Leader, ALFRED BARKER
Conductor, T. H. MORRISON
The occasion which gave the Occasional Overture and the Occasional Oratorio their name was the failure of the Young Pretender and his Highlanders to reach London during the rising of 1745. Handel's position in the music of that day was almost parallel with that of the Poet Laureate; on all occasions of public rejoicing or mourning, appropriate music was looked for from his hands.
The Overture is on a big scale, in accordance with the traditions of Handel's period, and is cast in four movements. The first is slow and solemn, with one little, stately tune running throughout. Without a break, the second brisk movement follows, a fugue on one short, concise subject. The third movement is a little slow air, serving as a prelude to the march that is the fourth movement. It is in two clear-cut sections, which are both repeated.