Handel – Where’er You Walk for Trumpet & Piano (PDF Download)

Handel’s unrivalled skill of writing great tunes – from the simplest utterance to show-stopping glories – sits at the heart of almost all of Handel’s dramatic works. Without the text, it could be claimed that any instrumental performance is a compromise too far. But how bereft we would be without the chance for instruments to imitate or replace the voice, to put our mark on a piece by exploring an expressive world of implication and beauty for its own sake?

‘Where’er You Walk’ is arguably the most ubiquitous Handel aria in the English language from the ‘sui generis’ oratorio. Jupiter (top God) has taken Semele into the mountains to be his mistress. In the spirit of Arcadian bliss, he magically promises Semele’s sister, Ino, that she can join her in a garden of paradise (having been flown there by winged Zephyrs – of course). This alluring and persuasive melody captures the sense of sorcery at the heart of Jupiter’s machinations.