Deborah

With its splendid choruses and opulent orchestration, the oratorio Deborah was highly regarded by Handel’s contemporaries. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy too described the work as one of “Handel’s most beautiful and powerful works”. Yet Handel did no more than compile the oratorio largely from potent movements from earlier works. The action basically follows the Old Testament narrative in chapters 4 and 5 of Judges: the Israelites free themselves from the oppression of the Canaanites. Conductor Jan Tomasz Adamus, together with the Capella Cracoviensis Choir and Orchestra who enthused audiences with their performance of “Messiah” at the 2014 Handel Festival, provides his interpretation of this famous work. The musicians are supported by a superb, international ensemble of excellent soloists.