Music #334 - Händel - Zadok the Priest

George Frideric Händel

(1685 - 1759) 

King George II

Zadok the Priest 

For the coronation of King George II, Handel composed four anthems, including: 

* Zadok the Priest, the coronation anthem. 

It has then been played in coronation processions at Westminster Cathedral, from KG2 (in 1727) to QE2 (in 1953).

Notes:  
Zadok was a priest in King Soloman's time.
The lyrics are from the Bible (1 Kings 1:38–40) - easy to sing along:

     Zadok, the Priest and Nathan, the Prophet anointed Solomon King.

     And all the people rejoic'd ... .... ...., and said:

     'God save The King, long live The King, 
     may The King live for ever! Amen, Hallelujah!'

= = = = =

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria

Coronation of Queen Victoria (1838) as in The Young Victoria movie. 

* Hear 'Zadok the Priest' in the background?

* The guy with a mustache is her husband Prince Albert (of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a German state). 
* In Hong Kong, named after him are two short roads embedding the Government House: the Upper and the Lower Albert Roads. 

* After Prince Albert’s death of typhoid fever, the Queen "entered a state of mourning and wore black for the remainder of her life. She avoided public appearances, and rarely set foot in London."  

5 Things You May Not Know About Queen Victoria
Her statue remains in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay
1. She was barely 5 feet tall.
2. She proposed to her handsome first cousin from a German state, Prince Albert, and married him, creating a royal house with a German name. (George V renamed it to Windsor during WW1 with Germany.)
3. She was raised by her widow mother, and later became a widow mother herself for decades. (Jubilee St and Victoria St in the Central marked her jubilee celebration; Queen's Streets, Victoria Peak/Park/Harbour.....)
4. She was the first known carrier (in the royal family) of hemophilia, causing premature deaths to her sons, and her daughters' sons (boys were victims whereas girls were carriers).
5. At least 6 serious assassination attempts were made against her.
How a royal love changed culture

Coats of Arms:-   

House of Hanover

* Queen Victoria inherited a German house name of Hanover from King George I. 

KG1 came to the English throne as a 54-year-old, dull and uninspiring man.  He cared little for life in Britain, and never learned to speak English.
   
His son KG2 spoke English in public, and English in private.

House of
Saxe-Coburg & Gotha

* Victoria found Prince Albert extremely handsome, and gave birth to 9 children in their 20 years of marriage.  Their children inherited Albert’s German family name. 

Anglo and Saxon were German tribes migrated to England, anyway.





               

House of Windsor

* During WW1, when the general British feeling was hatred against the Germans, law was passed in 1917 to rename the royal family of George V to the House of Windsor.  
            
And, thereafter, even issues of a Regina (e.g. QE2) are members of her House.

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1715 Forerunner founded The Three Choirs Festival, a music festival that held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester) and originally featuring their three choirs, which remain central to the week-long programme.

 

1726 The Academy of Vocal Music was founded in London to "promote the study and practice of vocal and instrumental harmony", to perform music by such composers as Byrd and Purcell. In 1731 it was renamed the Academy of Ancient Music. 

1748 Holywell Music Room in Oxford was opened for concert.

Handel performed in
the Holywell Music Room

1776 Concerts of Ancient Music was founded to perform Baroque music, including that of Handel and Corelli.