Händel: Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63

At the age of sixty-one, in 1746, five years after the completion of Messiah, Georg Friedrich Händel (who, in 1727 – now as a British citizen – changed his name to George Frideric Handel) wrote his eighteenth oratorio, Judas Maccabaeus. The libretto for this three-part work was written by Thomas Morell. The world premiere was held on 1 April 1747, within the walls of the Royal Opera House in London. The oratorio became one of Händel’s most popular compositions. In the second concert of the Haydneum Music Academy season, the work will be performed by the Purcell Choir and the Orfeo Orchestra, conducted by Augustin Szokos.