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A DUET: Baritone Tyler Duncan and bass Kevin Deas sing in 'Israel in Egypt.' (Richard Ten Dyke)
NEW YORK—New Yorkers had the opportunity to enjoy a great musical feast, prepared by Musica Sacra in Carnegie Hall's Isaac Stern auditorium on the Ronald O. Perelman stage this Feb. 23. They performed one of Handel’s greatest oratorios, one which might even be called a church anthem, his Israel in Egypt.
This two-part oratorio was brilliantly performed under the guidance of Musica Sacra's musical director and conductor Kent Tritle. The marvelous precision of the orchestra matched the beautiful expression of the choir and six soloists: soprano Leslie Fagan, soprano Jamet Pittman, mezzo-soprano Charlotte Daw Paulsen, tenor Oliver Mercer, baritone Tyler Duncan, and bass Kevin Deas.
The sound of the music was just mesmerizing owing first to the fine acoustics of Carnegie Hall and second to the delicacy with which Musica Sacra captured the dynamics and sonic quality of the Baroque form and style.
‘Israel in Egypt’
Best known for his Messiah and Water Music, George Frederic Handel was born in the German city of Halle in 1685, the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach.
Handel started writing Israel in Egypt in the fall of 1738 and it premiered in April 1739 at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket in London.
The theme of this oratorio comes from the Old Testament’s Book of Moses, which tells of the timeless conflict between righteousness and evil, between the persecuted and the persecutor, and of the steadfast faith in a higher power. In fact, Handel used many Bible passages for the vocal parts.
[etRelated 52161, 52119}''It is Handel's most choral of all oratorios, and as such, is a true feature of our professional chorus,'' said Kent Tritle.
Given the recent changes in Egypt, the piece has a special resonance. ''I think this timing is extraordinary. The history of human rights in Egypt is tremendously interesting and Israel in Egypt connects today's events with historical context,'' he said.
Musica Sacra
Musica Sacra was founded by Richard Westenburg in 1964. “He had a great love for the sacred classical choral canon, which was underperformed in New York concert halls and also the city had room for a superior professional chorus to present this repertoire,” said Tritle.
Musica Sacra is dedicated to present the highest caliber performances of great choral masterworks and also educating the audiences about different eras and styles of classical music. It has a wide ranging repertoire—from the earliest of the Gregorian chants, the motets, cantatas, passions, and B Minor Mass of Bach, the masses of Mozart and Haydn, the Requiems of Mozart and Brahms, Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms to commissioned works of modern composers such as Benjamin Britten, Dave Brubeck, Alessandro Cadario, David Diamond, Robert Convery, Aram Khatchaturian, and Ned Rorem.
Also, Musica Sacra has performed Handel's Messiah annually since 1976. Most recently they performed it at Carnegie Hall this past December.
Their next and final concert of the 2010-2011 season will be performed on May 13 at Alice Tully Hall. It will be a program of works of living composers that they will record for commercial CD release this summer.
For more information see Musicasacrany.com
Nemanja Rebic lives in Brooklyn, NY.
