One of the most prestigious European ensembles, the Czech Baroque Ensemble, will present Handel’s oratorio, “The Triumph of Time and Truth”. The concert will take place on February 10th, 2022, and is described by the ensemble as the highlight of the 10th concert season of Brno’s “Bach to Mozart” program. Photo credit: Tino Kratochvil.
Brno, Feb 7 (BD) – The concert will feature George Friedrich Handel’s oratorio for solo voices, choir and orchestra, “The Triumph of Time and Truth”. Nearly 50 performers will appear on the stage at the Besední dům.
The evening will commemorate a work from March 1757, and the master of Baroque music’s 337th birthday in February. “The triumph of time and truth – an inscription of the ancient signpost of history, is also a brilliant title of the last work of the dying king of Baroque music, GF Handel. Time and truth versus superficial beauty, illusion and pleasure,” said Roman Válek, conductor of the Czech Baroque Ensemble.
Handel performed the work in three different versions during his 50-year musical career. “Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno” was Handel’s first oratorio, set to an Italian libretto from the spring of 1707. 30 years later, when the composer was living in England and in charge of both English-language oratorios and Italian opera, he revised and expanded “Il trionfo…” into a three-part work in March 1737 under the new title “Il trionfo del tempo e della verità”. The third revision dates from March 1757.
It is this third version, in English with Czech subtitles, that will be performed on February 10th at 7pm at the Besední dům. In addition to 29 players and 16 singers, there will also be a stylized mirror on stage. Before the concert, at 6pm, there will be a presentation of the book “Triumph of Time and the Truth about G.F. Handel”, in the Director’s Lounge of the Besední dům.
