Judas Macchabæus an Oratorio. [HWV 63]

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1f. (recto title, verso blank), 1f. (recto table and catalogue, verso blank), 1f. (recto typeset privilege and dedication to King George I with woodcut armorial device, verso blank), 73, [i] (blank) pp. (the Marche on the final leaf is unpaginated, but appears as p. 73 in the table of contents). Title, table, and music engraved. With early ownership inscription in contemporary manuscript to upper outer right margin of title, "Catharina Brodie." Title slightly foxed and soiled; very occasional foxing and soiling to margins; light "x" in pencil at start of several movements. First Edition, second issue. Smith p. 113, no. 2. BUC p. 435. RISM H636 and HH636. Judas Maccabaeus, to a libretto by Thomas Morell, was first performed in London at Covent Garden on 1 April 1747. Handel composed the work to celebrate the victory by the House of Hanover over the Jacobites in July and August 1746. The librettist Morell provided the text to three additional Handel oratorios and, in later life, left a fascinating account of his collaboration with the composer. "On 6 March 1747 Handel began a new season of oratorios at Covent Garden similar to those of 1743 and 1744, but no longer on a subscription basis. Revivals of the Occasional Oratorio and Joseph had to be rescheduled to avoid clashing with the sensational trial of the Jacobite Lord Lovat for high treason. Judas Maccabaeus opened on 1 April, the printed wordbook carrying Morell's dedication of the work to the Duke of Cumberland as a 'Faint Portraiture of a Truly Wise, Valiant and Virtuous Commander'. It was highly successful and proved to be one of the most enduringly popular of the oratorios. . The early performances also included a concerto for orchestra with two wind groups, the first of three such works partly but very effectively arranged from earlier music (especially choruses)." Anthony Hicks in Grove Music Online Bound with: Handel. A Grand Collection of Celebrated English Songs from all the late Oratorios. London: J. Walsh, 1745. 1f. (recto title, verso blank), [i] (blank), 2-48 pp. (some pagination deriving from earlier editions as per Smith p. 176, no. 4). Engraved throughout. Rare. First Edition, first issue. Smith p. 176, no. 4. BUC p. 419 (second issue, dated 1759). RISM H1079 and HH1079 (one copy in the U.S. only, at Princeton). Occasional minor soiling. Contains 15 songs from Belshazzar, Hercules, Joseph, Semele, Samson, Deborah, and Esther. Singers named within the score include Sigra. Francesina, Miss Robinson, Mrs. Cibber, and Sigra. Strada. Two volumes in one. Folio. Contemporary marbled boards with dark red leather title label gilt to upper, raised bands on spine with dark red morocco title label gilt. Tastefully rebacked and recornered in dark brown calf; boards slightly worn, rubbed, and stained, with portion of marbled paper replaced; endpapers worn and stained. The signature of Jane Ann Catherine Brodie (aka Catherina/Katherine Jane Anne) (1770-1842) is also found in a copy of Handel's Songs Selected from His Oratorios for Harpsichord, Voice, etc., Vol. 3, published by Walsh in ca. 1760. See inventory of Music in Brodie Castle catalogued by Dr. Roger B. Williams: Music in Scottish Castles and Country Houses, online site accessed 3 April 2024. A lifetime first edition of one of Handel's most celebrated oratorios, bound with a collection of arias from his other works, attesting to their popularity among 18th century music-lovers. Seller Inventory # 39638

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