Handel - "Praise the Lord" (St. John's Methodist - Kansas City, MO)

INTROIT "Praise the Lord, "from JUDAS MACCABEUS
(music by G. F. Handel, 1746)
Chancel Choir; Dale Morehouse, pianist and conductor
St. John's Methodist - Kansas City, MO
September 15, 2024
Baroque master George Frederick Handel (born in the same year as J. S. Bach) was born in Germany, studied in Italy, and built his career in England. When King George prohibited theatrical productions during Lent, Handel created the oratorio, an unstaged musical narrative event that continued the music his public craved. Here, the subject is Maccabeus leading the Israelites to victory over their Syrian invaders, told in high drama and glorious pageantry that is filled with rousing choruses, ravishing duets, and fiery arias. The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it.