Zadok the Priest

One of Handel’s best known, most arresting works, Zadok the Priest was originally composed for the coronation of King George II in 1727 (during which the Westminster Abbey choir accidentally sang it in the wrong part of the service) and has been sung prior to the anointing of the sovereign at the coronation of every British monarch since. And with its sumptuous build-up of regal strings leading to an explosive climax— we can see why.