Included are many familiar pieces from the enormous output of George Frideric Handel, one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era. They range from popular choral items like the magnificent Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah and the Coronation Anthem Zadok the Priest, heard in the film The Madness of King George, through extracts from Handel’s famous Water Music and several lively organ concertos including ‘The Cuckoo and the Nightingale’, to superb vocal solos such as ‘Ombra mai fu’ (also known as Handel’s Largo) and ‘Let the bright seraphim’. The set concludes with substantial extracts from Music for the Royal Fireworks conducted by one of today’s finest Handel interpreters, Sir Charles Mackerras.

Artists

Ian Bostridge (tenor), Lionel Rogg (organ), Maurice André - DO NOT USE, Maurice André (trumpet), Pamela Coburn (soprano), Elizabeth Harwood (soprano), Dame Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano), Raimund Herincx (bass-baritone, bass), Robert Tear (tenor), Sviatoslav Richter (piano), Pierre Pierlot, Lily Laskine (harp), Evelyn Rothwell (oboe), Valda Aveling (harpsichord, instruments), Menuhin Festival Orchestra, Colin Tilney (harpsichord), Simon Preston (organ), Martin Lane (contralto), Teresa Zylis-Gara (soprano), Della Jones (mezzo-soprano), Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Toulouse, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Hallé Choir, Hallé Orchestra, Ambrosian Singers, English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Choral Society, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Berliner Symphoniker, Chor der St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale Berlin, Bath Festival Orchestra, Choir of King's College Cambridge, City of London Baroque Sinfonia, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner, Harry Bicket, Sir Charles Mackerras, Georges Armand, Alexander Briger, Jörg Faerber, Owain Arwel Hughes, Nicholas McGegan, Yehudi Menuhin, Louis Auriacombe, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Andrew Davis, Kenneth Montgomery, Karl Forster, Sir David Willcocks, Richard Hickox