Overture To An Occasional Oratorio

We all dream of travelling to Italy, where beauty has no limits. The culture is inundated by the arts, families are vibrant and strong, architecture is unrivaled, musical genius is ubiquitous and of course…the food. With every aspect of life so influential and awe-inspiring, it is no wonder George Frideric Handel has returned with compositions that leave us speechless. His operas, arias, Oratorios, anthems and concertos never cease to amaze me; however, this time he has really outdone himself. The ornate and expressive beauty of his pieces last night left me wishing the show would never end. Even with the horn malfunction halfway through the piece, the concert proceeded so flawlessly that the minor mishap detracted nothing from its beauty. There is so much to discuss with so little room to print that I feel no matter how gracefully I am able to portray his genius, it will inevitably end up as an injustice to his sensational compositions. Upon …show more content…
“Overture to An Occasional Oratorio” was a perfect introductory exposition to Handel’s capabilities. Although there was a strong string majority, there was still a significant horn presence with a dynamic range that could mask the strings if necessary. However, there was typically a very successfully symbiotic blend. The Maestoso opened with a strong, projecting horn line, accompanied by the timpani reminiscent of that of a royal introduction. Despite being distracted by the physical performance discrepancies, my attention was grabbed by the boldness, and held captive throughout the rest of the composition, which ended with a march. The march was saturated with fast, melismatic and ornate string runs that were echoed then by the whole orchestra in an imitative polyphonic style. The piece then came to a conclusion with a ritardando and a powerful, full orchestra