The original 1739 version of Israel in Egypt consists of three extended anthems. Part 1 is a recycled version of the anthem written for the funeral of Queen Caroline in 1737 (only the words are slightly different), the middle part called “Exodus” is a dramatic choral depiction of the plagues of Egypt, and the oratorio concludes with “The Song of Moses”, a celebration of the Israelites having reached dry ground on the far side of the Red Sea while the pursuing Egyptians are drowned. Most performances and recordings omit Part 1 but the full original version has become more widely recorded after Andrew Parrott’s pioneering complete version (Virgin, 2/91R). Kevin Mallon’s Naxos effort is the sixth commercial recording of the complete 1739 version. It offers a new alternative for choral society members who want to acquire an inexpensive learning aid, but scarcely matches Parrott’s benchmark version, which is already available at budget price.

Too many of the Aradia Ensemble’s soloists are weak in comparison to their best competitors, and the choir is prone to wobbly exaggerations, such as poor tuning in the “How is the mighty fall’n” sections. The opening chorus “The sons of Israel mourn” is too fast, clipped and clumsy. Mallon persists in the anachronistic tradition of using soloists in some of the choruses during the funeral anthem music (Handel used full choir throughout). The orchestral stabs in “He smote all the first born of Egypt” are perfunctory. But there are some fine moments: “He spake the word” is intelligently and lightly articulated, which enables the violins to better convey “all manner of flies”, and helps us to hear Handel’s use of 17th-century Italian-style trombones more clearly than usual. Likewise, “He gave them hailstones” has much more textural light and shade than can be the case in heavier pulpitbashing renditions. Basses Jason Nedecky and Sean Watson do a creditable job of keeping “The Lord is a man of war” shapely, but Part 3 is marred by patchy choral singing.