HANDEL: Judas Maccabaeus


Composer: Handel
Conductor: Valentin Radu
Performer: AMA DEUS ENSEMBLE: Chorus & Period-Instrument Orchestra
Soloists: Timothy Bentch (tenor), Ed Bara (bass), Andrea Lauren Brown (soprano)
Special Guests: Bryn Mawr Boy and Girl Choirs at the Church of the Redeemer - Huw Williams, Director of Music
Recorded: February 27, 2009 Live in the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Label: Lyrichord Early Music Series
Catalog #: LEMS 8070
On-Line Price: $20 Double CD.

In 1746, Handel composed Judas Maccabaeus, setting to music the heroic story of Judas Maccabaeus leading the Jews in the fight for religious freedom from the Syrians in 165 B.C. The Jewish feast of Hanukkah commemorates this victory. This oratorio, with libretto by Thomas Morrell, was written for the celebration following the Duke of Cumberland's victory over the Scottish Jacobite rebels at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Handel's Judas Maccabaeus is often performed in Israel, with the tune of "conqu'ring hero" becoming a well-known Hanukkah song. Recorded live for release on the Lyrichord label in the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Feburary 27, 2009.