The Rise and Fall of the Duke of Chandos

Available for 29 days

Donald Macleod turns to Handel’s association with James Brydges, later Duke of Chandos, whose wealth and ambition created a remarkable musical establishment at Cannons. Working with a resident ensemble of singers and instrumentalists, Handel composed on a scale suited to this grand setting, producing the Chandos Anthems alongside works such as Acis and Galatea and Esther. These pieces reflect both the resources available to him and a shift away from London’s commercial theatre. Chandos’s lavish musical world proved short-lived, but it gave Handel space to experiment and consolidate his style. The result was a body of music that would feed directly into the next, more public phase of his career. Acis and Galatea: “Love sounds th’alarm” Ian Bostridge, tenor Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Harry Bicket, conductor As Pants the Hart Arcangelo Jonathan Cohen, conductor Acis and Galatea: Sinfonia Les Arts Florissants William Christie, conductor Esther: excerpts The Sixteen Symphony of Harmony and Invention Harry Christophers, conductor