Handel's crossing borders: the interplay of music, politics, and religion in Saul oratorio
Embargo Date
2024-03-18
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
This thesis examines one of the works of English Baroque composer, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), namely Saul (1738), a dramatic oratorio that depicted the biblical story of the fall of King Saul. By looking into this particular work, a specific attention is given to Handel’s practice of modifying styles in three distinct aspects of the oratorio which would be the music, politics, and religious aspects underlying the work. A vital component of this study would be the emphasis on the interconnectedness between the three aspects and the different ways on which the composer crossed the different borders within and between these three areas. The study begins with an assessment on the origins of the English oratorio genre itself that was formed through different challenges and circumstances faced by Handel and not by the composer’s own willful design. Thus, it also observes the diverging ideas from influential Handelian scholars who have done significant research on the English oratorio such as Winton Dean and Ruth Smith, primarily in addition to other scholars. By using the paradigm of Handel as a composer who often does creative practices and modifications, the English oratorio can no longer be seen as a fixed musical genre but rather a flexible one, especially in the case of Saul. Moreover, the study continues to examine three specific features in Saul oratorio where this practice took place. The first one would be from the standpoint of musical style and compositional process, then the aspect of patronage and societal borders, and lastly the borders of religious and ecclesiastical boundaries. This study finds that while Saul oratorio possesses several dramatic qualities and properties that can be found in any Italian opera seria at that time, Handel also purposely crossed a new territory of musical works as he disregarded some of the important qualities of the above genre. Furthermore, as Handel was largely known as the royally appointed composer of the British Hanoverian court, this particular work became his first collaboration with Charles Jennens (1700-1773). He was known a Jacobite sympathizer who compiled the libretto of Saul that was loaded with socio-political allusions. In this particular oratorio, Handel also crossed the political and societal borders. Lastly, as Ruth Smith highlighted Handel’s deployment of certain early music instruments in Saul, it became apparent that these instruments have their own symbolism and significance in the Jewish religious tradition, hence the practice of crossing the borders of religion. These practices have shown that in Saul oratorio, there is a sense of fluidity of the genre itself that Handel seemed to refuse to be confined within certain bounds and limits of expression. The dramatic qualities of the work enabled both the librettist and the composer to develop ideas that departed from its original musical genre (the Italian opera seria) and literary genre (the biblical text and storyline).