Israel in Egypt

Although "Israel in Egypt" was first performed on 4 April 1739, in a three-part form, Händel probably originally composed this oratorio without a complete text. Hervé Niquet has chosen to record the version that Berlioz – and the entire 19th century – considered definitive, namely in two parts: the Exodus and the Song of Moses. Performed at the end of the corona crisis, this production also testifies to the joy of the singers and instrumentalists of the Concert Spirituel to make music together again: the closing chorus "is a unison cry of joy", says Hervé Niquet, who sees "an almost tangible drama" in these works: two choirs, positioned opposite each other on either side of the orchestra, respond to each other, between fierce responses and monumental unisons. Their interweaving in infernal movements is as if it has been performed before our eyes."