The “Occasional Oratorio” was composed as a reaction to a political event which shook the whole of  England : the Jacobite rebellion of 1745-46 against the  Hanoverian monarchy was crushed under the leadership of the Duke of Cumberland. Handel, who was working  on the  oratorio “ Judas Maccabaeus”  at  the time, composed the oratorio quickly and reused some  movements from earlier works. With the choice of a libretto by Newburgh  Hamilton he  demonstrated his support for the monarchy. The work was first performed on 14  February 1746  at the Covent Garden Theatre in  London .<br>
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 For the first time this  seldomly  performed  oratorio which nevertheless contains wonderful music is  available in an Urtext edition based on the “  Halle Handel Edition” . All available sources have been  consulted. Further movements which Handel added for later performances are  included in the  appendix.<br>