‘Israel in Egypt.’--This work, the most perfect example of the choral oratorio, containing some of the most colossal choruses ever written (twenty-eight double choruses), was composed in October, 1738, in the short interval of twenty-seven days. In addition to the choruses there are only five arias, three duets and some short recitatives, which serve as connecting links in the massive choral chain. The second part (the Exodus) was written first and had evidently been planned as a cantata; however, Handel doubtless realized the possibilities of the vast material at hand and added the first part, which thus became an historical introduction to the work already written. Its first performance took place on April 4th, 1739, at the King’s Theatre, London, and on the 11th it was given again but with some alterations, caused by insertion of songs, and at the third performance on April 17th, the ‘Funeral Anthem’ in memory of Queen Caroline was interpolated. For some reason this excellent work was not successful and was given only nine times during Handel’s lifetime. It was again brought to light in 1849 by the Sacred Harmonic Society of London, when it was peformed as originally written, and in this form it is now given. The text, credited to Handel, was really taken literally from the Bible and arranged by him so as to form a very dramatic narrative. [Illustration: Facsimile of Handel’s Manuscript: the Last Page of ‘The Messiah’] It opens, without an overture, with a few measures of tenor recitative (‘Now there arose a King in Egypt who knew not Joseph’), leading at once to the lament of the Israelites over the cruelties of the Egyptian bondage (‘And the children of Israel sighed’), a double chorus of great dramatic power leading up to the words, ‘And their cry came up unto God.’ After another short recitative for tenor, there follows the series of choruses descriptive of the plagues, in which the composer uses almost modern descriptive means. Thus, the first of the choruses describing the plague of the water turning to blood (‘They loathed to drink of the river’), is fugal and depicts the nauseating effects of the water upon the Egyptians; the hopping of the frogs is naïvely imitated in the accompaniment of the following aria for mezzo-soprano (‘Their land brought forth frogs’); and the plague of insects, a double chorus with a buzzing, restless orchestral accompaniment, is remarkably descriptive of insect motion. Before the dramatic double chorus, ‘He gave them hailstones for rain,’ the orchestra introduces the approaching storm, which, beginning gradually, develops into tremendous force as if the elements had been let loose. After the storm, comes the gloom of the darkness that fell over the land and vague, uncertain tones grope about as the chorus sings, ‘He sent a thick darkness over all the land.’ Then, in the savage fury of righteous retribution, a