Handel: Israel in Egypt (complete oratorio based on the first published edition)

"one of the great choirs of our day" - Gramophone.

"As time goes by, I find Harry Christophers' music-making more and more captivating ."
BBC Radio 3, CD Review Nov 2002

It's not surprising that Israel in Egypt is much-performed.

Hailstones and lightning, buzzing flies and leaping frogs, are all brilliantly evoked for choir and orchestra in a series of incisive choruses leading us excitedly through the plagues of Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea as we follow Moses and the Children of Israel through the story of the Exodus. The epic nature of the story could not be more suited to Handel's genius for story-telling and drama.

This CD is based on the first published edition (1771), omitting five arias and two short choruses.

The Sixteen is one of the jewels in the musical crown of Britain. Internationally recognised as one of the finest choirs of our time, it is admired for performances combining clarity and precision with beauty and dramatic intensity. It concentrates on the heritage of early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance and Baroque, and a diversity of twentieth century choral work. The choir is complemented for larger scale works by its orchestra, The Symphony of Harmony and Invention, and through it Harry Christophers brings fresh insights to the music of Purcell, Monteverdi, JS Bach and Handel. Many prize-winning recordings reflect the quality and inspiration of the group's work. The Sixteen now has its own record label, Coro , which makes available treasured releases of the past as well as new recordings and commissions. Each release contains a foreword written by Harry Christophers, and forms part of The Sixteen Edition on Coro. Coro now owns the entire recording output of The Sixteen on Collins Classics.

Recent years have seen the group's debuts at the Vienna Musikverein, the Brisbane, Covent Garden, Halle, Istanbul and Lucerne festivals, and at the Lisbon Opera in a new production of Monteverdi's "Il Ritorno d'Ulisse". In 2000 The Sixteen made a Choral Pilgrimage to the finest English cathedrals, returning pre-reformation music written for these buildings to its home. This met with a huge public response. In the last few months the group has made major tours of Japan and the USA, returning also to the Covent Garden Festival, New York's Lincoln Center, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall and London's Barbican Centre. The coming season sees debuts at the Scarlatti Festival, Italy, Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris, Mathias Church, Budapest and return visits to the Bath and Halle festivals.