As Pants the Hart

EDITORIAL NOTE
After arriving in London with a grand reputation as an opera composer, Handel soon
proved that he was no less skilled as a composer of church music on a smaller scale.
Handel's so-called Chandos Anthems were written as part of his duties as composer-in-residence at Cannons, the opulent mansion of the first Duke of Chandos, between 1717
and 1718.

This intimate chorus in three voice parts is Handel at his simplest and most expressive.
The middle voice part can be sung by either altos, tenors or perhaps best a mixture of the
two.

All the Chandos Anthems were composed for strings (without viola) and solo wind
instruments, here solo oboe.

The orchestral parts are available separately from the publisher (AMP 0806P).

PERFORMANCE NOTES
We have suggested a few dynamics but otherwise left the score clean.

Observe word stresses carefully.

Relish and even exaggerate slightly the more expressive words: pants, cooling, longs.

Allow the expressive sixteenth notes on ýlongsý to stretch as long (!) as you dare without
losing the direction of the phrase.

Allow some flexibility at concerted commas.

Locate all the suspensions and be sure to lean on them a little.

Use Handel's condensing of polyphonic entries to build intensity (e.g., mm 18-20).

Take time at important, dramatic corners (e.g., m 27-28).

Allow long notes to blossom and decay as appropriate (e.g., bass m 34).

Simon Carrington

recording performed by Yale Schola Cantorum and Yale Collegium Players
Simon Carrington, conductor
New Haven, Connecticut

Click here to see a sample.

Click here to listen to a recording (MP3).