James Brydges, for whom Handel composed these anthems, redeveloped his estate Cannons into a Palladian mansion with extensive gardens and his own band of musicians.
Performer Biography
Arcangelo, led by Jonathan Cohen, is an award-winning period performance ensemble that was announced as the first-ever Principal Ensemble in Residence at the London Handel Festival in 2024.
Compositional Technique
Handel tailored his first six anthems for a specific ensemble of three voices (treble, tenor, bass), oboe, bassoon, two or three violins, cello, double bass, and organ.
Compositional Technique
The anthem "Have Mercy upon Me, O God" (HWV 248) reuses material from Handel's earlier cantata "Alpestre monte" and his "Utrecht Te Deum" (1713).
Composition History
Handel composed these anthems for James Brydges, the 1st Duke of Chandos, who had amassed significant wealth as paymaster of Queen Anne's army.
Compositional Technique
The final chorus of "Let God Arise" (HWV 256a) culminates in an "Alleluia" that foreshadows a famous moment in Handel's later work, "Messiah" (composed 1741).
Composition History
Handel wrote eleven anthems and a Te Deum for Sunday morning services at St Lawrence, Little Stanmore, a parish church remodelled at Brydges's expense.
