Händels håb om fred - Vor Frue Kirke, København

Händel’s music in Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate unites the solemnity of the church with an almost operatic sense of celebration in a timeless expression of gratitude, relief and joy.

Georg Friedrich Händel’s music is inseparably linked to great historical moments, whether of war and peace, coronation or love. This concert presents three of his most iconic works: Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate, composed in 1713 to celebrate the Peace of Utrecht, and Coronation Anthem – Zadok the Priest, written for the coronation of King George II in 1727.

The Peace of Utrecht in 1713 brought an end to the exhausting War of the Spanish Succession, which had drained Europe’s great powers of resources and human lives for over a decade. As well as peace, the agreement secured significant advantages for Great Britain, including territories such as Gibraltar. Händel composed Te Deum and Jubilate as part of the official celebrations in London. At their premiere in St. Paul’s Cathedral, the works were sung by the cathedral’s boys’ choir. Besides being a tradition in the Anglican Church to use boys for the soprano and alto parts and adult men for tenor and bass, this combination of young and experienced voices also came to underline the works’ symbolism: a new beginning and hope for the future.

Apart from Messias, Zadok the Priest is perhaps Händel’s most famous work, composed for the coronation of King George II in 1727. The text, taken from the Old Testament, celebrates the new king and has been sung at every British coronation since. The work opens with a dramatic orchestral introduction, followed by the choir’s magnificent entrance – a moment that still brings listeners to their feet today. Many may remember that this very music was used in May 2004, when Mary Donaldson walked down the cathedral aisle as a bride to be greeted by an emotional Crown Prince Frederik. Then, as now, in the very same church, the music was performed by Københavns Drengekor and Concerto Copenhagen.

Conductor: Carsten Seyer-Hansen

The concert will be performed at Vor Frue Kirke in Copenhagen and at Roskilde Domkirke.