In keeping with the victorious mood, Handel often splits the chorus into five voices (with divided sopranos) for passages of pure homophony. When the choir declaim as one, the effect is of joyful celebration. To start each phrase on the right note, it is essential to be familiar with the orchestral interludes. The cantabile movements, such as No. 3, can be particularly tricky to perform: The vocal leaps in these demanding choral-soprano sections become much easier if you can hear the underlying ...