Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 is an oratorio in three acts written in 1746 by Handel based on a libretto by Thomas Morell. Devised as a compliment to the victorious Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland upon his return from the Battle of Culloden, it has been also catalogued as HHA 1/24. Beethoven composed twelve variations on See, the Conqu’ring Hero Comes! in 1796 (WoO 45). In 1884 Edmond Budry wrote new French words to the same chorus, creating the hymn À toi la gloire, O Ressuscité!, which was later translated into English as Thine Be the Glory. Judas Maccabaeus was translated into German and published in 1866. A Hebrew translation by Aharon Ashman, prepared for the 1932 Maccabiah Games, has become popular in Israel during Hanukkah. Another Hebrew version for Hanukkah (not a translation) was written by the Israeli children's poet and author Levin Kipnis. The work calls for two recorders, two oboes, two flutes, two horns, three trumpets, two basoons, timpani, strings, organ and keyboard.
