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From WSHU's daytime and evening classical programs, Emily Boyer and Lauren Rico give you a heads-up on some of the best music they've selected.

ISRAEL IN EGYPT: one of Handel’s triumphs

The Chandos Portrait of George Frideric Handel
John Thornhill, 1720
The Chandos Portrait of George Frideric Handel

The scope of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio ISRAEL IN EGYPT is the Passover story. Handel premiered it in three sections: The Lamentation of the Israelites for the Death of Joseph, Exodus and Moses’ Song. When it premiered in 1739, it was criticized for being “too solemn for common ears.” But over time, it has come to be regarded as one of Handel’s triumphs. You’ll hear selections from Israel in Egypt on Sunday Baroque, starting at 7 a.m. on 91.1, 107.5, and our music stream.

Suzanne Bona is the host and executive producer of Sunday Baroque, a nationally syndicated weekly radio show of Baroque and early music which she originated on WSHU in 1987.