Handel's Israel in Egypt is not only a large-scale oratorio, but in particular, the chorus has a major part to sing, and the soloists less so. The carus music version contains all three parts of the oratorio. In the first part, which can also be separately performed as the Funeral Anthem, the corresponding singing text is underlaid additionally in italics. In Israel in Egypt a wide range of expression is required from the chorus – sometimes rejoicing festively, sometimes dramatic and expressive. Confidence in the text and the notes is a prequisite, so that these contrasts can be shown to their best advantage. Practice makes perfect!
The Carus Choir Coach offers choir singers the unique opportunity to study and learn their own, individual choral parts within the context of the sound of the entire choir and orchestra. For every vocal range a download containing each choir part is available. The Carus Choir Coach is based on recorded interpretations by renowned artists who have performed the work from carefully prepared Carus Urtext editions. Each choir part is presented in three different versions:
- Original recording
- Coach: each part is accompanied by the piano, with the original recording sounding in the background
- Coach in slow mode: the tempo of the coach slows down to 70% of the original version – through this reduction passages can be learned more effectively.
Performers: Antonia Bourvé, (Soprano), Cornelia
Winter (Soprano), Terry Wey (Alto), Michael Hofmeister (Alto),
Jan Kobow (Tenore), Konstantin Wolff (Basso), Markus Flaig
(Basso) – Vocalensemble Rastatt, Les Favorites – Holger Speck
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Composer
Georg Friedrich Händel
| 1685-1759George Frideric Handel put his exceptionally versatile compositional abilities to the test at an early age. After moving to London in 1712, where he was appointed Composer of Musick for His Majesty’s Chapel Royal in 1723, he wrote numerous masterpieces for the royal court as well as his major opere serie. For many years he enjoyed triumphant successes with his operas, which were sung by outstanding performers, with serenades, and later also with oratorios such as Saul and Israel in Egypt. Over the years Handel’s reputation grew far beyond the city where he worked; some of his choral works, particularly Messiah, have enjoyed a performance tradition which remains unbroken to this day, and are sung by choirs throughout the world. Personal details
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Choir
Vocalensemble Rastatt
Alongside its dedication to a core repertoire of composers such as Monteverdi, Schütz, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, and Brahms, the Vocalensemble Rastatt & Les Favorites frequently explore new terrain with premiere performances. On the heels of its successes in national and international choir competitions, the ensemble has taken part in numerous internationally acclaimed CD recordings as well as radio, and television productions for SWR, Radio France, Deutschlandradio Kultur, and Deutschlandfunk. The Vocalensemble Rastatt & Les Favorites have performed in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Musikfest Bremen, the Kölner Philharmonie, the SWR RheinVokal Festival, the Europäisches Musikfest Stuttgart, the Schwetzinger Festspiele, the Deutschlandradio Kultur Wartburgkonzerte, the Internationale Musiktage im Dom zu Speyer, the Philharmonie in Mulhouse, and the Centre de Musique “Les Dominicains” in Guebwiller, France, among other venues. The flexible choir does not shy away from excursions into the world of opera, having performed Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Bellini’s Norma with Edita Gruberova, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte with Rolando Villazón. Together with Klaus Maria Brandauer and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the choir also performed Mendelssohn’s Sommernachtstraum at the Musikfest Bremen. The ensemble is sponsored by the German state of Baden-Württemberg in co-operation with its “Kunst 2020” program, as well as by its home city of Rastatt. Personal details
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Ensemble
Les Favorites
Alongside its dedication to a core repertoire of composers such as Monteverdi, Schütz, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, and Brahms, the Vocalensemble Rastatt & Les Favorites frequently explore new terrain with premiere performances. On the heels of its successes in national and international choir competitions, the ensemble has taken part in numerous internationally acclaimed CD recordings as well as radio, and television productions for SWR, Radio France, Deutschlandradio Kultur, and Deutschlandfunk. The Vocalensemble Rastatt & Les Favorites have performed in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Musikfest Bremen, the Kölner Philharmonie, the SWR RheinVokal Festival, the Europäisches Musikfest Stuttgart, the Schwetzinger Festspiele, the Deutschlandradio Kultur Wartburgkonzerte, the Internationale Musiktage im Dom zu Speyer, the Philharmonie in Mulhouse, and the Centre de Musique “Les Dominicains” in Guebwiller, France, among other venues. The flexible choir does not shy away from excursions into the world of opera, having performed Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Bellini’s Norma with Edita Gruberova, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte with Rolando Villazón. Together with Klaus Maria Brandauer and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the choir also performed Mendelssohn’s Sommernachtstraum at the Musikfest Bremen. The ensemble is sponsored by the German state of Baden-Württemberg in co-operation with its “Kunst 2020” program, as well as by its home city of Rastatt. Personal details
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Conductor
Holger Speck
Holger Speck enjoys an international reputation as a charismatic conductor who succeeds both in realizing stylistic characteristics in an innovative manner and in conveying emotional content. Fanfare magazine from the USA attests to his “undeniable authority.” With his distinctive sense of sound and compelling, lively and authentic interpretations, he shapes the image of his own ensembles as well as the choirs and orchestras with which he works as a guest conductor. The president of the German Bundestag Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble engaged him and his Vocalensemble Rastatt for a concert during the G20 summit. Speck established the Grammy-nominated Vocalensemble Rastatt and the Baroque orchestra Les Favorites internationally with exciting concert programs and outstanding CD recordings on the Carus label containing music by Buxtehude, Telemann, Handel and Brahms, among others. For Deutsche Grammophon productions, he was responsible for the choral sections of the Mozart operas “Die Entführung aus dem Serail,” “Le nozze di Figaro,” “Così fan tutte,” and “Don Giovanni.” Holger Speck teaches at the University of Music in Karlsruhe; in addition to being the artistic director of Vocalensemble Rastatt & Les Favorites, he works as a guest conductor with the NDR Vokalensemble, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and the choir and orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra in Ljubljana, among others. The ballet director John Neumeier engaged Speck to conduct his last major creation “Dona nobis pacem” with Bach’s Mass in B minor at the Hamburg State Opera and the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. . Personal details
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Soloist - soprano
Antonia Bourvé
Antonia Bourvé studied opera and lieder singing with Stephan Kohlenberg and Felicitas Strack at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe. Her studies continued with master classes with Brigitte Fassbaender and Anna Reynolds, and lieder classes with Mitsuko Shirai and Hartmut Höll. She was awarded a scholarship by the Richard Wagner Association and won first prize in the Kulturfonds Baden opera competition. A much sought-after soprano, Antonia Bourvé’s guest appearances include the title role in Mozart’s Zaide at the Staatstheater Nuremberg. She has also sung on CD recordings of Mozart’s Schauspieldirektor and Beethoven’s Scottish Songs. A further recording, which has been praised as a benchmark recording by the press, is Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, conducted by Holger Speck on the Carus label (Carus 83.352) Personal details
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Soloist - soprano
Cornelia Winter
The soprano Cornelia Winter studied at the Musikhochschulen in Frankfurt and Berlin with Elsa Cavelti and Ingrid Figur, and took part in master classes with Laura Sarti, Barbara Schlick and Paul Esswood. She has made guest appearances at the Nationaltheater Mannheim and the Stadttheater Heidelberg. She has sung with the “Ensemble Modern”, “Concerto Köln”, and “l‘Arpa Festante” in Germany and abroad. An outstanding example of her work to date is the CD “Landschaft mit entfernten Bekannten” by Heiner Goebbels, released in 2007, with the Ensemble Modern and the Deutscher Kammerchor, which was staged at the “Théatre des Amandiers” in Paris. Personal details
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Soloist - alto
Michael Hofmeister
Whilst he was still a student Michael Hofmeister sang at the Staatsoper in Hanover, and in Berlin in a theatre project by Ruedi Häusermann. He performs with conductors including Enrique Mazzola, Konrad Junghänel, Michael Schneider and Holger Speck and directors such as Calixto Bieto, Peter Konwitschny and Trisha Brown. In addition to his operatic engagements, Michael Hofmeister enjoys a busy career in the Baroque music field and has sung at festivals including the Handel Festival in Halle. He sang in Adriana Hölszky’s Hybris and Salvatore Sciarrino’s Da Gelo a Gelov at the Schwetzingen Festival. He has also sung in the Sciarrino work at the Opéra National de Paris and the Grand Théâtre de Genève in the 2007/08 season. Personal details
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Soloist - alto
Terry Wey
Terry Wey was born in Switzerland and received his first singing lessons as a member of the Vienna Boys’ Choir with Silvija V. Purchar, later studying with Kurt Equiluz and Christine Schwarz. As a boy treble he won prizes in several competitions (including the MIGROS Genossenschaftsbund [Cooperative Society] Zurich, Kärntner-Sparkasse [Savings Bank] and Wörthersee Music Scholarship). His first appearances with the “Clemencic Consort” under René Clemencic in 2003 brought him to the notice of the international concert and opera scene. He has performed with conductors including Thomas Hengelbrock, Marc Minkowski and Michael Hofstetter and orchestras such as the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, Les Arts Florissants and Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble. Several CD recordings illustrate his achievements and versatility. Personal details
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Soloist - tenor
Jan Kobow
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Soloist - bass
Konstantin Wolff
Konstantin Wolff studied with Donald Litaker at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe. He won the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Prize from the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, was awarded a scholarship by the German National Academic Foundation and made his opera debut in 2005 at the Opera National de Lyon under William Christie in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea. His concert repertoire ranges from the early baroque to the 20th century. He has performed with conductors including Gerd Albrecht, Alun Francis, Riccardo Chailly, Ton Koopman, René Jacobs, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle and Nicholas McGegan. His first solo CD, a recording of Lieder to texts by Victor Hugo, has been enthusiastically received. Personal details
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Soloist - bass
Markus Flaig
| 1971