NDR Chor / FestspielOrchester Göttingen / Laurence Cummings

Description

After the death of Moses, his successor Joshua led the Israelites to Canaan, the promised land of milk and honey. Their conquest was not complete, however, until – armed with ram’s horns and trumpets – they brought down the walls of Jericho. George Frideric Handel and his librettist Thomas Morrell found the Biblical story rather dull and therefore decided to add a love story, which not only appealed to public taste but also opened up a broad range of expressive possibilities for Handel in the oratorio – from Joshua’s motivational speech to his anxious followers through to triumphant choruses and a seductive lovers duet. Laurence Cummings, artistic director of the Göttingen International Handel Festival and noted Handel specialist, directs his own orchestra, the NDR Choir and a quartet of outstanding young soloists in this performance.