Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne
Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne is a secular cantata composed by George Frideric Handel to a libretto by Ambrose Philips, of which the first line, "Eternal source of light divine", provides an alternative title for the work. It was probably composed during January 1713 for a performance on 6 February 1713, although there is no record of the performance having actually taken place. Other catalogues of Handel's music have referred to the work as HG xlvi A; and HHA i/6.
George Frideric Handel
Queen Anne
Handel, about 1720
Hampton Court Palace, Chapel, by Charles Wild, 1819 - royal coll 922125 313698 ORI 2
Between 1858 and 1902, the Händel-Gesellschaft produced a collected 105-volume edition of the works of George Frideric Handel. Even though the collection was initiated by the society, many of the volumes were published by Friedrich Chrysander working alone. The wording on the title page of the volumes is "Georg Friedrich Händel's Werke. Ausgabe der Deutschen Händelgesellschaft" which translates as "Georg Friedrich Handel's works. Edition of the German Handel Society". Chrysander's work has been criticised, however the scale of his achievement is also praised. The collection's abbreviation of "HG" can be used to identify individual works by Handel; for example Handel's Messiah can be referred to as "HG xlv". For practical use, the HG system has been superseded by the HWV numbering system. The 105 volumes do not contain the complete works of Handel—with at least 250 of his works unpublished in the collection.
A title page of Händelgesellschaft volume 1 (1858)
Page from Händelgesellschaft volume 1 (1858) – showing the work contained in the volume: Handel's oratorio Susanna
Volume 1, page 13 of the Händelgesellschaft (1858) – detailing the structure of the society