Zadok The Priest

Zadok the Priest (HWV 258) is a British anthem which was composed by George Frideric Handel for the coronation of King George II in 1727. Alongside The King Shall Rejoice, My Heart is Inditing and Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened, Zadok the Priest is one of Handel's Coronation Anthems. One of Handel's best-known works, Zadok the Priest has been sung prior to the anointing of the sovereign at the coronation of every British monarch since its composition and has become recognised as a British patriotic anthem.Zadok the Priest is written for SS-AA-T-BB chorus and orchestra (two oboes, two bassoons, three trumpets, timpani, strings with three violin parts rather than the usual two, and continuo), in the key of D major. The music prepares a surprise in its orchestral introduction through the use of static layering of soft string textures followed by a sudden rousing forte tutti entrance, augmented by three trumpets.Zadok the Priest and The King shall rejoice are the best-known of the four coronation anthems that Handel wrote for the crowning of George II in London (1727). HWV 258 accompanied the kings anointment, HWV 260 his actual coronation.Thanks to their festive and majestic structure befitting the occasion as well as their spacious scoring for large choir and orchestra, it comes as no surprise that motifs from Zadok the Priest have found their way into the official hymn of the UEFA Champions League.The present editions by the authoritative Handel scholar Stephan Blaut are the first to offer these two anthems based on the Urtext from the Halle Handel Edition. Idiomatic organ continuo Based on the Halle Handel Edition