diXit - Georg Friedrich Händel und Thomas Jennefelt: Dixit Dominus

Weihnachtskonzert des Georg-Friedrich-Händel-Gymnasiums

Georg Friedrich Schenck / Klavierabend

Georg Friedrich Schenck is best known for his outstanding CD recordings: His recording of Beethoven’s immensely difficult Hammerklavier Sonata continues to set standards today. The former master student of the legendary pianist André Watts is himself a long-standing professor of piano. His master students include piano virtuosos such as Evgeni Bozhanov, Sukyeon Kim, Georgijs Osokins and Hyelim Kim. For his piano recital in the Elbphilharmonie’s Small Hall, Schenck has chosen among other works Beethoven’s »Appassionata« sonata – one of the most popular sonatas in piano literature.

Georg Friedrich Haendel / Airs allemands

For the most English of German-born composers, these intimate arias composed between 1724 and 1726 were an ode to his origins. A concentrate of grace, with Les Arts Florissants stripped down to its chamber formation, and soloists Rowan Pierce and James Way.

Georg Friedrich Haendel / La Résurrection

The Easter festivities continue with Handel’s oratorio La resurrezione, performed by Les Arts Florissants, which over the years has interpreted many of the Baroque master’s lyrical and sacred scores.

Sol per te / The most beautiful operas by Georg Friedrich Händel

“Sol per te” is the most famous love duet between Flavia and Lepido from Georg Friedrich Händel's opera Silla – and just one of the many famous duets by the master of the genre – which will be performed this evening by outstanding female soloists: Olga Pasiecznik and Anna Radziejewska with Early Instrument Ensemble of the Polish Royal Opera Capella Regia Polona. In the emotional Io t'abbraccio from the opera Rodelinda, the title character confesses her feelings for Bertarid, as do Cleopatra and Caesar in Caro! Bella! from the opera Giulio Cesare, while in the dramatic duet Per le porte dell tormento, Rosmene and Tirinto confront turbulent passions in the opera Imeneo. This last one Händel wrote humorously, in the style of a musical comedy, in which he treated the dramatic dilemmas between heart and duty with a wink. This, in turn, influenced the music, balancing pathos and playfulness, which is rare in Händel's operas. The programme for the evening will be complemented by outstanding instrumental compositions by the German-British Baroque master. Alexandra KozowiczConcert duration: approximately 80 minutes

Händel: Jephtha

Rousing dynamics, magnificent choruses and beguiling arias: »Jephtha« is the last of George Frideric Handel’s oratorios. He composed this grandiose late work in London almost blindfolded. The Monteverdi Choir Hamburg, which is very familiar with Handel’s choral works, will be joined by renowned soloists led by Icelandic star tenor Benedikt Kristjánsson and Concerto Köln under the direction of Antonius Adamske. The work and the cast promise an emotional concert evening. By the way: Handel’s tragic story of Jephtha fortunately ends well! This is thanks to the librettist Thomas Morell, who ensured that Jephtha’s daughter, who is doomed to be sacrificed, is saved by an angel.

Handel: Jephtha

Joyce DiDonato and Michael Spyres star in Handel’s Jephtha – the composer's valedictory oratorio.

Handel: Solomon

Even before George Frideric Handel began his oratorio »Solomon«, he apparently knew that he would have more musicians than usual at his disposal for the premiere. And so Handel took every liberty in his composition, writing for a large wind section, additional strings and powerful double choirs. The subject is made for legendary (sonic) richness: Handel places the biblical King Solomon at the centre of the action and thus the most important stages in the life of the wise ruler – the first act opens with grandiose choruses of joy at the building of the temple in Jerusalem. The second act is full of drama, in which King Solomon has to decide between two women who are fighting over a child. In a touching aria, the composer reveals the real mother’s renounced love. And in the finale, none other than the Queen of Sheba appears to philosophise with King Solomon about the power of music.

Handel / Mozart: Messiah

With the oratorio »The Messiah« by George Frideric Handel, the Hamburger Oratorienchor performs one of the most popular works of sacred music in the Christian West with a large cast and accompanied by the Symphoniker Hamburg shortly before Easter. Composed by Handel in 1741, the three-part oratorio was adapted by Mozart in 1789 for performance in princely private rooms, and parts of it were rearranged. It was already a common practice in the Baroque era, but also in Mozart’s time, to arrange works for the respective performance, taking into account the instrumentation and quality of the respective orchestra. Mozart’s arrangement is an example of the listening habits of his time, and he took advantage of the new possibilities for orchestration, since some wind instruments had developed technically.

Handel: The Resurrection

The British Guardian called the ensemble Les Musiciens du Louvre »one of the best orchestras in the world«. Founded in 1982 by the conductor and oboist Marc Minkowski, it is not the Louvre’s official orchestra – no such ensemble exists. But the reference to the world-famous Parisian museum already illustrates the musicians’ mission: to bring the art of earlier centuries to life at the highest level. Appropriately enough, their forthcoming guest appearance in Hamburg at Easter features a Handel oratorio about the Resurrection of Christ. Composer George Frideric Handel found himself in a double bind in 1708. Firstly, the Pope had imposed a complete ban on opera performances because he feared a series of earthquakes meant that the end of the world was imminent, and restricted sinful entertainment in favour of religious art. This was a problem for Handel, who was an opera man to the core, both artistically and financially. Secondly, he wanted to present a piece about the Resurrection punctually for the Easter weekend, but having Jesus Christ appear on stage in person was an even greater taboo than opera per se. Pragmatic as ever, Handel arrived at the following solution: in his original oratorio »La Resurrezione«, angels and the Devil, apostles and Mary Magdalene debate about the Crucifixion. And in the end, the music itself turned out quite operatic after all.