Coronation Sixteen

Coronation Anthems have delighted audiences ever since their first performance in 1727. They appear in all their glory on this recording interspersed with a selection of Handel favourites including an interesting version of his Organ Concerto in F major Opus 4 in its original version with the finale of an 'Hallelujah' chorus. One of Handel’s first tasks as a naturalised British Citizen was to write the music for the Coronation of the new monarch – King George II. Rarely did a composer of the day have such an audience for his new works and Handel composed his four Anthems to match the pomp and grandeur of the occasion and, of course, the venue – Westminster Abbey.

Coronation Anthems have delighted audiences ever since their first performance in 1727. They appear in all their glory on this recording interspersed with a selection of Handel favourites including an interesting version of his Organ Concerto in F major Opus 4 in its original version with the finale of an 'Hallelujah' chorus. One of Handel’s first tasks as a naturalised British Citizen was to write the music for the Coronation of the new monarch – King George II. Rarely did a composer of the day have such an audience for his new works and Handel composed his four Anthems to match the pomp and grandeur of the occasion and, of course, the venue – Westminster Abbey.

Harry Christophers and The Sixteen have long been celebrated for their recordings and performances of Handel. Over the past three decades Harry Christophers and his award-winning ensemble have expanded their Handel repertoire to take in his greatest works. They have also made numerous recordings of Handel’s masterpieces and this twelve CD boxed set features a selection of some of their finest discs along with three remarkable solo albums featuring The Sixteen’s celebrated orchestra and acclaimed sopranos Sarah Connolly, Ann Murray and Elin Manahan Thomas.

This disc brings together recordings made in the 1980's as part of a reduction of three original discs down to two. At the same time, the original fine recordings have been remastered to good effect with added depth and space. This makes a particularly important improvement to the Coronation Anthems which previously came over as sonically lacking ideal breadth, depth and recorded weight in Zadok. The ears adjusted after that.