The Dixit Dominus in G minor by George Frideric Handel is a monumental, sumptuous setting of the Latin version of Psalm 110, and the title words are an incipit: "The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool."
Handel began working on this piece during his stay in Florence at the end of 1706, and finished it in April of the following year. The creation of the work in this particular place and his contact with artists active in Italy had a great influence on the lively, dynamic and melodious character of this composition. Its first performance probably took place in July in Rome at the Church of Santa Maria in Monte Santo. Handel dedicated the energetic work to five soloists and a mixed choir, while he limited the orchestra to strings and basso continuo and completely gave up wind instruments and timpani.
The composer's trip to Italy had a rather emotional background. The opera in Hamburg had commissioned two operas from him: Florindo and Daphne. However, the management concluded that the latter was too serious and decided to include in the performance a farce entitled Happy Wedding, which was played in the intermissions between acts. Handel protested stridently, but his outcry was ineffective, so frustrated with the situation, he secretly left the city, not even saying goodbye to his closest friends. He went straight to Italy, and the result of this trip was the creation of many great works, including Dixit Dominus.