Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759) was a German,
later British, baroque composer who spent the bulk of
his career in London, becoming well known for his
operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel
received important training in Halle and worked as a
composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London
in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in
1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great
composers of the Italian Baroque and by the
middle-German polyphonic choral ...(+)
Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759) was a German,
later British, baroque composer who spent the bulk of
his career in London, becoming well known for his
operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel
received important training in Halle and worked as a
composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London
in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in
1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great
composers of the Italian Baroque and by the
middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.
Many composers have written coronation anthems which is
a piece of choral music written to accompany the
coronation of a monarch. However the best known were
composed by George Frideric Handel. Handel's four
coronation anthems use text from the King James Bible
and were designed to be played at the coronation of the
British monarch. They are Zadok the Priest, Let Thy
Hand Be Strengthened, The King Shall Rejoice, and My
Heart Is Inditing. Each was originally a separate work
but they were later published together.
Although part of the traditional content of British
coronations, the texts for all four anthems were picked
by Handel—a personal selection from the most
accessible account of an earlier coronation, that of
James II of England in 1685. One of George I of Great
Britain's last acts before his death in 1727 was to
sign an "Act of naturalisation of George Frideric
Händel and others". His first commission from Handel
as a newly naturalised British subject was to write the
music for the coronation of George II of England and
Queen Caroline which took place on 11 October the same
year. Within the coronation ceremonies Let thy hand be
strengthened was played first, then Zadok, then The
King shall rejoice, and finally My heart is inditing at
the coronation of the Queen. (In modern coronations the
order is Zadok, Let thy hand be strengthened, The King
shall rejoice and My heart is inditing, with the order
of Let thy hand be strengthened and The King shall
rejoice sometimes reversed.)
Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened (HWV 259) is thought to
have been composed between 9 September 1727 and 11
October 1727. The text of the second hymn is from Psalm
89 (verses 13-14). It is divided into three parts: a
cheerful light beginning in G major, a melancholy, slow
middle section in E minor and a closing Alleluia part
again in G major.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_anthem).
Although originally created for Baroque Orchestra, I
created this Arrangement of "Let Thy Hand Be
Strengthened" (HWV 259) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, Bb
Clarinet, French Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).