Handel, George Frederic. (1685-1759) Alexander Balus. An Oratorio.

Handel, George Frederic. (1685-1759)

Alexander Balus. An Oratorio.

London: I. Walsh. [1748]. Upright folio. Title; Table of songs & Advertisement; Dedication; 1-94 pp. Engraved. A very fine copy, bound in three-quarter red leather with marbled boards. Title-page spotted, a few marginal tears well-repaired, else fine. With the bookplate of Gilbert Samuel Inglefield, former Lord Mayor of London. HWV 65; Hirsch IV. 754; Smith no. 2, p. 89.

Fourth in the series of oratorios celebrating the victories of the Royal family over the Jacobite uprisings, Alexander Balus is composed to a libretto by Thomas Morell after the biblical book of 1 Maccabees. It was composed in the summer of 1747 and first performed on March 23, 1748. (3224)

Printed Music Opera