A POPULAR work by Handel will be brought to life by The New Elizabethan Singers later this month.

Their first concert of their 51st year will be Israel in Egypt, perhaps Handel’s most popular work after Messiah, to be performed in St Mary's Church, Bridport, on January 28 starting at 7.30pm.

NES is now the biggest choir in West Dorset and so is well suited to this piece that tells the story of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt.

Part 1 is a dramatic musical depiction of rivers of blood, plagues of frogs, blisters, flies, lice, locusts, hailstorms and darkness, the miraculous parting of the Red Sea and the escape of the Israelites.

In Part 2, the Israelites give thanks and praise to God for their deliverance. It may be a somewhat one-sided account but the music is spectacular.

The New Elizabethan Singers will be joined by professional soloists and accompanied by an orchestra that includes a period brass section.

Tickets cost £12 and under 18s go free. They are available from Goadsby and Bridport Music, both in South Street.

For more information call 07528 105977 or see thenewelizabethansingers.org.uk/concerts.html