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Part One
The Israelites mourn the death of Joseph, Israelite and favoured adviser to Pharaoh, King of Egypt. The first part includes the choruses "The Sons of Israel Do Mourn" and "How Is the Mighty Fallen".
Part Two
Martin, John – The Seventh Plague – 1823
An announcement is made that a new Pharaoh has come to the throne who does not look kindly on the Israelites. God chooses Moses to lead his people out of bondage. A series of plagues falls on Egypt: the rivers turn to blood; a plague of frogs affects the land; lice crawled on man and beast; wild animals destroy everything; the Egyptian livestock get sick and die; blotches and blisters break out on the skin of man and beast; hailstorms blight the country; locusts appear and destroy all the crops; palpable darkness descends; and, finally, the eldest born sons of all the Egyptians are struck down dead. The ruler of Egypt agrees to let the Israelites depart, but changes his mind and pursues them. The Red Sea miraculously parts to let the Israelites cross in safety, but when the pursuing Egyptians try to cross, the waters engulf them and they are drowned.
Part Three
The Israelites celebrate their deliverance. A series of joyful choruses are included in the third part, with the piece concluding with a soprano solo and chorus proclaiming that 'the Lord shall reign for ever and ever' and 'the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea'.
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