HÄNDEL'S CORONATION HYMNS

MS 5179
MS Short Title HÄNDEL'S CORONATION HYMNS
Text HÄNDEL'S CORONATION HYMNS 
1. GEORGE FRIEDRICH HÄNDEL: LET THY HAND BE STRENGTHENED (HWV 258) 
2. GEORGE FRIEDRICH HÄNDEL: ZADOK THE PRIEST (HWV 259) 
3. GEORGE FRIEDRICH HÄNDEL: THE KING SHALL REJOICE (HWV 260) 
4. GEORGE FRIEDRICH HÄNDEL: MY HEART IS INDICTING (HWV 261)
Description MS in English on paper, London, England, 1727-1735, 150 pp. (complete?), 42x27 cm, ruled with 18 staves, (38x25 cm), full score on 1 or 2 systems, each from 9 to 12 staves, in a fine English baroque notation with the title Oratorio. Each anthem with title, text and textual source in a neat English cursive script, with possibly a few autograph additions and corrections.
Binding London, 1727-1735, calf-backed marbled boards, sewn on 4 cords.
Context Händel bequeathed his library of his works to the faithful copyist Smith the elder in 1759, who later transferred the bulk of it to King George III, now in British Library. Most of the other autographs came to Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, while Händel's conducting scores, by copyists, are in Hamburg, Univärsitetsbibliothek.
Provenance 1. B. Schott's Söhne, Mainz (20th c.); 2. Sotheby's 6.12.2002:79.
Commentary Virtually none of Händel's autographs or contemporary copies is in private hands. The present MS is a substantial contemporary source for one of Händel's most famous works, composed for the coronation of George II in 1727. Zadok the Priest has been performed at every English coronation since. It contains one of the most thrilling choral entities in the entire repertory.
Place of origin London, England
Dates 1727-1735