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.
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. Another of his
English oratorios, Solomon (1748), has also remained
popular, with the Sinfonia that opens act 3 (known more
commonly as "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba")
featuring at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony.
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.
Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate is the common name for a
sacred choral composition in two parts, written by
George Frideric Handel to celebrate the Treaty of
Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht in
1713, ending the War of the Spanish Succession. He
composed a Te Deum, HWV 278, and a Jubilate Deo (Psalm
100), HWV 279. The combination of the two texts in
English follows earlier models. The official premiere
of the work was on 13 July 1713 in a service in St
Paul's Cathedral in London.
Handel's composition was written to celebrate the Peace
of Utrecht in 1713. It was his first commission from
the British royal family and established his career in
London. It was also his first major sacred work to
English texts. Handel followed the models of Henry
Purcell's 1694 Te Deum and Jubilate with strings and
trumpets, which was regularly performed for official
functions in St Paul's even after the composer's death,
and a 1709 setting by William Croft. As in these
models, Handel composed a combination of two liturgical
texts, the Ambrosian Hymn Te Deum, We praise thee, O
God, and a setting of Psalm 100, O be joyful in the
Lord, all ye lands, which is a regular canticle of the
Anglican Morning Prayer. He followed the version of the
Book of Common Prayer. Handel's work was first
performed in a public dress rehearsal on 5 March 1713
in St Paul's Cathedral. The official premiere took
place after the tedious peace negotiations had
finished, in a solemn thanksgiving service on 7 July
1713.
The Te Deum and Jubilate, along with another
composition As Pants the Hart, earned Handel a yearly
income from Queen Anne's Court. Donald Burrows writes
in "Handel and the English Chapel Royal" that "his
close association with the Court, reinforced by his
musical contribution to events that were personal to
the royal family, gave him both the benefits and the
disadvantages of identification with the Hanoverian
establishment." However, at the time his annual pension
was granted it would not have been obvious that he was
going to continue to enjoy the favour of the future
George I, who was in fact opposed to the Treaty of
Utrecht.
Handel arranged the Jubilate in about 1717/18 for the
Duke of Chandos. Te Deum and Jubilate was performed in
St Paul's for the annual Festival of the Sons of the
Clergy, alternating with Purcell's work, until 1743
when Handel's Dettingen Te Deum was first
performed.
Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate was first published in
full score during the 1730s. It was published by the
Deutsche Händelgesellschaft in 1870 in Leipzig as HWV
278 and 279 in the attempted complete edition of
Handel's works. Friedrich Chrysander edited it as
volume 31 of "G.F. Händel's Werke: Ausgabe der
Deutschen Händelgesellschaft", titled Utrechter Te
Deum und Jubilate, with the texts in both English and
German. Chrysander mentions in his preface a score
published in 1731 by John Walsh: Te Deum and Jubilate,
for Voices and Instruments performed before the Sons of
the Clergy at the Cathedral-Church of St. Paul.
Compos'd by George Frederick Handel. London. Printed
for & sold by John Walsh.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utrecht_Te_Deum_and_Jubi
late).
Although originally written for Pipe Organ and Baroque
Orchestra, I created this Arrangement of the Jubilate
Deo (HWV 279 Part 2) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, French
Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
