Saul (Handel)
Saul (HWV 53) is a dramatic oratorio in three acts written by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Charles Jennens. Taken from the First Book of Samuel, the story of Saul focuses on the first king of Israel's relationship with his eventual successor, David—one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred, ultimately leading to the downfall of the eponymous monarch. The work, which Handel composed in 1738, includes the famous "Dead March", a funeral anthem for Saul and his son Jonathan following their deaths in the Battle of Mount Gilboa at the hands of the Philistines, and some of the composer's most dramatic choral pieces. Saul premiered successfully at the King's Theatre in London on 16 January 1739, and was revived by Handel in subsequent seasons. Notable modern-day performances of Saul include that at Glyndebourne in 2015.
Reception and performance history[edit]
A report in the London press remarked on the favourable reception given to the work at its first performance,[7] with members of the royal family in attendance.[2]: 269 The architect William Kent wrote to Lord Burlington after the first performance, referring to the passage with the carillon, "There is a pretty concerto in the oratorio, there is some stops in the Harpsicord that are little bells, I had thought it had been some squerrls in a cage.[2]: 270 Saul was given six performances in its first season, a mark of success at that time,[7] and was one of the works Handel most frequently revived in his subsequent seasons, being given in London in 1740, 1741,1744,1745 and 1750. Saul received a performance in Dublin under Handel's direction "by special request" in 1742.[8]
Already in Handel's own lifetime, choral societies were formed in the English provinces with the aim of performing works of Handel and others,[9] and Saul was performed with a fair degree of regularity by choral societies in London and elsewhere in Britain through the 19th century.[10] Handel's major oratorios including Saul have been frequently performed, broadcast and recorded since the second half of the twentieth century.[11] Saul is sometimes fully staged as an opera today.[12] [13]
In October 2023, Cambridge University's Opera Society cancelled their performance of Saul due to the "current sensitive political situation and unfortunate escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel."[14]
The excellence of the libretto and the power of Handel's musical characterisation combine to make Saul, in the words of Handel scholar Winton Dean,"one of the supreme masterpieces of dramatic art, comparable with the Oresteia and King Lear".[1]
The "Dead March"[edit]
The "Dead March" played in Act Three, introducing the obsequies for the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, is in the key of C major. It includes an organ part and trombones alternating with flutes, oboes and quiet timpani.[2] The "Dead March" in Saul has been played at state funerals in the United Kingdom,[21] including that of Winston Churchill.[22] It is the standard funeral march of the armed forces of Germany, played at all state funerals. It was also performed at the funeral of George Washington, during the funeral procession of Stonewall Jackson, as well as being played many times during the journey of the body of Abraham Lincoln after his assassination to Springfield, Illinois.[23][24][25] In 2015, it was performed at the state funeral of Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore.[26]