Handel Coronation

Editorial

When: 30 - 31 July & 4 - 7 August 2010
Where: City Recital Hall
Tickets: City Recital Hall, (02) 8256 2222

If you were one of the thousands of Australians who watched the wedding of Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik to Australia's Mary Donaldson in May 2004, then you'll already be familiar with Handel's magnificent Baroque anthem, Zadok the Priest; a rousing and triumphant choral work originally written for the coronation of Britain's King George III in 1727.

So well received was Handel's Baroque masterpiece that it has been performed at every British coronation thereafter, including that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, as well as numerous other ceremonies around the world.

Now the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra performs Zadok the Priest as the centrepiece of their latest concert, Handel Coronation, alongside another work composed by Handel for George III's coronation, The King Shall Rejoice. The concert also features two masterpieces by the 17th century English organist and composer Purcell, including one of his own great 'party-pieces', the Birthday Ode to Queen Mary II, Come Ye Sons of Art.

Featuring soaring voices, a massive baroque wind section, and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra's Artistic Director, Paul Dyer, on harpsichord, Handel Coronation promises to be a spectacular evening of Baroque beauty performed by the country's foremost proponents of the music of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

Richard Watts, Citysearch