Parnasso in festa

The operatic entertainment, to an anonymous libretto, was such a success at its London premiere that although it was intended as a one-off production for a royal wedding, Parnasso in festa was revived by Handel in several subsequent seasons.

[4][5] Handel composed the anthem for her wedding, "This is the day which the Lord hath made", to Biblical texts selected by Anne herself, which was performed at her marriage to William IV, Prince of Orange, at the French chapel in St James's Palace on 14 March 1734.

18th century musicologist Charles Burney observed of Parnasso in festa that the music "was new to the ears of the greatest part of a London audience; and Handel with all the riches of his genius and invention, was very economical, and as frequently turned and patched up his old productions, as if he had laboured under indigence of thought.

Clio, muse of history, reminds Apollo of an episode in his own love life, when, enamoured of the nymph Daphne, he pursued her with lustful intent, but she prayed to the gods to be spared and was transformed into a laurel tree.

Mars, god of war, leads everyone in a drinking song, and Clio joins in the spirit of things so much that she begins to feel inebriated, much to the amusement of Orpheus' mother, Calliope, muse of epic poetry, and the chorus.

Gods and muses, nymphs and shepherds, join in the celebrations of the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, wishing the newly-weds long lives, hoping that they will be an example of virtue for the world, and prophesying that they will produce a line of heroes.

[5] To his usual opera orchestra of strings, bassoons, oboe and continuo instruments, Handel adds for Parnasso in festa flutes, horns, recorders, trumpets, and timpani.

Paul Henry Lang notes the "cheerful and lusty" hunting chorus "O quando bello gloria" and praises Apollo's song to the flowers and fauns "Non tardarte fauni" as "Handel at his pastoral best".

A notice in a London newspaper, The Bee, stated: "Last Night Mr Handell’s new Serenata ... was received with the greatest Applause; the Piece containing the most exquisite Harmony ever furnish’d from the Stage, and the Disposition of the Performers being contriv’d in a very grand and magnificent Manner.