Handel, George Frideric : The Lord is my light

From 1717 to 1718 Handel was resident composer at Cannons, a country estate to the north of London .
During this time he wrote the so-called Chandos Anthems, a set of eleven ìAnglican cantatasî with instrumental accompaniment. ìThe Lord is my lightî (HWV 255), with its eleven movements, is not only the longest composition in the set, it also has the largest proportion of newly composed material.

This anthem, published with the Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition, is especially noteworthy for its varied and self-sufficient orchestral accompaniment, which lends a fitting backdrop to the festive chorus and equally festive solo numbers. Both the full score and the vocal score contain a German translation alongside the original English.

Scoring

Soloists (STT), chorus (SATTB), 2 recorders, oboe, strings, continuo

– Urtext at the forefront of musical scholarship
– First separate edition for performance purposes
– Based on the Urtext from the Halle Handel Edition
– Straightforward and easy-to-play piano reduction