Händel, Georg Friedrich: Theodora
Oratorio in 3 Parts
vocal/choral score
The Christians refuse to take part in the heathen sacrificial cult, preferring to die a martyr's death. The plot concentrates on the virtuous Theodora, whom the Roman governor wants to compel to become a heathen sacrificial victim through forced prostitution. The Roman officer Didymus , who is in love with 'Theodora' and has converted to Christianity through her, rescues her from the Temple of Venus , at which point both are sentenced to martyrdom by the governor.
'Theodora' is regarded as Handel's most tender oratorio. The Christians' choruses and arias convey muted colours, and Theodora's arias are distinguished particularly through their moderate to slow tempi and their vocal i nflection lost in reverie. In dramatic contrast with this are the stirring arias of the governor Valens and the choruses of the heathens who pay homage to their gods Jupiter and Venus. As so often, Handel borrowed musical material from other composers, which he elaborated into expressive arias and choruses here. In particular, the final chorus of the oratorio, which is similar to that in Bach's 'St. Matthew Passion' in terms of expression, is referred to in literature again and again. Handel himself felt that 'Theodora' was his most significant work.
The vocal score is based on BA 4085 (Series I, Vol. 29) of the Halle Handel Edition which makes available a complete critical version of the music for the first time. The appendix contains the versions from the 1755 and 1759 performances.
In the autumn of 1923, a young man produced the first music editions of his newly founded publishing house in his parents’ living room. He named his company Bärenreiter. In the spring of 1924 when Karl Vötterle came of age, he was able to register it with the German Publishers and Booksellers Association. At first, he mainly put out folk song collections, church as well as organ music including early music by Leonhard Lechner and Heinrich Schütz, at the time primarily known in specialist circles.
During the last months of the Second World War, the publishing house in Kassel was destroyed and once more a fresh beginning had to be made. With the start of the extensive German music encyclopaedia MGG – "Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart" – as well as numerous series of scholarly-critical complete editions such as the “New Mozart Edition” and the “New Bach Edition”, the visionary founder of the publisher created the basis for the further development of Bärenreiter. The musicological editions increasingly aroused interest abroad, and Bärenreiter found itself on an expansion course.
When Karl Votterle died in 1975, his daughter Barbara took over the helm, supported by her husband Leonhard Scheuch. Under their leadership, the catalogue grew significantly and the brand BÄRENREITER URTEXT was established. Finally, in 2003, their son Clemens Scheuch joined the publisher which today he is managing together with his parents. Thus Bärenreiter has remained a family business to this day and has become a company of international standing in the world of classical music.
Online purchase:
Buy directly from our web-shop via credit/debit card payment. With this method, only publications which we currently have on stock can be purchased.
In-store pickup:
If you prefer not to shop online, you also have the option to order from our website and we will forward your order to one of our partner music shops of your choosing. In this case, you will buy the scores directly from the shop and pay for them there upon pickup.
Please note that it is illegal to photocopy copyright protected music without the permission of the copyright holder.
To photocopy is to deprive the composer/author of his/her rightful income for his/her intellectual property.
