Scottish Chamber Orchestra: ‘Israel in Egypt’
Usher Hall - 01/12/22
‘Israel in Egypt’ is the SCO Chorus’s third collaboration with the orchestra since their return to performance in the spring. The work has a strange music history. The original version in three parts was so unpopular that Handel immediately reworked it, so that the entirely choral Part 1 was removed, and more solos were added to parts 2 and 3. It still proved far less popular than ‘Messiah’ and the oratorios based on the lives of individuals, such as ‘Saul’ and ‘Esther.’ Tastes change and when Joseph Haydn heard the work fifty years later, it inspired him to write ‘The Creation.’ Later still, this oratorio with long choral parts proved popular with the growing number of amateur choirs in the nineteenth century.
So what sounds like an oddly attenuated work, ‘Israel in Egypt parts 2 and 3’ is pretty much what Handel wanted us to hear. It’s good to see a fuller Usher Hall than for ‘The Creation.’ The orchestra is a smaller grouping than in some recent concerts. Richard Egarr directs from the harpsichord and faces Michael Bawtree on chamber organ. The woodwinds are restricted to two oboes and two bassoons, while there’s a more sizeable brass section, including three trombones and two trumpets. The work also calls for some nifty work on the timpani, tonight with Jude Carlton in charge.
The work starts in a restrained manner, not simply the conductor’s choice but apparently Handel’s intention, as the early recitatives and solos have a continuo-style accompaniment, two violins, a cello and harpsichord. Even the well-judged crescendo at the end of the first chorus leads to nothing louder than a mezzo-forte. By this stage the narrator, James Gilchrist, has firmly set his stamp on the work in the first two recitatives. I’d guess many in the hall are unfamiliar with the story, and Gilchrist is key to our understanding of the context. His secure tenor and above all his clear story-telling is evidence of his background in Lieder. (He sang a fine Winterreise at Paxton in 2021). Helen Charlston, alto, tells us cheerfully of the plague of frogs in her bouncy aria, with string accompaniment in which a few croaks can be detected. The next plagues of flies, lice and locusts can’t have been much fun, but there’s an oddly subdued quality to the music. All restraint is loosed in the next chorus, the storm with hail and fire, letting us hear the trumpets, trombones and drums, ending with some forceful pounding on the timpani.
Bassoons evoke the “thick darkness that covers the land,” and then violently repeated blows on the strings leave us in no doubt of the savagery of the killing of the first born. The SCO chorus is excellent in these sections, which typically have a strong tutti opening before a fugal final passage. A quieter pastoral mood celebrates the Israelis’ acceptance of Moses’ leadership. The chorus describing the parting of the Red Sea has a more elaborate development. There’s a pause after the unison declamation, “He rebuked the red sea and it was dried up” (sung as “rebuke-ed” and “dry-ed”). Then the waters overflowing the Egyptians is played by lower strings and organ. An extended fugal conclusion is accompanied by full orchestra with brass ringing out triumphantly and some spectacular drum rolls. Stirring stuff!
We’ve had two soloists so far, and neither has sung in the half-hour before the interval. Four other soloists, all well-known to radio-listeners, join them for Part 3. On paper it looks as if they don’t have much to sing, but in practice the standard of their singing makes us appreciate this opportunity to hear them live. Part 3 doesn’t tell a story but reflects on the events so far and praises God, very much a figure of torment and wrath here!
After the opening chorus, “Moses and the children of Israel,” a rousing Zadok-the-Priest-like anthem, we have two duets for our new soloists. Firstly sopranos, Rowan Pierce and Mary Bevan sing, “The Lord is my strength and my soul,” their voices soaring effortlessly over the continuo. It’s a delightful piece in which their voices blend nicely.
Then there’s a surprise. After the only orchestral interlude in the oratorio, bass-baritone, Ashley Riches, and baritone, Peter Harvey, come forward from opposite sides, for a duet, or possibly a singing duel. The text which begins “The Lord is a man of war” and contains two other sea references has given Handel the excuse to write a rollicking sea shanty. There’s something of Purcell here, and maybe a bit of John Gay. I wonder if the tune of “Blow the man down” was circulating then? The singers relish the chance to use the acoustic of the Usher Hall, as the duet develops into a competition. Each singer’s line ends with a decorated phrase, and each mimics the other’s last phrase then adds his own embellishment. It’s very funny and elicits much applause – unusual for an oratorio.
Then four short choruses run into each other. There are interesting contrasts in style with oboes and bassoons again evoking the “depths” into which the Egyptians have sunk, while trumpets and drums rejoice that “the Lord’s right hand hath dashed in pieces the enemy.” The lower basses go as low as possible and the sopranos soar upwards as the “floods stopped upright.”
More solo arias follow, first a very fast-paced taxing one for James Gilchrist, who fares better in his andante duet with Helen Charleston. Mary Bevan and Rowan Pierce each has a short lyrical solo before the oratorio reaches its Hallelujah Chorus-style conclusion, the thrice repeated “The Lord shall reign for ever and ever,” sung with conviction and full orchestra.
I haven’t seen the work before, and although I found it harder to like on a first hearing than other Handel oratorios, there’s much to enjoy in the chorus’s subtle variations in tempo and sound, indicating once more, the sterling work of Chorus Master, Gregory Batsleer. Richard Egarr, conducting, has a sure grasp of what he wants to do with this, with restraint when required, but unafraid to unleash the full force of the brass and timpani at moments of terror or triumph. He also enjoyed giving the two baritones scope for their virtuosic battle!
Next week the SCO are back in the Queen’s Hall for a programme dedicated to Felix Yaniewicz and the Scottish Enlightenment. For more information see here.
