Set Schaum

George Frederick Handel (1685-1759), one of the preeminent Baroque composers, was born in Germany, educated in Italy, and spent most of his career in England, making him one of the first genuinely cosmopolitan composers noted, for the elegance, sophistication, and tunefulness of his music. He established his reputation in London as a composer of Italian opera, but after public taste shifted in the 1730s, he turned to English oratorios, the most famous of which is Messiah. Other popular works include Water Music, Royal Fireworks Music, the operas Giulio Cesare and Serse, and the oratorios Israel in Egypt and Judas Maccabeus.

Since 2009, Carus has been issuing a CD series with Handel’s oratorios as well as select vocal works, operas and instrumental compositions. Now a box containing 13 CDs and comprising several large-scale oratorios has been compiled: it includes, in addition to Messiah, Alexander’s Feast, Israel in Egypt,Brockes-Passion, Solomon as well as the relatively unknown gem L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato.