William Christie traces Handel's connection with Caroline of Ansbach through three works. Her arrival in Britain in 1714 was marked by the performance of a Te Deum. The anthem The King shall rejoice was performed in 1727 when her husband acceded to the throne and she became queen. And the king commissioned The ways of Zion do mourn for her funeral in 1737. Christie delights in the buoyant Handelian choral and orchestral splendour of the coronation anthem, and judges well the combination of mourning and celebration in the funeral anthem — the solos in She deliver'd the poor are as affecting as you're likely to hear. The handsomely produced documentation includes, in a separate booklet, a story, At the concert, in English and French by Douglas Kennedy. arts-florissants.com