HANDEL ISRAEL IN EGYPT
One of the greatest choral works ever composed. A powerful reminder of the strength of faith, solidarity, and moral conviction.
Concert sponsored by a generous gift from Preston and Nancy Athey.
April 7, 2024 at 4pm
Baltimore Hebrew Congregation
7401 Park Heights Avenue
Baltimore
With the participation of The Maryland State Boychoir, Stephen Holmes, director
April 14, 2024 at 4pm
B’nai Israel Congregation
6301 Montrose Road
Rockville
With the participation of The Richard Montgomery High School Chorus, Sidney Clarke-Lequerique, director
FULL PROGRAM:
Handel Israel in Egypt
FEATURED SOLOISTS:
Elissa Edwards, soprano *
Claire Galloway, alto **
Ben Ellerin, tenor
Josh Perlman, bass***
*The soprano for this concert is endowed in memory of Anne Hortense Pruitt Dimmock
**The alto for this concert is endowed in memory of Linda D. Sadler, Given by Family & Friends
***The bass for this concert is endowed in memory of T. Herbert Dimmock, Jr.
Maestro T. Herbert Dimmock leads the Bach in Baltimore Choir and Orchestra and the Maryland State Boychoir, plus soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists, in one of the greatest choral works ever composed: Handel Israel in Egypt. With over 100 musicians on stage, experience the epic story of the Israelites exodus from Egypt. The sounds of buzzing flies and leaping frogs, hailstones and lighting are all brilliantly evoked by the double choirs and orchestra dramatizing the plight of the Israelites from captivity in Egypt, through the plagues, pestilence, floods, and across the parted Red Sea to salvation. More than most of Handel’s oratorios, Israel in Egypt focuses on the choir, not the vocal soloists. The choir becomes the protagonist in the action of the story, representing entire nations of peoples. Handel was at the height of his fame when he composed Israel in Egypt in 1737–38, and he infused the work with an array of ingenious devices, colors, and textures to create wonder, drama, and meaningful resonance. As noted in John Elliot Gardner’s program notes: “1859 Henry Chorlye termed Israel in Egypt ‘something apart from, alone, and above all other works existing in descriptive choral music.’ Every known technique in the choral repertoire is employed: choral recitative, arioso, fugue and double fugue, homophonic declamation, coloratura and the cut and thrust of two choirs in antiphony, This is combined with a rich orchestral accompaniment, which includes trombones in 13 choruses and trumpets in six, scarcely to be matched in the whole Baroque era. It is a work apart: unique in its epic conception and in the dazzling variety of its choral and orchestral writing.” You won’t want to miss this powerful and thrilling choral wonder that illuminates the strength of faith, solidarity, and moral conviction.
Elissa Edwards, soprano
Soprano Elissa Edwards is an exponent of Early Music and hailed for her ‘pliant, seductive, free-ranging voice’ (Gramophone) and her ‘glistening tone’ (Early Music America). She is also a sacred music specialist and has been a featured soloist in many oratorio and cantata performances in the US and UK. Performance highlights include featured appearances at the Washington National Cathedral, the Barbara Strozzi Symposium at Princeton University, Gotham Early Music Series, Bach in Baltimore, American Harp Society, Amherst Early Music Festival, Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and The National Center for Early Music, UK. Ms. Edwards is the artist-in-residence of the Hammond-Harwood House Museum and is on the voice faculty at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Edwards has won many awards and grants for her creative contributions to the field including the Maryland State Individual Artist’s Award, the National Endowment for the Humanities and Winterthur Museum & Library for her scholarly presentations of music. Her training includes studies at the Royal College of Music, London and performance degrees from Boston University (BM) and University of York, UK (MA). Her critically acclaimed album, Vago Desio, features cantatas and arias from Barbara Strozzi’s Opus 8 (Acis APL90277) is available to listen online. (www.elissaedwards.com)
Claire Galloway, alto
British-American soprano Claire Galloway’s theatricality covers the gamut of “palpable pain” and “splendid, funny moments” (B.I.T.R.). She has performed such roles as Dinah in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Contessa in Nozze di Figaro, and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. She has also premiered roles in Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park and Frances Pollock’s award-winning opera Stinney, seen in the 2019 Prototype Festival. In 2018 Ms. Galloway was a semifinalist in the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition and a finalist in the Saltworks Opera Competition and will join Saltworks Opera to sing Blanche in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites this Summer. She will portray Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito) with Lidal North, Oslo and reprise her role as Blanche (Dialogues) under the direction of Fabrizio Melano in the Savannah Voice Festival.
In past seasons, Ms. Galloway has performed with Baltimore Concert Opera, the Savannah Voice Festival, Bel Cantanti Opera, and Stillpointe Theatre.
This season she will present a recital based on the life of Rosa Ponselle at the elegant George Peabody Library. Ms. Galloway is a curator of the related Ponselle exhibit at the Peabody Institute, where she currently teaches.
Ms. Galloway’s innovative recital programming has resulted in the best-attended concert event at the Baltimore War Memorial Arts Initiative in past seasons.
A frequent soloist with Concert Artists of Baltimore, Ms. Galloway has also performed concert and oratorio works with Bach in Baltimore, the American Symphony Orchestra, and the Peabody Concert Orchestra.
Ben Ellerin, composer
Cantor Ben Ellerin became the cantor and music director at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation in 2018. He holds a Master of Sacred Music and ordination from Hebrew Union College in New York and completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. In addition to his work within the synagogue, Cantor Ellerin has appeared as a guest soloist in concerts throughout the wider Jewish community, featuring repertoire spanning a wide array of classical, Israeli, Jewish, Yiddish, American folk, and contemporary music, as well as his own original works. His compositions have been performed by the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial Choir and in Jewish communities and camps across North America, Europe, and Israel.
Baltimore Hebrew Congregation
7401 Park Heights Avenue
Baltimore
Free parking on-site.
The Baltimore Hebrew Congregation is one of the oldest Reform Jewish communities in America, formed in 1830 above a small grocery store, initially named the Nidche Yisroe, or Scattered of Israel, with only 29 members. This community had been granted the right to worship in Maryland only after a vigorous debate that was only settled by then Governor Thomas Carroll King. It was at this congregation that the very first traditionally ordained rabbi to serve in the United States, Rabbi Abraham Rice, oversaw.
Learn more here.
B’nai Israel Congregation
6301 Montrose Road
Rockville
Free parking on-site.
Founded in 1925, B’nai Israel has been a major presence in the Washington area for generations. Our talented clergy and staff, creative and innovative programming, and magnificent facility are well known. Anyone who enters the building can sense our commitment to children and adults of all ages through our multiple weekly Shabbat Magic youth services, impressive schools and youth groups, and top-notch educational programs for adults.
But B’nai Israel is much more. We are a caring community that supports members in times of need and celebrates life’s joyous moments together. We inspire individuals and assist them in charting their own spiritual journeys
Learn more here.
PURCHASE TICKETS & PASSES
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Ticket sales end on Sunday, April 7 at 4:15 pm.
PURCHASE INDIVIDUAL TICKETS: APRIL 14
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Ticket sales end on Sunday, April 14 at 4:15 pm.
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Attend ALL Concerts in our 2023-2023 Season with this All-Access (and Transferable) Pass. Total Value:$400.00.
Standard priced Full Season Pass sales end on January 1.
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