Two of Handel’s best-known works frame our first concert of the new season:

Zadok the Priest, heard at every coronation since it was written for the accession of George II in 1727 and the Water Music, premiered  in July 1717 for an outdoor concert on the River Thames. George I requested the location, and fortunately the weather was favourable as around 50 musicians gathered on a barge and performed in front of George’s Royal Barge until well into the night.  

The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba – the title was not Handel’s but thought to be added by Sir Thomas Beecham – comes from the oratorio Solomon and is no less familiar. It is often heard, hopefully without irony, at wedding services! 

Jim Cooke’s Missa Brevis is an attractive setting by a composer who was born in Sheffield but who has been a Lancastrian since the age of 10. Jim’s music is known for its direct and appealing style, and he is a passionate advocate of Light Music. He studied at Guildhall, and more recently an MA at Liverpool Hope University. Harriet Blaney-Green is also a Hope MA graduate, and Idyll is a short lyrical work for wind band premiered by the orchestra’s wind section in Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral a few years ago.

Helen Thomas is the Associate Conductor of Hope Metropolitan Concerts.

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