As long as it's not Handel's Messiah, right?

Here's an interesting notice from the Annual Register of 1766 about the dedication of the newly built Duke's Place Synagogue in London.



The chief Rabbi who pronounced the benediction in English was none other than Rabbi David Tevele Schiff, who was in fact the rebbe of Rabbi Nosson Adler (the Chasam Sofer's rebbe, link).

It will be remembered that R. Yaakov Emden's son R. Meshullam Zalman was his rival claimant to the position of chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazim (which was informal then anyway). They were cousins. (See here.)



You can listen to Handel's coronation here.