Der Fall Babylons, WoO 63 (Spohr, Louis)

Movements/SectionsMov'ts/Sec's 2 sections (17 numbers in the first, 14 in the second)
Composition Year 1839-40
Genre Categories Sacred oratorios; Oratorios; Religious works; [10 more...]For voices, mixed chorus, orchestra; Scores featuring the voice; Scores featuring mixed chorus; Scores featuring the orchestra; For voices and chorus with orchestra; German language; English language; For organ (arr); For 1 player (arr); Scores featuring the organ (arr)

Sheet Music

Scores

Editor First edition
Language German
Translator Fr. Oetker
Publisher. Info. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, n.d.[1843]. Plate 6815.
Copyright
Public Domain
Misc. Notes Translator possibly Friedrich Oetker (1809-1881).
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Vocal Scores

Editor Second edition
Language English
Translator Edward Taylor (1784-1863), English text
Publisher. Info. London: Novello, Ewer & Co., n.d. Plate n.d.(1867).
Copyright
Public Domain
Misc. Notes The overture is arranged for piano 4-hands.
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Arranger William Thomas Best (1826-1897) - Overture only
Language English
Translator Edward Taylor (1784-1863), English text
Publisher. Info. London & New York: Novello, Ewer & Co., n.d.(1896). Plate 8076.
Copyright
Public Domain
Misc. Notes This file is part of the Sibley Mirroring Project.
The overture is arranged for piano solo by W.T. Best.
The date 21/10/96 appears on the last 2 pages.
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Arrangements and Transcriptions

Overture

For Organ (Best)
Arranger William Thomas Best (1826-1897)
Publisher. Info. Arrangements from the Scores of the Great Masters, Vol.2 (pp.450-459)
London: Novello, Ewer & Co., n.d. Plate 2229.
Copyright
Public Domain
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31. Final chorus: Give thanks unto God

For Organ (Best)
Arranger William Thomas Best (1826-1897)
Publisher. Info. Arrangements from the Scores of the Great Masters, Vol.2 (pp.480-486)
London: Novello, Ewer & Co., n.d. Plate 2229.
Copyright
Public Domain
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General Information

Work Title Der Fall Babylons
Alternative. Title The Fall of Babylon
Composer Spohr, Louis
Opus/Catalogue NumberOp./Cat. No. WoO 63
Internal Reference NumberInternal Ref. No. ILS 32
Movements/SectionsMov'ts/Sec's 2 sections (17 numbers in the first, 14 in the second)
Year/Date of CompositionY/D of Comp. 1839-40
First Performance. 1840-11-22 in Kassel (from piano score).
1842 in Norwich (with orchestra)
First Publication. 1842 ca.
Librettist Edward Taylor (1784-1863) of Norwich, translator
Language German and English
Composer Time PeriodComp. Period Romantic
Piece Style Romantic
Instrumentation vocal soloists, mixed chorus, orchestra

Navigation etc.

  • Louis Spohr: A Critical Biography by Clive Brown (p.256), which provides information on this oratorio.
  • Initially composed for the Norwich Festival of 1842, though first given a performance (from piano score- not yet orchestrated) in Kassel by Spohr in 1840. Orchestrated October-December 1840. For info on the librettist see Wikisource. Written originally in English, then translated into German according to Spohr biographer Clive Brown - but then Taylor had to retranslate the text into English. There is a second "edition" published around 1867 but Brown does not seem to mention any revisions - this may have been simply a matter of getting the oratorio back on the market of course. Apparently only the overture so far has been recorded, on a Hyperion CD with symphonies 3 and 6, in 2010 (the year I write this.)
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