Israel in Egypt was one of Handel's first oratorios. It tends to be forgotten that operas in the Italian style comprised something like one-third of Handel's output. When the vogue for them collapsed, Handel was in severe financial trouble. The answer was oratorio - no staging, no costumes.
Israel is noted for its marvellous choruses, which shows Handel at his dramatic best - just listen to
He spake the word - and there came all manner of flies at 10:26, with the strings doing fly impersonations, and the thunderous
He gave them hailstones for rain at 12:30, and the marvellous final chorus
The Lord shall reign for ever and ever at 1:19:30. Interesting that Handel used trombones to give the brass extra rasp.
As one commentator said, it's a shame to see so many empty seats for such wonderful music. Interesting (and sad) to see that, in the Swiss Trogen Bach cantata series, the audience is composed mainly of oldies. Some education needed.
