Handel: Ode for St. Cecilia's Day

Featuring

Wolfgang Helbich
Dorothee Mields
Mark Wilde
Concerto Polacco
Alsfelder Vokalensemble
George Frideric Handel

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Compositional Technique

Handel's "Ode for St Cecilia's Day" uses word-painting, such as ascending vocal and descending instrumental scales to illustrate the text "Through all the compass of the notes it ran."

Performer Biography

Concerto Polacco, formed in 1991 by Marek Toporowski, is the first Polish early music ensemble consisting of a chamber choir and an orchestra playing on period instruments.

Composer Biography

Handel moved to London in 1710, initially for a commission, and later established himself as a dominant composer of Italian opera, enjoying royal patronage from George I and George II.

Historical Context

The premiere of Handel's "Ode for St Cecilia's Day" occurred during a particularly cold winter when the Thames was frozen, and amidst the War of Jenkins' Ear with Spain.

Instruments

The "Ode for St Cecilia's Day" features specific instruments like a solo cello, trumpet, flute, lute, and organ, often matching the instruments mentioned in John Dryden's poem.

Composition History

Handel's setting of John Dryden's 1687 "Ode for St Cecilia's Day" was first performed on November 22, 1739, at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln's Inn Fields.

Composer Biography

George Frideric Handel, born in Halle in 1685, initially pursued law at his father's insistence before becoming an organist and later working at the opera in Hamburg.