Everlasting Supply of Gentle Divine types the majestic opening assertion of Handel’s secular cantata, Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, HWV 74. The aria is a sort of ceremonial name to order. The angelic vocal line is echoed by the trumpet, which appears to emerge from timeless, celestial expanses. Sometimes, the 2 voices weave collectively in close to canonic counterpoint.
Handel composed this music in January of 1713. It was supposed to have fun the Queen’s February 6 birthday, in addition to the newly signed Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the Spanish Conflict of Succession. Queen Anne took little curiosity in music, and her sickness prevented the work from being carried out. Nonetheless, in gratitude, she awarded Handel an annual pension.
The cantata was written initially for Richard Elford, a excessive tenor who sang within the choirs of Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Chapel Royal. The textual content was by Ambrose Philips:
Everlasting supply of sunshine divine
With double heat thy beams show
And with distinguish’d glory shine
So as to add a lustre to this present day.
This efficiency options the soprano, Marie-Sophie Pollak, with the German Baroque ensemble, Concerto München, which was based in 2016:
Featured Picture: the Chapel Royal at Hampton Courtroom Palace