- Performance
- Oratorio SAUL (HWV 54)
- "This performance is based, by permission of the Trustees of the Handel Institute (UK), on the edition of SAUL made by the late Anthony Hicks."
- Time & Date
- 15:30, Monday, 13. 1. 2014
- Venue
- Hamarikyu Asahi Hall, Tokyo
- CAST
- Masato Makino (B: Saul)
- Yumi Nakamura (Ms: David)
- Hirohisa Tsuji (T: Jonathan)
- Yukari Nonoshita (S: Michal)
- Nao Hirose (S: Merab)
- Hiromitsu Maeda (T: High Priest)
- Yasuharu Fukushima (T: Witch of Endor)
- Kazuhiko Oie (B: Apparition of Samuel)
- Choir & Orchestra: Cannons Concert Chamber Choir & Orchestra
- Conductor: Toshiki Misawa
- Concertmaster: Setsuko Sugita
- Organized by
- Committee of HANDEL FESTIVAL JAPAN
- Sponsored by
- The Asahi Shimbun Foundation for the Arts
- The Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Foundation for the Arts
- JAPAN ARTS FUND
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- Supported by
- TOKYO KOTEN GAKKI CENTRE (Harpsichord)
- Zimaku Plus
- Ikegami Lutheran Church
- HFJ Support Club: HANDELIAN
- Endorsed by
- GEORG-FRIEDRICH-HÄNDEL-GESELLSCHAFT, Internationale Vereinigung, e.V.
- PROJECT Ⅰ
- Lecture: Fascination of Handel's Oratorio SAUL
- Greetings from Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hirschmann
- Greetings
- Handel's Saul has always been one of the most prominent oratorios of the master; it is rich in action and unifies various dimensions that are of high interest for today's listeners: first, in the biblical model, the power of music as a healing force symbolized in David playing the harp in order to chase away the demons torturing Saul, secondly the generation gap reflected in the power struggle between the old (Saul) and new (David) king of the Israelites and the conflict between father (Saul) and son (Jonathan), thirdly the touching love story between Michal and David, and fourthly the intense moral appeal that envy can destroy the fundaments of society and must be by all means avoided.
- In his masterly libretto Charles Jennens – best known for his later text of Handel's Messiah – knots all these threads into a great drama of human passions, and Handel's music fathoms all the facets of human soul with the profoundest psychology. Saul is also famous for its rich orchestration with flute, harp, organ and carillon, and its death march has been one of the composer's favorites for audiences all over the world until our days.
- So Saul proves once again that Handel's art can not be reduced to Messiah and that it is necessary to make known all his other masterpieces in Japan.
- The Handel Festival Japan is a pioneer of this mouvement, and the International Handel Society supports the efforts of Toshiki Misawa and his musicians with great sympathy and encouragement. So once again I would like to express my best wishes for the performance of Handel's Saul with its profound insight into human passions accessible to people all around the world during this year's Handel Festival.
- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hirschmann
- President of the Georg-Friedrich-Händel-Gesellschaft e. V. Internationale Vereinigung (Sitz Halle)
- Head of the Department of Musicology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
