William Christie (c) Denis Rouvre

William Christie conducts Handel

Programme

  • Georg Friedrich Handel L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

With his Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, the 'old hand' in the early music world, performs Handel's oratorio L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. Two years older than Messiah.

Between Saul and Messiah
The 'continental' composer Georg Friedrich Handel made opera popular in England, but under the influence of Anglican culture he completely revised his views on the German and Italian oratorio. Handel composed L'Allegro in 1740, just after the great dramatic oratorio Saul and two years before his monumental Messiah. The starting point is not a biblical-dramatic tale, but actually a vocal-intellectual thought exercise about the two fundamental moods of man: cheerfulness (L'Allegro) and contemplation (Il Penseroso), based on poems by John Milton. Librettist Charles Jennens, who also composed the texts for Saul and Messiah, added a third part in the spirit of the Enlightenment: Il Moderato, moderation. Soloists and choir constantly alternate.

Highlights
One highlight is the magical final chorus of the second movement: 'These pleasures, Melancholy, give, / And we with thee will choose to live,' based on the Anglican verse anthem. Also moving is the duet for soprano and tenor in part three, 'As steals the morn upon the night', which Jennens picked from Shakespeare's Tempest and which Handel provides with a heartbreakingly beautiful oboe accompaniment.

Date:
Saturday 11 December 2021
Time:
13:30
Intermission:
Yes
Location:
The Royal Concertgebouw

Amsterdam
-
Large Hall

Performers

Les Arts Florissants
William Christie (c) Denis Rouvre
William Christie
Conductor
Rachel Redmond
Rachel Redmond
Soprano
James Way (c) Ben McKee
James Way
Tenor
Andrew Foster Williams (c) Paul Foster-Williams
Andrew Foster-Williams
Bass
Clemens Schwarz
Boy soprano, soloist St. Florianer Sängerknaben

Coming soon

woensdag 12 februari 2025
Other series

Openbare repetitie Radio Filharmonisch Orkest

Friday, February 14, 2025
AVROTROS Friday Concert

AVROTROS Valentine's concert: Love in three stories

Sunday, February 16, 2025
The Sunday Morning Concert

Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, an ode to love

Saturday, March 1, 2025
NTR Saturday Matinee

Recognition for Florence Price

Friday, March 7, 2025
AVROTROS Friday Concert

Violin concerto by Bruch and Dvořák 8

Friday, March 7, 2025

Concertgebouw Orchestra: much tuned Amsterdam

Saturday, March 8, 2025
NTR Saturday Matinee

Amsterdam: 750 years

Sunday, March 9, 2025
The Sunday Morning Concert

Dvořák's Eighth and Esther Yoo plays Bruch and Tchaikovsky

Saturday, March 22, 2025
NTR Saturday Matinee

Karina Canellakis conducts Janáček's From a House of the Dead

Saturday, March 22, 2025
NTR Saturday Matinee

Karina Canellakis conducts Janáček's From a House of the Dead

Keep up to date with all concerts, media and news