The King'S Consort, Robert King - Handel: Alexander Balus (1997)

Tracklist

CD1
01. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I: Overture. [Grave] – Allegro
02. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 1, Chorus. Flush'd with Conquest, Fir'd by Mithra (Asiates)
03. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 2, Recit. Thus Far, Ye Glorious Partners of the War (Alexander/Jonathan)
04. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 3, Air. Great Author of This Harmony (Jonathan)
05. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 4. Flourish of Trumpets
06. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 5, Recit. And Thus Let Happy Egypt's King (Ptolomee)
07. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 6, Air. Thrice Happy the Monarch, Whom Nations Content (Ptolomee)
08. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 7, Recit. Congratulation to Our Father's Friend (Cleopatra)
09. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 8, Air. Hark! Hark! He Strikes the Golden Lyre (Cleopatra)
10. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 9, Recit. Be It My Chief Ambition There to Rise (Alexander)
11. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 10, Air. Fair Virtue Shall Charm Me (Alexander)
12. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 11, Chorus. Ye Happy Nations Round (Asiates)
13. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 2: No. 1, Recit. My Jonathan (Alexander)
14. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 2: No. 2, Air. Oh, What Resistless Charms Are Giv'n (Alexander)
15. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 3: No. 1, Air. Subtle Love, with Fancy Viewing (Cleopatra)
16. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 3: No. 2, Recit. Aspasia, I Know Not What to Call (Cleopatra)
17. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 3: No. 3, Air. How Happy Should We Mortals Prove (Cleopatra)
18. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 3: No. 4, Recit. Check Not the Pleasing Accents of Thy Tongue (Aspasia)
19. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 3: No. 5, Air. So Shall the Sweet Attractive Smile (Aspasia)
20. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 3: No. 6, Recit. How Blissful State! (Cleopatra/Aspasia)
21. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 3: No. 7, Duet. O What Pleasures, Past Expressing (Cleopatra/Aspasia)
22. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 4: No. 1, Recit. Why Hangs This Heavy Gloom upon the Brow (Jonathan/Alexander)
23. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 4: No. 2, Air. Heroes May Boast Their Mighty Deed (Alexander)
24. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 5: No. 1, Recit. Ye Sons of Judah, with High Festival (Jonathan)
25. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 5: No. 2, Air with Chorus. Great God, from Whom All Blessings Spring (Jonathan/Israelites)
26. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 1, Air. Kind Hope, Thou Universal Friend (Alexander)
27. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 2, Recit. Long, Long and Happy Live the King! (Jonathan/Alexander)
28. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 3, Air. O Mithra, with Thy Brightest Beams (Alexander)
29. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 4, Recit. Stay, My Dread Sovereign (Sycophant Courtier/Alexander/Jonathan)
30. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 5, Air. Mighty Love Now Calls to Arm (Alexander)
31. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 6, Air. Hateful Man! Thy Sland'rous Tongue (Jonathan)

CD2
01. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 1: No. 7, Chorus. O Calumny, on Virtue Waiting (Israelites)
02. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 2: No. 1, Recit. Ah! Whence These Dire Forebodings of the Mind? (Cleopatra)
03. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 2: No. 2, Air. Tossed from Thought to Thought I Rove (Cleopatra)
04. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 2: No. 3, Recit. Give to the Winds, Fair Princess, These Vain Doubts (Aspasia)
05. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 2: No. 4, Air. Love, Glory, Ambition, Whate'er Can Inspire (Aspasia)
06. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 3: No., Recit. Thus Far My Wishes Thrive (Ptolomee)
07. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 3: No. 1, Air. Virtue, Thou Ideal Name (Ptolomee)
08. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 4: No. 2, Accompagnato. Ye Happy People, with Loud Accents Speak (Jonathan)
09. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 4: No. 1, Soli with Chorus. Triumph Hymen in the Pair
10. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 4: No. 2, Recit. Glad Time, at Length, Hath Reach'd the Happy Point (Alexander/Cleopatra)
11. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 4: No. 3, Duet. Hail Wedded Love, Mysterious Law! (Alexander/Cleopatra)
12. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act I Scene 4: No. 4, Chorus. Hymen, Fair Urania's Son (Asiates)
13. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III: Introduction. Sinfonia
14. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 1: No. 1, Recit. 'Tis True, Instinctive Nature Seldom Points (Cleopatra)
15. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 1: No. 2, Air with Chorus. Here Amid the Shady Woods (Cleopatra/Ruffians)
16. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 2: No. 1, Recit. Ah! Was It Not My Cleopatra's Voice? (Alexander)
17. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 2: No. 2, Air. Pow'rful Guardians of All Nature (Alexander)
18. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 2: No. 3, Recit. Treach'ry, O King, Unheard of Treachery (Jonathan/Alexander/Aspasia)
19. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 2: No. 4, Air. Fury, with Red Sparkling Eyes (Alexander)
20. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 2: No. 5, Recit. Gods! Can There Be a More Afflicting Sight (Aspasia)
21. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 2: No. 6, Air. Strange Reverse of Human Fate (Aspasia)
22. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 2: No. 7, Recit. May He Return with Laurel'd Victory (Jonathan)
23. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 2: No. 8, Air. To God Who Made the Radiant Sun (Jonathan)
24. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 2: No. 9, Chorus. Sun, Moon, and Stars, and All Ye Host of Heav'n (Israelites)
25. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 3: No. 1, Recit. Yes He Was False, My Daughter, False to You (Jonathan/Cleopatra)
26. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 3: No. 2, Accompagnato. Ungrateful Child, by Ev'ry Sacred Pow'r (Ptolomee)
27. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 3: No. 3, Air. O Sword, and Thou, All-Daring Hand (Ptolomee)
28. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 4: No. 1, Accompagnato. Shall Cleopatra Ever Smile Again? (Cleopatra)
29. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 4: No. 2, Recit. Ungrateful Tidings to the Royal Ear (Messenger)
30. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 4: No. 3, Air. O Take Me from This Hateful Light (Cleopatra)
31. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 4: No. 4, Recit. Forgive, O Queen, the Messenger of Ill! (Second Messenger/Cleopatra)
32. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 4: No. 5, Accompagnato. Calm Thou My Soul (Cleopatra)
33. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 4: No. 6, Air. Convey Me to Some Peaceful Shore (Cleopatra)
34. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 5: No. 1, Recit. Mysterious Are Thy Ways, O Providence! (Jonathan)
35. Alexander Balus, HWV 65, Act III Scene 5: No. 2, Chorus with Solo. Ye Servants of th' Eternal King (Jonathan/Israelites)

Alexander Balus brings to completion The King's Consort's series of Handel's four 'military' oratorios (the other three being Judas Maccabaeus, The Occasional Oratorio, and Joshua).

The story is a somewhat embellished retelling of chapters 10 and 11 from the first book of the Apocryphal Maccabees and involves complicated intrigues between the Jews, Syrians and Egyptians in the second century BC. To cut a long story short, Alexander Balus, King of Syria, is eventually defeated in battle by Ptolomee of Egypt and then killed by an Arab; but Ptolomee himself dies just three days later allowing Jonathan, the Chief of the Jews, to remind us of the fate of those who do not believe in the One God.

Musically, Handel is at his very best in this piece. Much of the composition occurred simultaneously with that for Joshua and there is, typically, a small amount of material recycled from earlier works. The Third Act, where Cleopatra is not only told (maliciously) by her father that her beloved Alexander has been faithless, but is also then informed of his death, sees some extraordinary aria-writing, at times reminiscent of 'Dido's Lament'.

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