Gideon (Handel)
Encyclopedia
Gideon is an oratorio
pastiche compiled largely from the works of George Frideric Handel
by John Christopher Smith
. It was first performed on 10 February 1769 at Covent Garden
, London.
Much of the oratorio is derived from the works of Handel, but Smith used an overture and six vocal items from his own oratorio of 1762 The Feast of Darius.
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
pastiche compiled largely from the works of George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
by John Christopher Smith
John Christopher Smith
John Christopher Smith [Johann Christoph Schmidt] was an English composer who, following in his father's footsteps, became George Frederic Handel's secretary and amanuensis.-Life:...
. It was first performed on 10 February 1769 at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, London.
Much of the oratorio is derived from the works of Handel, but Smith used an overture and six vocal items from his own oratorio of 1762 The Feast of Darius.
Dramatis Personae
- Gideon (tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) - Oreb (sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
) - Joash (bass)
- Angel (soprano)
- Israelite (x3) (soprano)
- Messenger (soprano)
- Israelite (countertenorCountertenorA countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
) - Prophet (bass)
- Priest of Ball (bass)