Handel: Chandos Anthems Nos. 7, 9 & 11a

Featuring

Dame Emma Kirkby
Iestyn Davies
James Gilchrist
Neal Davies
Stephen Layton
The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge

Academy of Ancient Music
George Frideric Handel

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Performer Biography

James Gilchrist, a tenor on this recording, began his career as a doctor before becoming a full-time professional musician in 1996.

Compositional Technique

The Chandos Anthems are scored for solo and choral voices with strings (without violas), solo wind instruments (mostly oboe and bassoon), and organ continuo.

Composition History

The Chandos Anthems were composed for James Brydges, the first Duke of Chandos, who employed Handel as a composer-in-residence at his estate, Cannons.

Historical Context

The Cannons estate, where Handel composed these anthems, had a remarkably short life; it was deeply in debt by the Duke of Chandos's death in 1744 and demolished within three years.

Compositional Technique

Handel often reused musical material from earlier works in the Chandos Anthems, such as from his Dixit Dominus and Brockes Passion, always reworking it to suit the new context.

Performer Biography

Emma Kirkby, a soprano on this recording, was voted artist of the year by Classic FM listeners in 1999 and became a Dame in 2007.

Composer Biography

Handel, primarily known as an opera composer, also possessed significant skill in composing choral church music, which he refined during his early training in Halle.