Eternal source of light divine – G. F. Handel

Description

Eternal Source of Light Divine gained in popularity by its inclusion in the wedding of HRH Prince Harry to Megan Markle at St Georges Chapel, Windsor in May 2018. In this arrangement I have transposed the piece into a comfortable range for a mezzo soprano, and combined the orchestral and solo trumpet parts into an accompaniment for organ.

Handel wrote the original aria in D major for alto voice, and the version performed at the Royal Wedding simply put the alto part up an octave. This is fine for a professional singer, but too high for most who may be asked to perform this elsewhere.  I put together this arrangement, transposed into G major, after a request to include it in a wedding by a couple who had first heard it at Harry and Megan’s wedding.

An organ with a solo trumpet stop would be most appropriate for this piece, but on an organ without such a stop, it could still be performed with the solo line brought out on a second manual with a contrasting registration, or even on a single manual instrument.  I have omitted any dynamics, as there were none in Handel’s original.  Choice of dynamics will largely depend on ensuring a good balance between your solo soprano, the stop available for the solo trumpet line, and the accompanying organ registration.

This score is free to download, print and use.