Hercules at the Crossroads
Jun 21, 2020•19 min
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Episode description
The ancient Greek tale, Hercules at the Crossroads, sees the man of the moment offered a choice between Vice and Virtue. Personifications of each visit him to offer the option of a pleasant and easy life, or a hard but glorious one. It was all the rage in the Renaissance, inspiring writers and artists and remained so to the time of Bach and Handel. Two pillars of the Baroque, each knowing something of pleasure and toil, and each setting this Herculean conundrum in his own style. Which will you choose?
Music comes from recordings of Bach's secular cantata "Laßt uns Sorgen, laßt uns wachen", BWV.213 and Handel's 1750 oratorio "The Choice of Hercules".
Presented by Hannah French.
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