Handel's oratorios are still somewhat of a rarity in Hungary, an error that the Savaria Baroque Orchestra’s Handel series aims to mend. With Solomon, an utterly dedicated cast, orchestra and chorus in the expert hands of conductor Pál Németh delivered excellently, giving an outstanding performance of the work.
Though the score of Solomon is certainly beautiful, it’s not particularly dramatic and rarely ever really gripping. The oratorio lacks a linear narrative, portraying three unconnected episodes of Solomon’s rule that are only united by the figure of the king: the consecration of the First Temple and his marriage to the Pharaoh’s daughter; the famous judgement between the two mothers; and the visit of the Queen of Sheba.
Under the baton of Pál Németh, though, there was no danger of the performance ever becoming static. Keeping the tempi lively, but never rushing, Németh infused the piece with vigour and intensity, drawing sumptuous sounds from orchestra and chorus alike. The joint forces of the Savaria Baroque Orchestra and the Debrecen Kodály Choir could indeed "shake the dome and pierce the sky", filling up the hall with walls of sound at the more bombastic moments; their performance was bursting with energy. Characterized by brisk, stylish playing and a resplendent, exuberant sound (the mellowness of the strings was particularly wonderful), the orchestra’s performance was an aural treat. Heavily featured in the oratorio (the chorus is involved in twelve numbers), the Debrecen Kodály Choir showed considerable virtuosity, rendering the wide variety of moods from the hushed, pastoral bliss of “May no rash intruder” through the jubilant “From the censer curling rise” to the thundering “Shake the dome, and pierce the sky” with great expressivity and without any strain, their tone lush and glowing.