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Track(s) taken from CDA66315

Sing unto God 'Wedding Anthem for Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta'

composer
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
first performed 27 April 1736
author of text
Bible
Psalms 68, 106 and 128

The King's Consort, Robert King (conductor)
Recording details: May 1988
All Hallows, Gospel Oak, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Antony Howell
Release date: February 1989
Total duration: 16 minutes 35 seconds
 

Reviews

‘An imaginative programme of infrequently performed music by a great composer is always welcome, and this one should make a wide appeal’ (Gramophone)
The anthem Sing unto God was written in 1736 for the wedding in the German Chapel at St James’s Palace of Prince Frederick (the Prince of Wales) and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Coburg on April 27, Handel took his text from Psalms 68, 106 and 128. Once again the libretto gave him ample scope for a variety of moods: the grand opening uses chorus, full orchestra (including timpani) and an alto soloist, with an important part for a solo trumpeter. The soprano soloist is given a movement (‘Blessed are all they that fear the Lord’) underpinned with a typically cheerful walking bass, and the bass soloist and an obbligato cello have a particularly lyrical setting of ‘Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine’. The Chapel Royal obviously had a particularly fine tenor on call for the service; the soloist is given some demanding passage-work before the chorus (and the return of the trumpets and timpani) end the work with typical Handelian energy and grandeur.

from notes by Robert King © 1989

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