BLAUPUNKT LONDON RDM 169 Reviews Its users find the BLAUPUNKT LONDON RDM 169 practical and user-friendly.They find it reliable., They mostly agree on this point. You can look at the BLAUPUNKT LONDON RDM 169 forum to identify problems that users have come across and the suggested solutions. On average, its users are satisfied with its efficiency, But their opinions differ slightly. They find that it doesn't really stand out as being good value for money to ensure that its features correspond to your needs. The users were asked the following question: Is the LONDON RDM 169 easy to use? 69 users answered questions and rated the product on a scale of 0 to 10.
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The rating is 10/10 if the BLAUPUNKT LONDON RDM 169 is very user-friendly. The reviews (rough results) are presented in the following graph: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 By leaving the mouse on a column for a few seconds, you can see the number of people who voted to make up the score that appears in the horizontal axis.
Statistical data: = 6.80 = 2.70 The average score balanced by the number of reviews is 6.8 and the standard differential is 2.7. The users were asked the following question: Is the LONDON RDM 169 highly efficient? 69 users answered questions and rated the product on a scale of 0 to 10. The rating is 10/10 if the BLAUPUNKT LONDON RDM 169 is, in its domain, the best on a technical level, the one offering the best quality, or offering the largest range of options. The reviews (rough results) are presented in the following graph: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 By leaving the mouse on a column for a few seconds, you can see the number of people who voted to make up the score that appears in the horizontal axis.
User manual for Blaupunkt LONDON RDM 169 product. View LONDON RDM 169 user guide online, or download Blaupunkt LONDON RDM 169 instruction manual for free.
Statistical data: = 7.20 = 2.32 The average score balanced by the number of reviews is 7.2 and the standard differential is 2.32. The users were asked the following question: Is the LONDON RDM 169 reliable, sturdy?
69 users answered questions and rated the product on a scale of 0 to 10. The rating is 10/10 if you think that the BLAUPUNKT LONDON RDM 169 is a sturdy product, which will last a long time before breaking down. The reviews (rough results) are presented in the following graph: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 By leaving the mouse on a column for a few seconds, you can see the number of people who voted to make up the score that appears in the horizontal axis. Statistical data: = 7.22 = 2.36 The average score balanced by the number of reviews is 7.22 and the standard differential is 2.36.
The users were asked the following question: Is the LONDON RDM 169 good value for money? 69 users answered questions and rated the product on a scale of 0 to 10. The rating is 10/10 if you think that the BLAUPUNKT LONDON RDM 169 is really not expensive considering its features. The reviews (rough results) are presented in the following graph: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 By leaving the mouse on a column for a few seconds, you can see the number of people who voted to make up the score that appears in the horizontal axis. Statistical data: = 6.86 = 2.68 The average score balanced by the number of reviews is 6.86 and the standard differential is 2.68.
Contents Quick Reference.... 51 RC 08 remote control unit (Option)..... 59 Important notes.... 60 What you need to know... 60 Traffic safety..... 60 Installation...... 60 Telephone mute.....
60 Accessories..... 60 Guarantee...... 60 International telephone information.
60 KeyCard theft protection system...... 61 Operating the unit for the first time. 61 Incorrect KeyCard.... 61 Removing the KeyCard... 61 “Training” a second KeyCard / Replacing a KeyCard....
62 Incorrect KeyCard.... 62 Displaying the radio pass data..
62 Short Additional Memory (S.A.M.). 62 Turn On Message (T.O.M.).. 62 Flashing light as theft protection. 62 Care of your KeyCard....
63 Lost or damaged KeyCard... 63 Training the new KeyCard... 64 Activating the Install menu... 64 Closing the Install menu... 64 Setting the clock.....
64 Entering your Owner Identification. 64 Reset to default settings...
65 Switching the ignition connection on/off....... 65 Switching the internal output stage on/off....... 65 Connecting external equipment.. 65 Selecting the operating mode. 66 Optimising the viewing angle.
66 Radio operation with RDS.. 67 Switching between the menu levels. 67 AF - Alternative frequency... 67 REG - regional program... 68 Selecting a waveband...
68 Station tuning..... 68 Automatic tuning /... 68 Manual tuning with.. 69 Scrolling through the broadcasting networks (FM only).... 69 Changing the memory bank (FM).. 69 Storing stations.....
69 Automatically storing the strongest stations with Travelstore... Recalling stored stations... 70 Scanning stored stations with Preset Scan..... 70 Scanning stations with Radio Scan. 71 Changing the scan time (Scan)..
71 Selecting the seek tuning sensitivity. 71 Switching from stereo to mono (FM). 71 Automatic bandwidth adjustment (SHARX)...... 71 PTY - Program Type.... 72 Switching PTY on/off... 72 Program type..... 72 Checking the program type of the station......
72 Selecting and storing PTY program types...... 73 PTY seek tuning.... 73 Radio text...... 74 Traffic information station reception with RDS-EON.. 75 Traffic announcement priority on/off.
75 Warning beep..... 75 Switching the warning beep off. 75 Automatic seek tuning start (CD and CD changer operation). 75 Adjusting the volume for traffic announcements and the warning beep 75. Traffic Memo (TIM)... 76 Switching TIM on/off.... 76 Recording traffic messages..
76 Altering the TIM standby time.. 76 Retrieving stored traffic messages...... 77 Warning...... 77 Temporarily interrupting the TIM standby mode (before driving into a car wash)...... 77 CD operation / CD changer operation... 78 Inserting a CD.....
78 Removing a CD..... 78 Switching on CD operation...
78 Switching on CD changer operation. 78 Selecting the display mode.. 78 Selecting CDs..... Attack Attack This Means War Zip Rar here.
79 Selecting tracks..... 79 Repeating tracks/CDs.... 79 TPM (Track-Program-Memory).. 80 Switching TPM playback on/off. 80 Storing tracks with TPM... 80 Deleting the TPM.... 80 MIX.......
80 SCAN....... 81 Entering CD names.... 81 Deleting CD names/TPM at the same time.......
Clock - Time.... 82 Displaying the clock.... 82 Setting the clock.....
82 Selecting a 12 or 24-hourmode.. 82 Synchronisation..... 82 Setting the equaliser... 83 Notes on making the settings.. 83 Switching the equaliser on/off.. 84 Setting recommendations on the Internet...... 84 Assistance in setting your equaliser.
85 DSC programming... 86 TUN (Tuner)..... 86 DISP (Display).....
87 VAR (Various)..... 87 KC (KeyCard)..... 88 CLK (Clock)..... 89 CDC (Changer)..... 90 Overview of the DSC default settings.......
90 Specifications.... 91 Glossary - Technical Terminology.. 91 Index...... 93 Installation instructions.. When the unit is switched on for the first time, “INSTALL” will appear in the top line of the display. Now it is possible to alter important basic settings, such as the clock, proof of ownership, reset to the default settings, etc.
If necessary, refer to the section on “First-timeinstallation”. Press EXIT to quit this menu. Switching the unit off: Press ON for approx.
The angle of the display can be adjusted to optimise its legibility. If necessary, refer to the section on “Optimising the viewing angle”. Captain Claw Game Setup. Switching the sound on/off: Press ON briefly. If the sound has been switched off, “Mute” will appear in the display. You can switch on the sound again by turning the volume knob 3.
Switching the unit on/off with the KeyCard: The unit can also be switched on/off by inserting or removing the KeyCard. Also refer to No.
B in the Quick Reference for the section on the KeyCard theft protection system. Switching the unit on/off with the ignition: The unit can be switched on/off with the vehicle ignition if the unit has been installed accordingly. After you switch off the ignition, you will hear a beep to remind you to remove the KeyCard before you leave the vehicle. Switching the unit on when the ignition is off If the ignition is switched off (but the KeyCard in place), it is possible to operate the unit as follows. 4 Softkeys / Display Softkey = a key with changing functions You can select the functions which appear in the display.
Radio operation Switching between the menu levels During radio operation, you can press TU to switch between menu level 1 and menu level 2. Menu level 1 contains four pages (FM1, FM2, FM3, FMT) which can be used to store radio stations. Press NEXT to switch to the next page.
Menu level 2 has two pages containing functions related to radio operation. Page 1 includes FM, TS, TA, AM, PS, SCAN. Page 2 includes AF, LOC, PTY, REG, RT, MONO.
Press PRE or NEXT to switch between the pages. The unit will switch back to menu level 1 automatically 8 sec. After the last key has been pressed.
“TA” will appear when the priority for traffic information has been activated. Switching priority on/off: Press TA. To interrupt a traffic message: Press STOP. Stop will only appear in the display during traffic message broadcasts.
ENT (Enter) Press this key to accept/store the settings made. EXIT Press this key to end/cancel any settings made. AM Switches to AM (MW or LW). Press NEXT to select the other AM waveband.
PS ( Preset- Scan) The radio stations stored on the preset keys in reception range will be scanned one after the other. For this to function properly: PTY must be switched off (does not light up in the display). If PTY is switched on (PTY lights up), only the radio stations for the PTY program selected will be scanned. Quick Reference AF ( Alternative Frequency for RDS operation) Switching AF on/off: Press AF briefly. LOC - Local Press LOC to switch the seek tuning sensitivity between “Local” and “Distance”.
PTY ( Program Type) PTY changes the station keys into program keys. Switching PTY on/off: Press PTY briefly. PTY will light up under top line in the display. REG (Reg ional) Gives priority to regional programs.
Switching REG on/off: Press REG briefly. RT - Radio text Transmits the text broadcast by the radio station selected. Radio text cannot be activated unless the ignition is off or you have switched to “IGN off” in the Install menu.
MIX CD tracks are played in random order. Press MIX to select the following functions: - MIX CD = The tracks on the CD selected are played in random order. For changer operation, the CDs are selected in numerical order, the tracks then played back in random order. - MIX MAG (for changer operation only) = All of the tracks on the CDs in the magazine are played back in random order. - MIX OFF = switches the function off.
SCAN Scans the CD tracks (for changer operation the tracks on all of the CDs). Start SCAN: Press SCAN. The tracks will be scanned in ascending order. The scan time for CD operation can be altered (refer to “DSC programming - SCAN”). The track last scanned will begin to play. Quick Reference RPT - Repeat CD tracks, and for CD changer operation entire CDs, can be played repeatedly. Press RPT to select from the following functions: - REP TRCK = repeats track - REP CD = repeats CD (for CD changer operation only) - RPT off = switches the function off.
TPM - Track Program Memory Stores and plays back your favourite tracks for CD or CD changer operation. It is possible to archive up to 30 CDs for CD operation and 99 CDs for CD changer operation with a maximum of 40 tracks each (refer to the section on “TPM programming”). CLR Deletes the TPM (refer to the section on “Deleting the TPM”). NAME You can enter names with a maximum of 8 characters for up to 99 CDs. When these CDs are played, the name entered will appear in the top line of the display if the display has been set to “Name” (refer to the section on “CD naming”). 6 TIM ( Traff ic Memo) Up to four traffic messages can be stored automatically and played back as often as desired (refer to the section on “Traffic Memo - TIM”). 7 Rocker switch Radio operation If you press the rocker switch while you are on menu level 2, the unit will automatically switch back to menu level 1.
/ Radio station seek tuning Up Down >Up/down in increments (for FM only, when AF and PTY are switched off) For FM only: >Pages through the station network when AF and PTY are switched off, e.g.: NDR 1, 2, 3, 4, N-JOY.. Quick Reference CD and CD changer operation >Selects CDs (for CD changer operation only) >>Up: Press briefly. Sound) and SUB (-out)to adjust the amplifier level for the SUB-woofer. Making adjustments: Select the operating mode. Press AUD once and select the function you wish to adjust with the corresponding key. “Bass” and the current setting, for example, will appear in the top line of the display. Use >to alter the setting.
The last setting selected will be stored automatically. SUB-Out If an amplifier for SUB-woofersis connected to the system, it is possible to adjust the output level with “SUB” and /.
Amongst Handel’s later Oratorios, Joshua was one of the most successful. Of those composed after Samson, only Judas Maccabaeus received more performances during the composer’s lifetime, and much of this popularity was due to the insertion after the first season’s performances of ‘See the conqu’ring hero comes’, first written for Joshua.Handel began the score of Joshua on 19 July 1747, just two weeks after completing Alexander Balus, and Act I was completed eleven days later. Act II took an even shorter time, finished on 8 August, and the whole work was completed by 19 August. The premiere took place at Covent Garden on 9 March 1748 and was followed by another three performances. Mrs Delany, who had proved such a good diarist of Handel’s financial state in previous years, had moved to Ireland with her husband, but turning to Handel’s bank statements we see that after the first concert he deposited £300, after the second £200 and after the third another £100. We do not know how much he paid his orchestra, although he withdrew £990 on 19 March, but by the start of May he was in a position to deal in annuities to the tune of £4500, suggesting that this particular Lenten season had been a great success at the box office.
Joshua certainly rated highly with Eliza Heywood who, writing in Epistles for the Ladies, (1749) was:
transported into the most divine Exstacy. I closed my Eyes, and imagined myself amidst the angelic Choir in the bright Regions of everlasting Day, chanting the Praises of my great Creator, and his ineffable ‘Messiah’. I seemed, methought, to have nothing of this gross Earth about me, but was all Soul!—all Spirit.
In Dublin after a rehearsal for the first of three annual performances in 1751, conducted by Bartholomew Manwaring for the charity of the Hospital for Incurables, Mrs Delany wrote to Mrs Dewes that she was ‘charmed with it—never heard it before’. An open letter from ‘A Virtuoso’ was printed in The General Advertiser of 13 March 1749 appealing for a revival of Joshua to satisfy ‘a Number of your Friends’, but Handel did not, in the event, oblige until 1752, when he made a number of alterations, including expanding the overture by adding the fugue and courante from the Solomon overture. In 1754 he gave a further single performance, inserting five movements, four of which were based on the Occasional Oratorio. Further performances took place in Salisbury in 1754 and in Oxford in 1756, and there were performances in London, though probably not under Handel’s direction, in 1755 and 1759. Later generations did not ignore the work, for Joshua was heard at the Three Choirs Festival in 1759, 1769, 1773 and 1781, at the Oxford Music Room in 1766, 1768 and 1773, in Salisbury in 1771 and at least four times in Winchester between 1770 and 1783. In the nineteenth century it was heard in Berlin in 1827 and 1832, and the Sacred Harmonic Society performed the work in London in 1839, setting the fashion for performances in Holland, Germany and England. Only the later twentieth century seems largely to have ignored the work.
Joshua was one of a quartet of oratorios written consecutively between 1746 and 1748 which have heavily militaristic overtones. The first of these was the Occasional Oratorio, performed three times at Covent Garden in 1746 and three more times in 1747. Judas Maccabaeus followed in 1747, extraordinarily popular in receiving at least 33 performances during the composer’s lifetime, and Joshua and Alexander Balus were premiered at Covent Garden on March 9 and March 23 in Handel’s 1748 oratorio season. It seems clear that, following Judas Maccabaeus, Handel and his librettist Thomas Morell were intent on repeating the formula of a Jewish hero and triumphing choruses that had been so successful, adding this time the romantic sub-plot that Judas had lacked. Scarcely recovered from his efforts on Alexander Balus, Morell took his libretto from a bloodthirsty account in the Old Testament ‘Book of Joshua’, condensing the campaigns against Jericho, Ai and the five Kings into one dramatic block, and enlarging the parts taken by Othniel and Achsah to provide the romantic foil necessary to break up and contrast with an otherwise almost continuously warlike story.
Handel’s extraordinary speed of composition must have tested Morell to the limit, and the result is perhaps more a series of incidents than a developed plot. But the characters are strong, with Joshua a commanding (if at times insufferably conceited) hero, Caleb a suitably patriarchal leader nearing retirement from the battlefield, his daughter Achsah a concerned, sometimes reproving character, betrothed to Othniel who is finding it hard to strike a balance between playing the young warrior and the devoted lover. There is an additional part, small but vital, for an Angel, named in a later score as having been sung by a tenor, but widely assumed to have been played in the earlier performances by the more expected soprano or boy treble.
As with many of Handel’s oratorios, later performances saw many revisions to the original score for all sorts of reasons, not always musical. The version recorded here follows that of the 1748 performances, one concession being the inclusion of Handel’s undated (1752?) alteration to the second half of ‘Hark! ’tis the linnet’: this is the only change he later made which does not affect the original sequence of movements. The choral and orchestral forces recorded here are similar in scale to those that Handel used in his performances, although we have included a few more trebles. Handel had surprisingly few boys to sing the top line of his choruses, though with voices breaking so much later in those days we can assume that some of them would have been powerful singers, but his solo singers usually joined in the tuttis (which must have made for an exhausting evening’s work). Our twentieth century choir needed no such assistance, but our Angel soloist follows historical precedent and sings in the choruses too! At three points in the score Handel indicates that brass fanfares are to be inserted, giving a short rhythmic cue over which the players (led by the principal trumpeter) would have improvised the necessary music. Our principal trumpeter’s fanfares recorded here follow eighteenth century examples.
Handel’s lavish scoring of the oratorio suggests that he was financially secure in his performances, for the large orchestra contains pairs of flutes, trumpets and horns, and timpani besides the expected strings, oboes and bassoons, and following eighteenth century accounts we have included harpsichord, organ and archlute as continuo instruments. Handel’s most powerful writing in Joshua utilises the brass and timpani to the full, with music of great effectiveness. With dramatic incidents such as the tumbling walls of Jericho, the razing by fire of the city, Joshua stopping the sun and moon in their tracks and his rousing an army of depressed troops, not to mention the triumphal return of the warrior after battle, here was heroic material to stimulate any composer. Perhaps not surprisingly, the destruction of Jericho in the second Act leads Handel into one of his greatest thunder choruses, and one which impressed Haydn at a large-scale performance in Westminster Abbey in 1791. He is reported as having:
long been acquainted with [the] music, but never knew half its powers before he heard it, and he was perfectly certain that only one inspired Author ever did, or ever would pen so sublime a composition.
Similarly the ‘Solemn March during the circumvection of the Ark of the Covenant’ which precipitates the destruction is one of Handel’s finest, startling in its huge solemnity, and Caleb’s following aria ‘See the raging flames arise’ a marvellous piece of drama. Othniel’s ‘Place danger around me’ too is a splendid Handelian aria. Joshua was also the original source for the chorus ‘See the conqu’ring hero comes’, which was only added to Judas Maccabaeus once its potential was realised after the first performances of Joshua. But the quieter, more contemplative moments too deserve mentions, with Caleb’s resigned aria ‘Shall I in Mamre’s fertile plain’, the hymn-like chorus which follows from it, the chorus of defeated Israelites ‘How soon our tow’ring hopes are cross’d’, and Othniel’s ‘Nations who in future story’ all examples of Handel’s lyrical style at its best. In between the triumphs and disasters of battle, the scenes with Achsah lend further contrast, providing arias ranging from the wistful ‘Oh, who can tell’, through the birdcalls of ‘Hark! ’tis the linnet’ to the joyful, ever-popular ‘Oh had I jubal’s lyre’.
Synopsis – Act I
The single-movement orchestral ‘Introduzione’ is one of Handel’s shortest openings to an oratorio, lasting for just four lines of the score and leading straight into the opening chorus. Handel was clearly anxious to get on with the action. ‘Ye sons of Israel’ dispels any thought that the work is on anything but a grand scale with the Israelites rejoicing at the conquest of Canaan and their miraculous passage over the river Jordan which ends forty years in the wilderness. ‘In Gilgal, and on Jordan’s banks proclaim’ is introduced by an unaccompanied vocal entry—the first of many that form a thread running throughout the oratorio. Joshua enters, self-assured to the point of conceit, his confidence bolstered by the flattering tongue of the warrior Caleb, whose aria ‘Oh first in wisdom’ continues the jaunty, confident vein. Achsah, Caleb’s daughter, brings a dramatically necessary change of mood, contrasting the suffering of captivity in Egypt with the joy of arrival in Canaan in her wistful aria ‘Oh, who can tell’ whose prominent parts for solo violin and cello are reminiscent of La Resurrezzione. The calm interlude does not last long, for Joshua returns, giving orders in his recitative ‘Caleb attend’ to set up a monument in Gilgal to ensure that future generations are aware of the Israelites’ miraculous escape. Joshua introduces, with an unaccompanied phrase, the chorus ‘To long posterity we here record’, full of vivid effects of the floods rolling back and forth which hark back to Israel in Egypt. The theme of flowing water continues in the aria ‘While Kedron’s brook’, with Joshua’s lyrical thread punctuated by orchestral dotted rhythms.
The single-movement orchestral ‘Introduzione’ is one of Handel’s shortest openings to an oratorio, lasting for just four lines of the score and leading straight into the opening chorus. Handel was clearly anxious to get on with the action. ‘Ye sons of Israel’ dispels any thought that the work is on anything but a grand scale with the Israelites rejoicing at the conquest of Canaan and their miraculous passage over the river Jordan which ends forty years in the wilderness. ‘In Gilgal, and on Jordan’s banks proclaim’ is introduced by an unaccompanied vocal entry—the first of many that form a thread running throughout the oratorio. Joshua enters, self-assured to the point of conceit, his confidence bolstered by the flattering tongue of the warrior Caleb, whose aria ‘Oh first in wisdom’ continues the jaunty, confident vein. Achsah, Caleb’s daughter, brings a dramatically necessary change of mood, contrasting the suffering of captivity in Egypt with the joy of arrival in Canaan in her wistful aria ‘Oh, who can tell’ whose prominent parts for solo violin and cello are reminiscent of La Resurrezzione. The calm interlude does not last long, for Joshua returns, giving orders in his recitative ‘Caleb attend’ to set up a monument in Gilgal to ensure that future generations are aware of the Israelites’ miraculous escape. Joshua introduces, with an unaccompanied phrase, the chorus ‘To long posterity we here record’, full of vivid effects of the floods rolling back and forth which hark back to Israel in Egypt. The theme of flowing water continues in the aria ‘While Kedron’s brook’, with Joshua’s lyrical thread punctuated by orchestral dotted rhythms.
Othniel, a young warrior (betrothed to Achsah) appears on the scene at the same moment as an angel. His aria ‘Awful, pleasing being, say’ is not Handel’s most memorable (but he compensates later in the work with some marvellous writing for his alto soloist) but the pace of the drama is quickly restored as the Angel presents his credentials. Joshua is (for a change) suitably reverent and, in a dramatic accompagnato, the Angel delivers his bloodthirsty message that Jericho must be destroyed, giving the comforting assurance that victory will be easy. No time is wasted, and in the splendid aria ‘Haste, Israel, haste’ Joshua commands his followers to carry out their destructive task. The results are immediately heard in the chorus ‘The Lord commands, and Joshua leads’. After such warlike thoughts it is again time for a pastoral interlude: Handel obliges with a gem, the accompagnato ‘In these blest scenes’ where Othniel, wandering through quiet countryside, is on his way to meet Achsah, Caleb’s daughter, to whom he is betrothed. Her entry ‘Oh Othniel’ is quite exquisite. Morell’s excuse for Achsah’s solo ‘Hark, ’tis the linnet’ is somewhat manufactured, but Handel’s response to the text, full of bird calls from solo soprano, flute and violin, is delightful. The two lovers dally a little longer in the duet ‘Our limpid streams’, but the scene is shattered by a warlike trumpet flourish, made all the more dramatic as this is the first time we have heard the brass. Othniel makes clear his desire to seek Achsah’s hand as soon as Jericho has been destroyed, and the chorus close Act I wishing their hero luck in the coming conflict.
Act II
In Act II Joshua has been laying seige to Jericho for six days. He orders the final trumpet blast. Handel’s ‘Solemn March during the circumvection of the Ark of the Covenant’ (adapted from Muffat’s Componimenti) is as awe-inspiring in its solemnity as it is in its sheer volume, and leads into the splendid three-section chorus ‘Glory to God’. Solo trumpet and horn echo the preceding March, Joshua praises God, the massed choral and orchestral forces reinforce him and, with insistent dotted rhythms in the orchestra, the walls begin to totter. But it is for the middle Adagio section ‘The nations tremble’ that Handel reserves his finest effects. In a musical score which is black with notes the awe-struck chorus cower, the brass blast chilling low fanfares, the strings vividly represent the tumbling walls in rapid scales and the timpani thunder. Jericho crashes down, and Caleb is triumphant in his command to lay waste to the remainder of the city and its populace, remembering though to command the sparing of Rahab, who had been sympathetic to the Israelites’ cause. ‘See, the raging flames arise’ reverts successfully to the type of operatic aria originally written for Montagnana: the rapid scales representing the flames which add to the destruction of Jericho are contrasted with the ‘dismal groans and cries’.
In Act II Joshua has been laying seige to Jericho for six days. He orders the final trumpet blast. Handel’s ‘Solemn March during the circumvection of the Ark of the Covenant’ (adapted from Muffat’s Componimenti) is as awe-inspiring in its solemnity as it is in its sheer volume, and leads into the splendid three-section chorus ‘Glory to God’. Solo trumpet and horn echo the preceding March, Joshua praises God, the massed choral and orchestral forces reinforce him and, with insistent dotted rhythms in the orchestra, the walls begin to totter. But it is for the middle Adagio section ‘The nations tremble’ that Handel reserves his finest effects. In a musical score which is black with notes the awe-struck chorus cower, the brass blast chilling low fanfares, the strings vividly represent the tumbling walls in rapid scales and the timpani thunder. Jericho crashes down, and Caleb is triumphant in his command to lay waste to the remainder of the city and its populace, remembering though to command the sparing of Rahab, who had been sympathetic to the Israelites’ cause. ‘See, the raging flames arise’ reverts successfully to the type of operatic aria originally written for Montagnana: the rapid scales representing the flames which add to the destruction of Jericho are contrasted with the ‘dismal groans and cries’.
Once again it is Achsah who tries to bring the Israelites down to earth, attempting to convince them that their triumph will not last. ‘To vanity and earthly pride’ is a contrast to what has gone before, its simple melody added to by delicious harmony at ‘The firmest rock’. In the solemn ‘Almighty ruler of the skies’ Handel is again inspired, as the entire company of Israelites, including ‘High Priest, Priests, Chiefs, Elders and a full assembly’ celebrate the passover and praise God for their deliverence. Over a ground bass the voices of the chorus enter one by one, led by Joshua, joining together with the whole orchestra in great magnificence at ‘His glory did on Sinai shine’. Achsah’s reproving advice however is not heeded, for Caleb announces that disaster has struck: overconfident soldiers sent to test the defences of Ai have been repulsed, and Israel mourns. Handel’s appetite for a tragic chorus appears to have been inexhaustible for, in the type of movement which appears in half a dozen oratorios, but is no less effective here for that frequency, flutes and strings introduce a ‘Chorus of defeated Israelites’—‘How soon our tow’ring hopes are cross’d’.
Joshua, seeing such dejection, rouses the miserable troops, reminding them of their success at Jericho. ‘With redoubled rage return’ is a marvellous aria, made all the more effective as it swings into the chorus ‘We with redoubled rage return’. Seeing confidence restored to the masses, Othniel’s mind returns to other matters, and, seeking ‘breath’ he goes off to find Achsah, for soldiers need things other than war to balance their diet. The catchy tune of the gavotte ‘Heroes when with glory burning’ was used by Handel no less than seven times before it appeared in this context. Achsah too is pining for Othniel: her aria ‘As cheers the sun’ is a marvellous piece of craftsmanship, with the strings’ ‘falling show’r’ gradually reviving the ‘tender flow’r’ until the downward scales have taken over the whole movement. Caleb is furious seeing Othniel wasting his time with Achsah and, sending his daughter away, stirs Othniel back into warrior-like action with the news that the Gibeonite allies are endangered by a Canaanite league under Adoni-zedeck, King of Jerusalem. ‘Nations, who in future story’ has a quietly noble melody. Joshua is delighted by the united scene he now sees, and once again, two ‘Flourishes of warlike instruments’ introduce military action.
‘Oh thou bright orb’ is one of Handel’s most original movements. Over a soft accompaniment of violin semiquavers Joshua, seeing that bad light may stop the battle, commands the sun to stop in its course: as it does so, all orchestral movement ceases, with the violins holding their high A for nine bars. Then, addressing the slower-moving moon, represented by the violas, he commands that too to halt. Now the whole string section is motionless, and the chorus exclaim in wonder ‘Behold! the list’ning sun his voice obeys’. Over increasing choral movement the sustained high A still continues, first in the oboes, and then, for nine long bars, in a solo trumpet: disbelieving nineteenth-century orchestral editors re-scored Handel and spread this thirty-second ‘tour-de-force-de-poumon’ between two players! At ‘They yield, they fall, they die’, the solo trumpeter, too, gratefully expires (Handel evidently had a sense of humour), and then the tutti brass enter for ‘Before our arms the scattered nations fly’. Once again the enemy are routed and flee and, as section by section the voices and instruments expire, Act II ends quietly.
Act III
Act III begins with Joshua’s position once again that of a hero now guaranteed a position in history. In ‘Hail mighty Joshua’ Handel gives the fugal entries at ‘And grateful marbles’ a notable rising theme. Achsah too is delighted in her cheerful aria ‘Happy, O thrice happy we’. Joshua proposes to divide the conquered territory amongst the tribes and is reminded by Caleb of his part in the conquest of Hebron: Joshua immediately gives this land to Caleb and his Judaean tribe. Caleb however is starting to feel his age, and Handel produces another jewel with the hymn-like ‘Shall I in Mamre’s fertile plain’ whose theme of noble resignation is enhanced by the chorus’s entry ‘For all these mercies we will sing’. Othniel reminds Caleb that one city remains unconquered. Caleb announces that it is time to hand over military matters to a younger man and, as an inducement, the hand of Achsah will be the reward for whoever can subdue the remaining city of Debir. Othniel can hardly believe his good fortune, and in the splendidly rousing ‘Place danger around me’ (as lively an alto aria as Handel ever wrote) he goes off to war. The Israelites pray for him in battle in the moving slow chorus ‘Father of mercy’ and no sooner have they completed their prayers than Joshua enters to tell the good news that Othniel has been victorious.
Act III begins with Joshua’s position once again that of a hero now guaranteed a position in history. In ‘Hail mighty Joshua’ Handel gives the fugal entries at ‘And grateful marbles’ a notable rising theme. Achsah too is delighted in her cheerful aria ‘Happy, O thrice happy we’. Joshua proposes to divide the conquered territory amongst the tribes and is reminded by Caleb of his part in the conquest of Hebron: Joshua immediately gives this land to Caleb and his Judaean tribe. Caleb however is starting to feel his age, and Handel produces another jewel with the hymn-like ‘Shall I in Mamre’s fertile plain’ whose theme of noble resignation is enhanced by the chorus’s entry ‘For all these mercies we will sing’. Othniel reminds Caleb that one city remains unconquered. Caleb announces that it is time to hand over military matters to a younger man and, as an inducement, the hand of Achsah will be the reward for whoever can subdue the remaining city of Debir. Othniel can hardly believe his good fortune, and in the splendidly rousing ‘Place danger around me’ (as lively an alto aria as Handel ever wrote) he goes off to war. The Israelites pray for him in battle in the moving slow chorus ‘Father of mercy’ and no sooner have they completed their prayers than Joshua enters to tell the good news that Othniel has been victorious.
The public reaction to ‘See the conqu’ring hero comes’ when it was first heard in Joshua was one of ecstasy: Handel too knew that he had scored another bullseye. Its great success ensured that he inserted it into revivals of Judas Maccabaeus. Its formula was simple, with a three-part procession: in the first verse a ‘Chorus of Youths’, accompanied by organ ‘tasto solo’ alternate and combine with two horns: in the second verse a semi-chorus (or possibly originally two soloists, mistakenly attributed by Chrysander as being a ‘Chorus of Virgins’) are accompanied by two flutes and organ, and in the third, formal verse the entire company, minus the horns, join together. Handel’s instruction to the ‘Tamburo’ (military side drum) was quite specific: ‘ad libitum; the second time warbling’.
Achsah now is delighted too, for Caleb gives his blessing to Othniel and her marriage, and she exults in the famous aria ‘Oh had I Jubal’s lyre’. The melody dates from nearly forty years earlier, first used in the settings of Laudate pueri dating from 1706 and 1707, and then used again the year after Joshua in Solomon. (Morell’s libretto read ‘Oh had I Jubal’s sacred lyre’ which manuscripts show Handel set for a couple of phrases before he realised there was a better scansion available by missing out the ‘sacred’). Before the final exulting chorus we are allowed one more gentle love duet, ‘Oh peerless maid’, before Caleb, now as an elder statesman, announces the final chorus. ‘The great Jehova is our awful theme’ begins in block chords as a solemn hymn but quickly switches to a fugal texture. The block chords return for the end, with the final massive ‘Halleluia’ dominated, significantly when we remember their important role in the work, by ringing brass fanfares.
Robert King © 1991