George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (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 po...(+)
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (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.
Handel’s three anthems (My song shall be alway HWV
252, O come let us sing HWV 253, O praise the Lord HWV
254) were composed in 1717 and 1718 for Cannons, a
country estate near to London. They take their
nickname, the “ Chandos Anthems”, from the owner of
the estate, the First Duke of Chandos .
The three pieces are noteworthy for their festive
character and their varied orchestral accompaniment.
Handel borrows older material from his Italian period
and his earlier works for the Chapel Royal in London
– a standard procedure for this composer, who reused
particularly successful pieces as starting points for
his later works. The scoring for solo voices, chorus,
oboe, strings, and continuo was tailored to the musical
resources of the small country estate. Two additional
recorders are needed for “O come let us sing unto the
Lord”.
The anthems present the Urtext from the “Halle Handel
Edition” and include uncomplicated and easy-to-play
piano reductions. In addition to the original English
words, the full scores and vocal scores also include a
singing translation in German.
Although originally written for Accompanied Voice, I
created this Interpretation of the Chorus: "O come let
us worship" from Chandos Anthem No. 8 (HWV 253 Mvt. 3)
for French Horn & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC