Händel "Israel in Egypt"HWV 54 Telemann "Das befreite Israel" TWV 6:5

Description

George Frideric Handel: Israel in Egypt (HWV 54) and Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) "Das befreite Israel" TWV 6:5 (Excerpts) Exodus story in music, text, and image The biblical Exodus story has been brilliantly set to music by George Frideric Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann. Moreover, it has a significant impact on political theory (e.g., Ernst Bloch, Michael Walser) and art history. It remains a subject of critical reflection today (e.g., Jan Assmann). The biblical motif of Exodus and liberation is deeply embedded in cultural memory, especially through the tradition of spirituals (“Let my people go!”). The choir concert planned for this year at St. Katharinen has grown into a comprehensive project due to the prominent subject, connecting various references and levels of the Exodus story. The intertwining of music, text (biblical texts and contemporary poetry), visual arts (HAUM), and theology (Protestant and Jewish) reaches its peak in the concert on 01.11.2026. An accompanying and subsequent program invites interested audiences to engage more deeply and from different perspectives over an extended period. The choice of this theme was inspired by the EKD's focus on "Power" announced in fall 2024, which has many current references. The local historical aspects uncovered during research are particularly intriguing. Two compositions on the theme: Handel and Telemann This project aims to introduce the special musical and historical significance of George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Israel in Egypt" to a broad audience, making the relevance of the theme visible and tangible. Musically, it is an oratorio featuring an eight-part choir in a leading role, accompanied by a large orchestra with trumpets, trombones, and kettledrums. The two works are combined and arranged in a new, story-inspired order. The original languages are English (Handel) and German (Telemann). Librettist: Braunschweig scholar Friedrich Wilhelm Zachariä While Handel's libretto for his oratorio was compiled solely from biblical quotations by himself in 1738, later the oratorios experienced a new impulse due to a beginning of quality change in poetry (e.g., Klopstock, Karl Wilhelm Ramler, and Friedrich Wilhelm Zachariä from Braunschweig), which Telemann incorporated into his 1759 Hamburg premiere "Das befreyte Israel." Telemann was friends with Handel and likely knew Handel's work. This may also have applied to the lyricist, a highly regarded and significant librettist of the time, namely Justus Friedrich Wilhelm Zachariä (* May 1, 1726, in Frankenhausen; † January 30, 1777, in Braunschweig). Zachariä was a full professor of poetry at the Collegium Carolinum, located at Bohlweg, opposite the Katharinenkirche, where two performances of "Das befreyte Israel" took place in 1761. He oversaw the "Gelehrten Beyträge zu den Braunschweigischen Anzeigen" and published the "Neue Braunschweigische Zeitung" from 1768. Zachariä was a Braunschweig scholar who lived not far from our church and likely visited the Katharinenkirche more than once. Participating artists: Performing *Chorus at St. Katharinen *Veronika Schäfer – Soprano *Yuedong Guan – Tenor *Leon-Maurice Teichert - Baritone * Concertoispirato - Concertmaster Iris Maron Overall direction: Christine Strubel