Handel's Hope for Peace - Vor Frue Church, Copenhagen

This concert brings together three of Handel's most celebrated works: the Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate, composed in 1713 to celebrate the Peace of Utrecht, and the Coronation Anthem - Zadok the Priest, written for the coronation of King George II in 1727.

The Peace of Utrecht in 1713 ended the War of Spanish Succession, which had drained Europe's great powers for over a decade. Handel composed Te Deum and Jubilate as part of the official celebrations in London, and at the premiere in St. Paul's Cathedral, the cathedral's boy choir sang the soprano and alto parts - a tradition in the Anglican Church where adult men handled the tenor and bass. The combination of young and experienced voices came to underscore the works' symbolism: a new beginning and hope for the future. Zadok the Priest opens with a dramatic orchestral introduction followed by the choir's magnificent entrance, and the work has sounded at every British coronation since 1727. Many will remember that this very music rang out in May 2004 when Mary Donaldson walked down the aisle in Vor Frue Church to marry Crown Prince Frederik.

The concert is performed by the Copenhagen Boys' Choir and Concerto Copenhagen under the direction of conductor Carsten Seyer-Hansen. It takes place in Vor Frue Church in Copenhagen and in Roskilde Cathedral.