GF Händel Esther HWV 50a (earliest reconstructible version, 1720)
Handel’s Esther is considered to be the first English oratorio, but the grand London version of 1732 had its roots in a much earlier masque performed in the late 1710s at Cannons.
The body of musicians of Handel’s earlier employer, James Brydges, was more modest, and this early version suits Solomon’s Knot’s chamber performance style perfectly. 10 singers will deliver the work by heart, together with 18 instrumentalists, in a dramatised concert performance.
SOLOMON’S KNOT
Esther Zoë Brookshaw
Israelite Boy Clare Lloyd-Griffiths
Priest of the Israelites Kate Symonds-Joy
Priest of the Israelites James Hall
Habdonah, Officer, 2nd Israelite David de Winter
Mordecai Joseph Doody
1st Israelite Thomas Herford
Ahasuerus Xavier Hetherington
Haman Alex Ashworth
Bass Jonathan Sells (artistic director)
Violin I George Clifford (leader), Maxim del Mar
Violin II Gabi Jones, Will McGahon
Viola Joanne Miller
Cello Gavin Kibble
Double Bass Jan Zahourek
Flute Eva Caballero
Oboe Daniel Lanthier
Bassoon Inga Maria Klaucke (l), Sally Holman
Horn Kathryn Zevenbergen (l), Kate Goldsmith
Trumpet Fruzsina Hara
Harp Aileen Henry
Theorbo Josep Maria Martí Duran
Harpsichord & Organ James Johnstone
