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.

Born the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, with works such as Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks and Messiah remaining steadfastly popular. One of his four Coronation Anthems, Zadok the Priest (1727), composed for the coronation of George II, has been performed at every subsequent British coronation, traditionally during the sovereign's anointing. Handel composed more than forty operas in over thirty years, and since the late 1960s, with the revival of baroque music and historically informed musical performance, interest in Handel's operas has grown.

In 1727 Handel was commissioned to write four anthems for the Coronation ceremony of King George II. One of these, Zadok the Priest, has been played at every British coronation ceremony since. In 1728 John Gay's The Beggar's Opera premiered at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre and ran for 62 consecutive performances, the longest run in theatre history up to that time. After nine years the Royal Academy of Music ceased to function but Handel soon started a new company.

The British coronation ceremony has survived essentially unaltered for nearly a thousand years, and Handel's four magnificent Coronation Anthems occupy an illustrious place in its history. The most popular of the set, Zadok the Priest, has been performed at every coronation since it was first heard at the 1727 coronation of King George II and Queen Caroline. The King Shall Rejoice (HWV 260) was also written for this same royal occasion and was specifically intended for the part of the service during which the new monarch receives the crown. The King Shall Rejoice takes its texts (almost word for word) from the Book of Psalms (Ps. 21) and is divided into four sections. The opening sequence based on the first stanza of the Psalm leads to a setting of "Exceeding Glad Shall He Be." After this comes a heaven-storming declaration for full choir and orchestra of "Glory and Worship," before the anthem ends with a final, majestic "Alleluia." The scoring gives special prominence to ceremonial clarino trumpets, which add nobility and brilliance to the most opulent moments, as does the use of the organ. Some sources affirm that it was at the insistence of King George himself that Handel provided the anthems for his coronation. However, organist Maurice Greene was senior to Handel in the royal musical establishment and felt that he, rather than a foreigner, should have been accorded the honor. Handel was also offended when several bishops sent him the Biblical texts for the anthems. He resented any inference that he did not know his scriptures well enough to make his own selections and wrote back saying "I have read my Bible very well, and shall choose for myself." Nor, if some who attended are to be believed, was the event itself a complete musical success. Handel himself presided over a vast orchestra of over 150 players, but had a mere 50 or so singers at his disposal. This fact, combined with the reverberant acoustics of London's Westminster Abbey, probably ccasioned Archbishop of Canterbury William Wake's complaint (noted down on his Order of Service) "The anthems in confusion; all irregular in the music." Even so, the occasion was a remarkable patriotic spectacle, and it is easy to appreciate that this impressive music must have left its first hearers awestruck.

Source: AllMusic (http://www.allmusic.com/composition/the-king-shall-rej oice-coronation-anthem-no-2-for-chorus-orchestra-hwv-26 0-mc0002370038).

Although originally created for Baroque Orchestra, I created this Arrangement of "Exceeding Glad Shall He Be" from "The King Shall Rejoice" (HWV 260 Mvt. 2) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, English Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).