Fit For The Queen Of Sheba

Handel wrote several dramatic oratorios based on Israeli history as told in the Old Testament and the early ones all covered tales and periods when the Israeli nation was threatened and struggling for survival. There was a contemporary subtext to these oratorios though with Handel's public seeing parallels between Israeli and British politics. And so he composed Solomon in relation to the end of a long intercontinental war in Europe because the reign of Solomon was an unusually peaceful time in Israelite history and was a perfect metaphor for the age of prosperity and stability that Britons looked forward to. This three cd set is by the Gabrieli Consort and Players conducted by Paul McCreesh who have produced an impressive series of these oratorio recordings. As usual, there is a fine cast of soloists including Andreas Scholl, Paul Agnew and Susan Gritton. There are some fine "numbers", including the joyous and famous entry of the Queen of Sheba. These oratorios are a unique and fine body of work in a field which Handel pretty much invented for himself.