Dvd Haendel The Coronation of King George II

"Why present just Handel's Coronation Anthems for King George II when you can present the whole Coronation?" seems to be the proposition that underlies this two-disc set, entitled The Coronation of King George II, 1727. And, thrillingly performed by Robert King directing the King's Consort and the Choir of the King's Consort, there seems no good reason not to, and every good reason to, do just that. King, who has led many stirring recordings of Handel's oratorios in his time, turns in splendid performances of the four Coronation Anthems, along with superb performances of ceremonial choral music by Tallis, Purcell, Gibbons, Blow, Farmer, and Child.

A meditation on power and the metaphor of the body of state, based on the real episode of dementia experienced by George III [now suspected a victim of porphyria, a blood disorder]. As he loses his senses, he becomes both more alive and more politically marginalized; neither effect desirable to his lieutenants, who jimmy the rules to avoid a challenge to regal authority, raising the question of who is really in charge.

As a young composer, Edward Nesbit was drawn to the rich complexities of contemporary instrumental music; little more than a decade later, he has found himself returning to the inheritance of his early youth as a chorister: the texts of mass, psalms and canticles, and the long centuries of the Anglican choral tradition. Not that there is anything traditional about Nesbit’s music, which synthesises these two heritages into a soundworld that is accessible, full of references yet always recognisably its own voice.

Multi-award-winning Sean Shibe, widely recognised as the leading guitarist of his generation, joins Delphian regulars The Choir of King’s College London in these beguilingly conceived works by Shibe’s friend and compatriot Lliam Patterson, for the rare combination of choir with electric guitar.