• Philippa Hyde soprano
• Patrick McCarthy tenor
• Eamonn Dougan bass Psalmody
• Essex Baroque Orchestra
• directed by Peter Holman

Alexander’s Feast, or The Power of Music, Handel’s fourth English oratorio, was written in 1736. Like a number of other music theatre works of the period, it used an old text: John Dryden’s Ode on St Cecilia’s Day for 1697, originally set by Jeremiah Clarke. However, Handel’s setting is much more than an ode in praise of music in the Purcellian tradition.

Set during a banquet in the palace of Persepolis to celebrated Alexander the Great’s conquest of Persia, it focuses on the musician Timotheus and his ability to influence Alexander’s emotions by his singing to the lyre – thus demonstrating the power of music. Handel responded to the varied moods and situations with some of his finest and most colourful music.

This rare performance of the original 1736 version uses vocal and instrumental forces similar in size to Handel’s and follows his practice of introducing concertos at stategic points during the oratorio.