The works that associate Handel most closely with Westminster Abbey are the four anthems written for the coronation of George II in The best known, 'Zadok the Priest', has been used at every coronation since then, but all four continue to be regularly performed and recorded. A less well-known link between Handel and the Abbey involves Esther , the composer's first oratorio, performed privately at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand in under the direction of Bernard Gates.
Gates was Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal, but he was also a long-standing member of the Abbey's choir and had assembled a number of his Westminster colleagues to sing in the chorus.
Three days before his death in Handel signed a codicil to his will saying he hoped he might be buried in the Abbey and desired that his executor erect a monument for him.
The funeral was attended by about 3, people and the choirs of the Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral and the Chapel Royal sang the service. His black marble gravestone in the south transept reads. The coat of arms on his gravestone is now very worn.
A 19th century history of the Abbey records that it shows "a demi-man couped, his left arm a-kimbo, his right holding up a bottle" ie. The crest above is the same arms shown between two elephant trunks. It is not known why he chose these particular emblems for his coat of arms! The date of his birth inscribed on the stone is not a mistake but is due to the fact that the new year in England at this period did not begin on 1 January but on 25 March Lady Day.
Therefore, to the contemporary Englishman, Handel was born in February , as the year would not have begun until 25 March. On the wall above his grave is a fine monument by the sculptor Louis Francois Roubiliac with the same inscription as on the stone but with the dates in Roman numerals.
The life-size statue, unveiled in , is said to be an exact likeness as the face was modelled from a death mask. Behind the figure, among clouds, is an organ with an angel playing a harp. On the left of the statue is a group of musical instruments and an open score of his most well-known oratorio Messiah, composed in Directly in front of him is the musical score I know that my Redeemer liveth.
The index finger of his left hand had been missing for a long time and a new one has recently been sculpted to replace it. Performances are especially popular during Advent. The cathedral is open every day except Sunday from ampm, with late closing pm on Wednsedays and early closing pm on Saturdays. It is open for worship only on Sundays. Admission is L The British Library is located on the north side of London about two miles away from the River Thames.
It is open to the public Mondays and Wednesdays through Fridays from ampm; Tuesdays from ampm; Saturdays ampm; and Sundays ampm. Admission is free. Web: www. Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. Clement Peache ». George Frederic Handel July 21, by averini. Sources Ewen, David, ed.
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