About this concert
The choir’s first concert devoted entirely to George Frideric Handel: Zadok the Priest, written for the coronation of George II in 1727 and performed at every British coronation since; the Hallelujah chorus from Messiah (1741); and the Ode for St Cecilia’s Day (1739), Handel’s setting of Dryden’s poem in praise of music. Soloists were the soprano Dina Iskander and the tenor Joseph Kauzman.
Programme
- Work
- Handel, Zadok the Priest
- Work
- Handel, Hallelujah
- Work
- Handel, Ode for St Cecilia's Day
About the music
George Frideric Handel, Zadok the Priest
- Composed for the coronation of George II in 1727.
- Sung before the anointing at every British coronation since.
- A 1992 rearrangement became the basis of the UEFA Champions League anthem.
Source (opens in a new tab) George Frideric Handel, Hallelujah (Messiah)
- Handel wrote Messiah in 24 days in 1741; it was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, as a charity concert.
- Audiences traditionally stand for the Hallelujah chorus, a custom recorded as early as 1756.
Source (opens in a new tab) George Frideric Handel, Ode for St Cecilia’s Day
- Composed in 1739 and first performed on 22 November 1739, the feast of St Cecilia, patron saint of music, at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London.
- Sets John Dryden’s 1687 poem in praise of music, for soloists, choir and orchestra.
Source (opens in a new tab) Photographs