Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts

Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts
The album cover, showing the face and name of William Shatner and the title of the album.
Live album by
ReleasedApril 15, 2008
RecordedApril 9, 2005 – April 10, 2005
VenueRobinson Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
GenrePop rock, classical, spoken word
Length51:14
ProducerDavid Itkin
William Shatner chronology
Has Been
(2004)
Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts
(2008)
Seeking Major Tom
(2011)

Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts (2008) is the third album by William Shatner. It is a dramatic biblical reading in which he is accompanied by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.[1] The recordings used to produce Exodus came from back-to-back evening performances by Shatner and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in April 2005.[2] In addition to Shatner and the 75 member orchestra, a choral group of 350 singers accompanied the reading of Bible and Haggadah passages.[3]

The album's music was written by David Itkin, and produced by Itkin, with executive producers Richard Foos and David McLees.[4] Itkin was the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's music director and conductor at the time of the album's recording.[5] In an interview, Shatner recalled that Itkin invited him to perform as the piece's narrator.[6]

The end of the album features Shatner reading the Priestly Blessing to an ovation from the audience. About this, Shatner said in an interview, "The magic of the CD is that you can hear the connection, especially at the end, between the audience and the actor."[2]

The album was also released under the title Exodus, an oratorio in 3 parts for narrator, baritone & orchestra by Jewish Music Group.[7]

  1. ^ Gluck, Robert (April 24, 2014). "William Shatner's One Man Show Keeps Him in the Limelight (INTERVIEW)". Algemeiner Journal. New York. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2016. Alt URL Archived 2014-09-06 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b Eden, Ami (April 18, 2008). "Beam me up, Moses: William Shatner album tells Exodus story in spoken word, song". J Weekly. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ T'Bonz (April 18, 2008). "Shatner Reads Exodus". TrekToday. TrekNation. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  4. ^ Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts at AllMusic
  5. ^ Welky, Ali; Keckhaver, Mike, eds. (2013). Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music. Little Rock, AR: Butler Center Books. p. 46. ISBN 9781935106609.
  6. ^ Dickter, Adam (May 27, 2008). "Captain Of Industry". The Jewish Week. New York. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  7. ^ An Oratorio in Three Parts at AllMusic