The Triumph of Time and Truth

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The Triumph of Time and Truth ( HWV 71) is an oratorio in three parts by Georg Friedrich Händel .

Emergence

Handel composed his last new oratorio Jephtha in 1752. In the course of the work on it, it becomes apparent that he became more and more blind. Nevertheless, at the end of 1756 he turned to the oratorio The Triumph of Time and Truth , which, although essentially a revision of an older work, still contains a large amount of new material.

On his trip to Italy wrote Handel in 1707 in Rome the oratorio in two parts Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno , which in May 1707 in the Palazzo of Benedetto Pamphili in Via del Corso has been performed in Rome. After extensive revisions, in 1737 he created the three-part second version Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità , which was still sung in Italian. The English language The Triumph contains 13 numbers from the version from 1707, 9 numbers from the version from 1737 and 10 new pieces. So it represents nothing less than an arc over most of his artistic life.

The composition of the text is attributed to Thomas Morell , the librettist of most of the late Handel oratorios. For the translation, however, he was able to rely on the English translation of Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità by George Oldmixon, published in 1737 . The introduction of a new character Deceit goes back to himself .

The first performance took place on March 11, 1757 at the Covent Garden Theater and was cast as follows:

  • Time - Samuel Champness (bass)
  • Counsel (or Truth) - Isabella Young (mezzo-soprano)
  • Beauty - Giulia Frasi (soprano)
  • Pleasure - John Beard (tenor)
  • Deceit - Signora Beralta (Soprano)

As with other Handel works concerts in this phase, the performance was directed by his assistant, John Christopher Smith. It is not known what role Smith otherwise played in this composition. He probably modified the score according to Handel's oral instructions.

The work was given four times in 1757 and twice the following year.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dirk Möller: Plucked instruments in GF Handel's dramatic works. In: Guitar & Laute 7, 1985, No. 6, pp. 24-27; here: p. 25.
  2. ↑ Hans Joachim Marx: The 'Giustificazioni Della Casa Pamphilj' as a source of music history. In: Studi musicali 12, 1983, pp. 121-187.