International Baroque Consort
Let the Bright Seraphim - George Frederic Handel
Handel (1685-1759)
George Frederic Handel was a German born composer. He studied keyboard and composition student of Friedrich Zachow in Halle, Germany, and was later admitted to the University of Halle as a law student and, during this time, became the organist for the Cathedral of Halle. After a year in this position, Handel moved to Hamburg and joined the opera orchestra where he took over the duty as the harpsichordist. In 1705, his first major opera, Almira, was performed by the orchestra. Handel then spent 4 years traveling around Italy, meeting many well-known Italian musicians, among which were Arcangelo Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Dominico Scarlatti. During his time in Italy, he composed two operas, multiple Italian cantatas, a few oratorios, and a significant amount of church music for the Catholic Church. During his last year in Italy, his most successful Italian opera was premiered in Venice called Agrippina.
Handel then moved permanently to England where he was appointed the Kapellmeiser (master of the chapel choir) by the future King George I. His name gained the most popularity in England after the premier of his opera, Rinaldo in London. Popularity increased with the Royal Family when he composed the famous Ode for the Queen’s Birthday in 1713. He became a composer for the Royals of England, and held a few different significant positions for the rest of his life in England, including the director of music for the Duke of Chandos and composer of the Chapel Royal. By 1741, Handel had written more than 40 operas, multiple oratorios including his most famous, Messiah, countless occasional pieces such as Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks, concertos for organ, plenty of large-scale choral works, and other instrumental works. His last oratorio was Jephtha, which premiered in Covent Garden Theatere. He is now currently buried in the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey.
‘Let the Bright Seraphim’ is a da capo aria from Handel’s oratorio Samson. It received its premiere at Covent Garden, London in 1743. Handel began working on the oratorio immediately after completing Messiah in 1741. It uses a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton (1691-1761), who based it on John Milton’s Samson Agonistes. The oratorio tells the story of Samson’s heroic death and triumph over the Philistines. This aria comes at the very end of the oratorio, just before the final chorus. It is sung by an anonymous ‘Israelitish Woman’, who summons the celestial hosts of seraphim and cherubim to hail the dead hero. In operas and oratorios, the use of trumpet obbligato within arias was appropriate for moments of grand ceremony and celebration.
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Text by Newburgh Hamilton, set by George Frideric Handel
Let the bright seraphim in burning row,
Their loud, uplifted angel trumpets blow.
Let the cherubic host, in tuneful choirs,
Touch their immortal harps with golden wires.
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About the International Baroque Consort
The International Baroque Consort is a donation based Historically Informed Performance chamber ensemble that performs internationally. We consist of four members in the specific combination of harpsichord, baroque cello, natural trumpet, and vocalist, and occasionally collaborate with other groups and ensembles to participate in larger scale performances. All members of the ensemble are international performers and respected musicians with extensive education backgrounds in performance, always carrying a passion for music and the arts. The IBC is dedicated to giving performances that are historically accurate, engaging, inclusive, and educational, as well as providing masterclasses and music education enrichment classes for children, young adults, and professionals that may or may not be able to afford something like this normally. This is because we believe that music education and formal music performance should be available to everyone, as music is an essential part of the development and stability of the human mind, and life as a whole. The IBC formed in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic amongst friends and colleagues to show that music can be made with anyone no matter where you are, and we hope to inspire musicians to connect with others around the world to create something special and bring people together through music. Recently, the IBC has done a tour in the United States, one of the portions being labeled as the featured artist through the Historic Brass Society for the North American Baroque Trumpet Competition, with the addition of a masterclass in new ensemble formation and ensemble skills.
Performers:
Timothy Dzida - Natural Trumpet
Emily Yocum Black - Soprano
Marina Sanchez Cabello - Cello
Tiffany Vong - Harpsichord
