Paul McCreesh conducts Handel’s Solomon in Versailles
(Orchestral version)

Solomon, oratorio by Georg Friedrich Handel

Gabrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh (Direction)

Iestyn Davies (Solomon)

Gillian Webster (Queen of Saba)

Sarah Tynan (Mother of Solomon)

Jeremy Ovenden (Zadok)

Peter Harvey (A Levite)

Recorded at the Chapelle Royale, Château de Versailles, June 26, 2012

By 1749, Handel had been focusing exclusively on the Oratorio for ten years. He mastered the style perfectly, particularly the vast dramatic and choral forms.

From the libretto for ‘Solomon’, Handel drafted an epic work including some of his most beautiful choruses, with a luscious orchestral score. The three acts of the oratorio portray King Solomon with a remarkable wealth of affects: his wisdom and marital bliss; the famous judgement; the Queen of Sheba’s visit, a sumptuous finale with one of the finest choruses ever written. ‘Solomon’ was not a great success when it was first premiered, but has now become one of the highlights in Handel’s production, and was particularly dear to Sir Thomas Beecham.
Genre : Concert
Length : 02:30:19
Director : Olivier Simonnet