed to ‘improve’ upon the original and which have proved disastrous. This recording is by no means a disaster, but it is ultimately a disappointing misrepresentation of Handel’s work – a missed opportunity. As a footnote, I should mention the extraordinary 1888 recording of the annual Handel Festival performance by 4000 singers of Moses and the Children of Israel from this oratorio (available online), one of the earliest recordings of Handel’s music and a remarkable insight into the performance practices of this period! I’m sure the Victorian audience was thrilled with this version…

D. James Ross

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