Handel's rarely performed oratorio 'Judas Maccabaeus' is performed by New London Orchestra under Ronald Corp, with Claire Watkins (soprano), Catherine Hopper (alto), Magid El Bushra (countertenor), Nicholas Mulroy (tenor) and Alex Ashworth (bass).
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Taking the libretto from the 'First Book of Maccabees', which deals with the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the second century, Handel's oratorio 'Judas Maccabeus' draws deliberate parallels with the defeat of the Jacobite forces in the violent battle of Culloden and, according to Morell, was 'design'd as a compliment to the Duke of Cumberland upon his returning victorious from Scotland'. High drama, with one of Handel's most famous choruses, 'See, the conqu'ring hero', the rousing call to arms, 'Sound an alarm!' and the ravishing aria, 'Father of Heav'n'.