Publisher's Synopsis
Georg Friedrich Handel's "Judas Maccabaeus" is one of the most important contributions to the English oratorio of the 18th century. Drawing on the British's top identification with the biblical people of Israel, which had been used in England since the 16th century, Handel composed a series of biblical oratorios as a reflection of his political presence. The "Judas Maccabaeus", which is politically charged due to the connection to the Duke of Cumberland, the Jacobite uprising or the struggle of the British for cultural identity, is therefore an excellent example of the entanglement of religion and politics in the oratorio. The authors examine the work from various technical perspectives (musicology, theology, history and English studies) from the textual basis and its origin to the reception in the 20th century. In detailed special studies, the literary and musical processing of the underlying violent-military subject, including the theological and political implications as well as its reception, is investigated.
