Israël en Égypte / Georg Friedrich Haendel

In Israël en Égypte, Handel develops his text from biblical citations and recounts, in a succession of tableaux, the story of the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage, beginning with the famous episode of the ten plagues of Egypt: the waters of the Nile turned to blood, the plague of frogs, the hail storm, the devastation of crops by locusts, and the death of the firstborn.

Guided by God, the Jewish people set out, crossing the miraculously parted Red Sea, which closes just as miraculously and violently over the pursuing Egyptian horsemen. In the second part, rich in grand choral forces, the choir and soloists sing praises to the glory and greatness of the Lord.

For the recording, Hervé Niquet proposed introducing this work with the Organ Concerto HWV 295, nicknamed "The Cuckoo and the Nightingale" due to the motifs in its second movement, which was composed by Handel as an interlude to Israël en Égypte for its premiere in 1739 at the King’s Theatre in London.