Here is a rare chance to hear Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus (HWV 63) performed by Durham Choral Society and orchestra. The music is typically baroque and with a recognisable tune, with the words, of “See the conquering hero comes” as a popular brass band piece.

Handel composed this oratorio in three acts in 1746 as a tribute to the victorious Duke of Cumberland upon his return from the Battle of Culloden in the same year.

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The first time a full performance was given in Durham was 1770, although extracts had been performed before then.

The oratorio describes events in the period 170–160 BC which feature in The First Book of the Maccabees in The Apocrypha. At this time, Judea was ruled by the Seleucid Empire which undertook to destroy the Jewish religion. Being ordered to worship Zeus, many Jews obeyed under the threat of persecution; however, some did not. One who defied was the elderly priest Mattathias who killed a fellow Jew who was about to offer a pagan sacrifice. After tearing down a pagan altar, Mattathias retreated to the hills and gathered others who were willing to fight for their faith.​