Handel
Judas Maccabaeus c130'

John Mark Ainsley Judas Maccabaeus
Christopher Purves Simon/Eupolemus
Rosemary Joshua Israelitish Woman
Christine Rice Israelitish Man
Tim Mead Israelitish Messenger/Israelitish Priest

Choir of the Enlightenment
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Laurence Cummings conductor

There will be one interval 

Composed in the wake of the last pitched battle fought on British soil - the putting-down at Culloden of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion - Handel's oratorio recounts a tale of military prowess on the part of the Israelites of biblical times, with whom Protestant England was keen to identify.

Under the direction of Laurence Cummings - Music Director of the Handel festivals in London and Göttingen - the distinguished line-up of soloists is headed by John Mark Ainsley, a stylish and much-admired Handelian, here tackling a role long considered a pinnacle of the tenor repertoire.