Handel's Coronation Anthems
Handel's Coronation Anthems
The Gramophone Choice
Four Coronation Anthems. Messiah – Worthy is the Lamb; Amen. Jephtha – Overture. Organ Concerto in F, Op 4 No 4 HWV292. Solomon – Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
The Sixteen / Harry Christophers
Coro COR16066 (70’ · DDD · T) Buy from Amazon
There are plenty of very good recordings of these anthems but this new one leaps straight towards the top of the heap (those preferring to hear boy trebles might already admire the excellent version by King’s College, Cambridge, under Cleobury, below).
We have come selfishly to expect reliability, stylishness and honest fine musicianship from Harry Christophers, his singers and instrumentalists. Yet these fresh, spontaneous and vivacious performances are revelatory. Not only is the choral singing wonderfully clear, perfectly enunciated, beautifully phrased and impeccably tuned, but also the orchestral playing – an aspect too often relegated to auto-pilot in this repertoire – is brilliantly alert, bold and lyrical.
Zadok the Priest never fails to make a strong impression even in average performances (and The Sixteen’s expertly judged reading is anything but average), but the special quality of this disc is that the other three lesser-known anthems also receive performances that allow them to shine just as brightly as the most famous (and shortest) anthem.
My heart is inditing is radiantly performed (‘The King shall have pleasure in her beauty’ is gorgeously shaped), The King shall rejoice is splendidly poised and paced, and the first part of Let thy hand be strengthened conveys the perfect juxtaposition of forthrightness and elegance. Christophers’s sure direction locks on to the musical interest and richness of each section in the longer anthems (some other good versions rely on good openings and grand conclusions but the bits in between sometimes get a bit lost). Coupled with a sparkling account of the Organ Concerto Op 4 No 4 (superbly played by Alastair Ross, and with a magnificent choral ‘Alleluia’ finale created for the 1735 revival of Athalia), a couple of orchestral interludes and the last chorus of Messiah, the judicious programme avoids the overkill factor one sometimes encounters when all four anthems are heard consecutively.
Donald Burrows’s booklet-note is ideally detailed and accessible, and overall this disc ranks as The Sixteen’s most exciting achievement in its impressive Handel discography.
Additional Recommendation
Four Coronation Anthems. Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, ‘Eternal Source of Light Divine’, HWV74
Susan Gritton sop Robin Blaze counterten Michael George bass King’s College Choir, Cambridge; Academy of Ancient Music / Stephen Cleobury
EMI 557140-2 (61' · DDD · T) Buy from Amazon
Recordings of the Coronation Anthems are usually winners and this one certainly hits the mark. It’s a traditional enough reading, without eccentricities, with plenty of energy and duly grand in scale: listen to the noble opening of Zadok the Priest, the introduction beautifully sustained and shaped, and then overwhelmingly grand at the choral entry, whose weight and power may surprise you, bearing in mind the quite modest size of the King’s choir. They know just how to manage this kind of music in the chapel acoustic.
The other three are no less enjoyable. The clear young voices, free of the fuzziness and soft edges of most choirs, help in such movements as the first of Let thy hand be strengthened, or the lightly sprung first and vigorous finale of My heart is inditing. The Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, one of Handel’s earliest settings of English words, is more of a rarity. This is a lively performance, with clear and light solo singing, notably from Robin Blaze. There are also admirable contributions from Susan Gritton and Michael George, and the Academy of Ancient Music are on their toes throughout.
DVD Recommendation
‘A Handel Celebration’
Four Coronation Anthems. Solomon – The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Semele – Endless pleasure, endless love; My racking thoughts; O ecstasy of happiness…Myself I shall adore. Organ Concerto, Op 4 No 4. Salve regina, HWV241
Carolyn Sampson sop Alastair Ross org The Sixteen / Harry Christophers
Coro DVD CORDVD4 (COR16083) (120’ · NTSC · 16:9 · 5.1 & PCM stereo · 0) Buy from Amazon
The Sixteen’s account of the Coronation Anthems is exhilarating. First is the atypical Let thy hand be strengthened, which alone of the four dispenses with trumpets and drums. The jewel is ‘Let justice and judgment’, a minor-key middle section that Christophers takes slowly, as a real prayer. The King shall rejoice also has a movement in the minor: ‘Thou hast prevented him’, a triple-time number that swings along gloriously. In My heart is inditing, it’s a pity that the camera doesn’t concentrate on the equally glorious trumpet-playing at the end. Last of all comes the simple splendour of Zadok the Priest.
In Handel’s early soprano setting of Salve regina, the organ obbligato is played by Alastair Ross; he is also the accomplished soloist in the Organ Concerto, Op 4 No 4, in its original version from Athalia with an ‘Alleluia’ chorus tacked on. ‘Myself I shall adore’, the last of three airs from Semele, shows Carolyn Sampson in dazzling command of both music and audience. Magnificent!
