The crown : Coronation anthems
Hymnes du couronnement

"There are dozens in the catalogue; can the Sixteen be any better than, say, King's Cambridge, the Monteverdi Choir or New College, Oxford? Well, yes, they can. Harry Christophers brings the same fire to these perfect miniatures that he brought to his triumphant Messiah last year, firmly establishing him as the Handelian of the momen".

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"The Crown, a timely account of English coronation anthems, trumpet fanfares, drum rolls and shouts of "God save the king!". It was recorded, in honour of Charles III, at the Royal Chapel, Versailles, last December. The music, by Purcell and Handel, was written for the coronations of James II in 1685 and George II in 1727 ... Of Handel's four coronation anthems, Zadok the Priest ... remains the most stirring and spectacular. Both The French choir is at times fuzzy, but the orchestral sound is clean and spirited, and the set is accompanied by a handsome illustrated booklet".

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"This disc has been released right on time, only shortly before the coronation of Charles III. That is quite remarkable, as the recording took place only in December last year ... As one may have gathered by now, I am very happy with these performances. They are among the best that I have heard as far as Handel's Coronation Anthems are concerned".

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"Hervé Niquet ... has bumped up his forces ... the result this time being an orchestra of 47 and a choir of 35. That makes an unwieldy ship, and one has to congratulate Niquet on steering it as agilely as he does. But while the extra winds give off a honkingly military timbre, there is little actual gain in the body of distantly recorded sound, out of which the choral tone emerges strangely hollow and overwhelmed. The loss in definition is also regrettable: the words are hardly distinguishable, instrumental passagework is indistinct and many of the music's edges are frustratingly blunt ... This really is an oddity".

"Händels kroningshymner omfatter blandt andet "Zadok the Priest", hvis svangre orkesterindledning er komponeret til at vare præcis den tid, det tog for George 2 at gå op ad midtergangen i Westminster Abbey, før koret bryder ud i sang. Udover hymnerne til George 2's kroning indeholder albummet med det franske ensemble Le Concert Spirituel, også Händels smittende "Te Deum" i D-dur - i anledning af sejren ved slaget i Dettingen i 1743 ... "Den glitrende kraft i denne ceremonielle musik blev skabt af en Händel, der var sig bevidst at sætte det bedste af sit geni i kronens og historiens tjeneste", siger Niquet".

"Vurdering: Editor's choice" - "There are plenty of very good recordings of the four anthems that Handel composed for the coronation of King George II and Queen Caroline ... but this new one by The Sixteen leaps straight towards the top of the heap ... The Sixteen's most exciting achievement in its impressive Handel discography".

""Ye sons of Israel mourn" from Esther shows that this Teutonic choir can sing Handel in English with as much eloquence as any native British choir".

"Album of anthems written for the coronation of English Kings ... [A] friendly gift from abroad to mark the UK's big day, and gladly recieved it should be, too ... [On] Gaétan Jarry's jubilant offering with the Orchestra and Choir of the Opéra Royal ... they make a tremendous noise - Zadok is absolutely thunderous, its drumbeats sounding like cannons going off outside somewhere, and Handel's My heart is inditing (lit by glittering bursts from the grand organ) has an urgency few will have heard in it before ... If a joyful clamour in a large building is what you want, well here it is".