 HalifaxOrchestration |  The Music |  Part I |  Part II |  Part III |
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HANDEL'S JUDAS MACCABAEUS - The "Halifax Orchestration"
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Judas Maccabaeus - More about the music
 Composed in 1746, Judas Maccabaeus tells the story of a famous Jewish leader (c 175 BC.) who succeeded his father, Mattathias, in fighting off the armies of Antiochus, the oppressive King of Syria and reestablished religious freedom for the Jews. His final victory is still celebrated at Hanukkah, the "Feast of Lights", which commemorates the restoration and rededication of the temple. Its first performance in April 1747 was hugely successful and received no fewer than 54 performances before Handel's death in 1759, thirty-three of which were conducted by Handel himself. After Messiah, it still continues to be the most frequently performed of his oratorios.The libretto was written by Rev. Thomas Morell to mark the defeat by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland over Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden. The printed word book for its first performance bore the following dedication to William: Faint Portraiture of a Truly Wise, Valiant and virtuous Commander.
Judas Maccabaeus - Part I The momentum for war, justified in Judas' recitatives, continues with two dramatic choruses, Lead on, lead on and Disdainful of danger, the latter once again featuring repeated semiquavers in its accompaniment. Judas balances these outbursts with No unhallowed desire, an aria in which he is at pains to eschew personal ambition and to espouse the cause of peace. His final call to arms is followed by a majestic choral prayer, Hear us O Lord, an object lesson in choral sonorities.
Judas Maccabaeus - Part II
Judas Maccabaeus - Part III | ||||||||||||||||
William Priestley (left), founder of Halifax Choral Society, does not enjoy widespread fame outside Yorkshire, and Baron Gottfried van Swieten (below right), is not a name that readily springs to Yorkshiremen's lips, either. Yet, the two, who never met, shared a passion for the music of Handel and Mozart, and it is this fortuitous link which may well have benefited both Halifax Choral Society and the whole musical world.
An eighteenth century Viennese nobleman, ambassador to Prussia and patron of the arts, van Swieten was largely responsible for popularizing the music of Handel, and especially the oratorios, among audiences outside of England. It was he who produced German translations of several of the oratorios and commissioned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to orchestrate/ arrange a number of them in line with 18th century taste. One such arrangement of Messiah is well known and has enjoyed something of a revival, even attracting the attention of such 'authentic' worthies as Harry Christophers in a recently recorded performance with our neighbours, Huddersfield Choral Society, for the BBC. A number of other arrangements of Handel's oratorios are known to exist, but although there was anecdotal evidence to suggest that Mozart had arranged Judas Maccabaeus, the absence of any extant score led musicologists to believe that no such arrangement had been made.
In June last year, however, Dr Rachel Cowgill was researching for an article about music in Georgian Halifax for the prestigious Early Music publication and chanced upon what appears to be a very important discovery. Among the many music scores bequeathed to Halifax Choral Society by William Priestley was a manuscript score of Handel's Judas Maccabaeus, which, according to its title page, was arranged by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 
While the score is not in the hand of Mozart himself, its general style of presentation, and the paper and ink used indicate that it originates from Mozart's time and is probably Austro/German in origin. The additional instrumentation and embellishments of Handel's original found in this manuscript are remarkably similar to those found in Mozart's arrangement of Messiah, of which, incidentally, there are copies in the same collection.
An elegant French Overture in G minor opens with stately dotted rhythms. Its contrasting fugal section features a repeated semiquaver figure, a characteristic also found in a number of later items, wherever conflict is being suggested. The overture leads almost seamlessly into the Lamentations for the Death of Mattathias which feature two moving (and very different) choruses. Mourn, ye afflicted children has the measured tread of a funeral march, sustaining our involvement with varied choral textures and subtly dramatic harmony. For Sion lamentation make, however, represents much more effusive, perhaps self-indulgent grief, and the addition of sighing bassoons to the orchestra point this up.
The falling melody of For Sion lamentation make and the faltering delivery, searing dissonances and dramatic silences of, with words that weep and tears that speak, must surely add up one of Handel's most acutely observed depictions. Simon, Judas' brother, perceiving this mood, appeals to the people's faith and exhorts them to stop mourning and start praying. Handel's answer is equally perceptive: in Pious Orgies, pious airs, a model of balance and restraint, the soprano subtly expresses the people's mixed emotional response. A more wholehearted choral prayer follows in O Father, whose almighty power, in which a serene hymn quickly turns into a much more vehement request at the words, and grant a leader bold and brave. | Halifax Orchestration | The Music | Part I | Part II | Part III |
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