Gesundheit, Komm Auch du her Bei! by Handel played by James Druce (trombone)

This lesser known secular cantata by George Frederic Handel was written for and dedicated to Queen Anne, to be performed on her birthday in February 1713, but it also celebrated the Treaty of Utrecht. This aria was originally scored for Soprano and Alto duet with solo oboe and orchestra. I discovered this work featured in a film and immediately saw the similarities in timbre that the alto trombone offers. The aria is in two sections, a lyrical Duetto, offering the Queen a rather divine good health and then a spirited second section where the two soloists share the solo line as the chorus enters, dictating how Queen Anne brought a ‘lasting peace on earth’.
James Druce