Album: Handel/Croft, Music for the Peace of Utrecht (Channel Classics)

Jos van Veldhoven's disc with the Netherlands Bach Society brings together one of the most famous celebrations of the Treaty of Utrecht, Handel's Te Deum and Jubilate, and William Croft's rarely performed Ode with Noise of Cannon.

Though Handel skilfully incorporates material from his Roman Vespers, Purcell is the model for both composers. The instrumental performance is airy, the choral singing sturdy and joyous, while William Towers and Peter Harvey beguile in Croft's duet on a ground bass, "Peace Is the Song".