- Biography
- Harp Concerto
- Organ Concerto in B Flat Major
- Organ Concerto in F Major
- Water Music
- Water Music - Suite 1
- Water Music - Suite 2
- Water Music - Suite 3
- Acis and Galatea
- Harmonious Blacksmith
- Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 1
- Zadok the Priest
- Concerti Grossi Nos. 1–12
- Ode for St Cecilia’s Day
- Hallelujah Chorus
- Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
- Music for the Royal Fireworks
Biography
Although born in Halle, Germany, Handel is often regarded as being a British composer.
He spent much of his life in London and lived in a beautiful house in Brook Street where he composed many of his finest works.
In 1727 he applied for British citizenship, which was immediately granted, and Handel assumed the role of composer of music for royal occasions.
This led to his writing four fantastic anthems for the coronation of King George II, perhaps the most famous of which is ‘Zadok the Priest’, which has been performed at nearly every British coronation since.
His music is wonderfully melodic and holds a unique place in the repertoire of the Baroque composers.
Handel was the son of a rather boorish ‘barber-surgeon’ who was distinctly uneasy about his son having anything to do with the music business.
It was intended by Handel senior that his son should become a lawyer, and young George Frideric was discouraged from pursuing any serious interest in music.
He was already a very capable organist by the age of ten, and, after some pressure from his employer, Handel senior finally agreed to allow his son to have music lessons from an eminent organist and teacher in Halle.
The boy quickly became proficient on the oboe and violin as well as the organ and harpsichord, and also took lessons in composition.
It soon became clear that he was extremely gifted.
It was at about this time that his father died, but his influence remained and Handel enrolled to study law at the University of Halle in 1702.
He was quite obviously not interested in the law course and really started to apply himself seriously to his music.
He became the organist of the cathedral, but later moved on to Hamburg where he worked at the Opera House on the Goosemarket.
While he was there he struck up a friendship with a young man called Johann Mattheson.
The two became very close friends and on one occasion, on hearing that the celebrated organist Buxtehude was about to retire from his job at Lübeck, they set off on a journey with the intention of one or other of them securing the job.
An extraordinary turn of events then followed very much in the style of a fairy tale: it turned out that the person who was to get the job would have to marry Buxtehude’s daughter – who wasn’t exactly a prime catch.
Both Handel and his friend Mattheson had a change of heart and made their way immediately back to Hamburg!
Handel and Mattheson’s friendship then suffered a serious set-back.
They fell out over a matter of who was to direct an opera and the situation had to be resolved by a duel in full view of the public in the Goosemarket.
No one was seriously hurt and the two soon made up their differences, but Mattheson is quoted as reporting that, had he not had the fortune to have stabbed Handel directly on a broad metal coat button, the consequences could have been fatal.
It is interesting to note that even in Handel’s day the idea of musical competitions was very much in evidence.
In Rome, the Count Ottobini staged one such competition between Handel and Domenico Scarlatti to ascertain who was the finest performer.
The results of this bizarre event are not totally clear, although it seems the general consensus of opinion was that, although Handel was second to none on the organ, both were equally gifted on the harpsichord.
Handel was extremely prolific and was particularly interested in writing operas and oratorios – so interested that he set up his own opera company called the Royal Academy of Music.
This was based at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket in London and in the early days was an enormous success.
This opera company was established to present operas in Italian, but in 1728 John Gay staged his ‘Beggar’s Opera’ at John Rich’s theatre in Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
This opera, sung in English, was fantastically well received and appealed to a much wider audience than the previously popular Italian opera.
Presenting operas based on folk culture, in English, became so popular that support for Handel’s Royal Academy of Music tailed off; within six months he became bankrupt.
Handel was undeterred and set about re-forming his company, engaging new singers from Italy and staging various new works together with a selection of past successes.
Things did not go too well until the time when he put on his own oratorio ‘Alexander’s Feast’ in 1735.
However, he seems to have learnt his lesson from these experiences and like any good businessman turned his hand to writing what the public wanted.
This led to more oratorios in English, of which ‘Messiah’ is his most famous: most people are familiar with at least the Hallelujah Chorus from this work.
Handel went over to Dublin in 1741 to stage ‘Messiah’ and it brought the house down, a reaction it was to provoke wherever it was performed.
A few years later he wrote another of his now best-known works, the ‘Musick for the Royal Fireworks’.
These triumphs generated so much money for Handel that he was easily able to pay off the debts that had been accrued as a result of the Italian opera failures at the Royal Academy, and he therefore lived his last years in a considerable degree of comfort.
The now familiar feature of famous musicians ‘doing their bit’ for the world around them was also very much in evidence in Handel’s day, and he himself donated the proceeds of an annual performance of ‘Messiah’ to the Founding Hospital as well as providing an organ for their chapel.
Handel’s health began to fail in the 1750s, and although he was eventually totally blind he still gave concerts as an organ soloist and even as a conductor of his own works.
The last performance he was to take part in was of ‘Messiah’ at Covent Garden, but he was taken ill after the performance and died at home in Brook Street a week later, on 14 April 1759.
It was always Handel’s wish that he should have a private funeral, but this was for some reason totally ignored, and more than 3000 people were present at an elaborate state funeral service at Westminster Abbey.
Harp Concerto
Harp Concerto in B Flat Major Op. 4, No. 6
Concerti, Orchestral
There are not many concerti written for the harp, as it has often been passed off as an atmospheric instrument for creating dream-like soundscapes. Handel, however, recognised the harp as a suitable solo instrument and wrote this charming concerto that is undemanding and thoroughly entertaining.
Organ Concerto in B Flat Major
Organ Concerto in B Flat Major Op. 4, No. 2: Allegro
Concerti, Orchestral
Though this Organ Concerto in B Flat Major was written to be performed as an interpolation in oratorio performances, it is by no means solemn; rather, it is made up of gorgeous slow movements and fast movements that combine orchestral fugues with displays of remarkable dexterity from the soloist.
Organ Concerto in F Major
Organ Concerto in F Major Op. 4, No. 4: Allegro
Concerti, Orchestral
Though this Organ Concerto in F Major was written to be performed as an interpolation in oratorio performances, it is by no means solemn; rather, it is made up of gorgeous slow movements and fast movements that combine orchestral fugues with displays of remarkable dexterity from the soloist.
Water Music
The Water Music
1717, Orchestral
‘On Wednesday evening at about 8, the King took water at Whitehall in an open barge wherein were also the Dutchess of Bolton, the Dutchess of Newcastle, the Countess of Godolphin (etc.) . . . and went up the river towards Chelsea. A City Company’s Barge was employed for the Musick, wherein were 50 instruments of all sorts, who played all the way the finest Symphonies, composed express for this Occasion by Mr. Hendel; which his Majesty liked so well, that he caused it to be played over three times in going and returning.’
These lines, quoted from the Daily Courant of 19 July 19 1717, fairly constitute the birth certificate of the Water Music, so dear to the English heart and so renowned abroad.
Quite simply, the music is a collection of twenty to twenty-two pieces grouped into three different suites – though we do not know the order of the pieces decided by the composer himself, so this is largely left up to the performers.
The first suite, in F Major, is a collection of Allegros, Andantes, Hornpipes and suchlike which serve as a wonderful Baroque ‘buffet’ to the listener and are close to the spirit of the Bach suites. It is a light and untaxing collection.
The following G Major/G Minor Suite is far more intimate and delicate, creating an air of a relaxed summer evening. It has an ‘aristocratic’ air that contrasts with the frivolity of the first set yet leads us nicely to the final D Major Suite, which returns, stronger than ever, to a mood of majestic glory and jubilation that has made for the work’s tireless success.
Water Music - Suite 1
Water Music - Suite 1: Overture
1717, Chamber Music
‘On Wednesday evening at about 8, the King took water at Whitehall in an open barge wherein were also the Dutchess of Bolton, the Dutchess of Newcastle, the Countess of Godolphin (etc.) . . . and went up the river towards Chelsea. A City Company’s Barge was employed for the Musick, wherein were 50 instruments of all sorts, who played all the way the finest Symphonies, composed express for this Occasion by Mr. Hendel; which his Majesty liked so well, that he caused it to be played over three times in going and returning.’
These lines, quoted from the Daily Courant of 19 July 1717, fairly constitute the birth certificate of the Water Music, so dear to the English heart and so renowned abroad.
Quite simply, the music is a collection of twenty to twenty-two pieces grouped into three different suites – though we do not know the order of the pieces decided by the composer himself, so this is largely left up to the performers.
The first suite, in F Major, is a collection of Allegros, Andantes, Hornpipes and suchlike which serve as a wonderful Baroque ‘buffet’ to the listener and are close to the spirit of the Bach Suites. It is a light and untaxing collection.
Water Music - Suite 2
Water Music - Suite 2: Andante
1717, Chamber Music
‘On Wednesday evening at about 8, the King took water at Whitehall in an open barge wherein were also the Dutchess of Bolton, the Dutchess of Newcastle, the Countess of Godolphin (etc.) . . . and went up the river towards Chelsea. A City Company’s Barge was employed for the Musick, wherein were 50 instruments of all sorts, who played all the way the finest Symphonies, composed express for this Occasion by Mr. Hendel; which his Majesty liked so well, that he caused it to be played over three times in going and returning.’
These lines, quoted from the Daily Courant of 19 July 1717, fairly constitute the birth certificate of the Water Music, so dear to the English heart and so renowned abroad.
Quite simply, the music is a collection of twenty to twenty-two pieces grouped into three different suites – though we do not know the order of the pieces decided by the composer himself, so this is largely left up to the performers.
The second suite is far more intimate and delicate than the first, creating an air of a relaxed summer evening. It has an ‘aristocratic’ feel that contrasts with the frivolity of the first suite.
Water Music - Suite 3
Water Music - Suite 3: Menuett
1717, Chamber Music
‘On Wednesday evening at about 8, the King took water at Whitehall in an open barge wherein were also the Dutchess of Bolton, the Dutchess of Newcastle, the Countess of Godolphin (etc.) . . . and went up the river towards Chelsea. A City Company’s Barge was employed for the Musick, wherein were 50 instruments of all sorts, who played all the way the finest Symphonies, composed express for this Occasion by Mr. Hendel; which his Majesty liked so well, that he caused it to be played over three times in going and returning.’
These lines, quoted from the Daily Courant of 19 July 1717, fairly constitute the birth certificate of the Water Music, so dear to the English heart and so renowned abroad.
Quite simply, the music is a collection of twenty to twenty-two pieces grouped into three different suites – though we do not know the order of the pieces decided by the composer himself, so this is largely left up to the performers.
The third suite returns, stronger than ever after the first two, to a mood of majestic glory and jubilation that has made for the work’s tireless success.
Acis and Galatea
1718, Choral
Written in 1718 in English, this delightful pastoral interlude is taken from Greek mythology and revolves around the ‘boy-meets-girl-meets-monster’ principle.
It seems Handel was always trying to please others first and himself second, and this choral piece shows signs of just this. Nevertheless we, as the majority, continue to benefit.
Harmonious Blacksmith
Keyboard SuiteNo. 5 in E: ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’
1720, Keyboard Works
A children’s favourite, here arranged for flute and strings.
Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 1
1724, Chamber Music
It must always be remembered that Handel was a virtuoso harpsichord player, and even though the solo instrument in this work is the violin, one can still hear some creative harpsichord work in the background.
Zadok the Priest
1727, Choral
This choral work is solemn and majestic and was originally written as a coronation anthem for George II – its pace and feel being ideally suited for this purpose.
Concerti Grossi Nos. 1–12
1739, Concerti, Orchestral
Together with Bach’s ‘Brandenburg’ concertos, these twelve Concerti Grossi represent the peak of late Baroque orchestral writing and, amazingly, were composed between 29 September and 30 October 1739. Here Handel uses the Baroque technique of matching a small orchestra, or ‘concertino’, against a larger one, known as a ‘concerto grosso’.
These twelve works have become as synonymous with Handel as his Water Music or his Royal Fireworks.
Ode for St Cecilia’s Day
1739, Chamber Music
A delightful work based on the poetry of Dryden.
Hallelujah Chorus
Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus
1741, Choral
Quite possibly one of the most famous and lasting choral works, Handel’s Messiah, with its ‘Hallelujah!’ chorus, is performed regularly in Europe, especially around Christmas.
In London, in 1741, a practically bankrupt Handel was inspired to compose music from the words of the Bible, mainly through the Old Testament Prophecy, Our Lord’s Nativity, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Everlasting Glory. He worked for twenty-two days with hardly any food or sleep until he had finished and gave it its first performance in Dublin in the same year.
However, unlike performances today, the largest available choir was a combination of two cathedral groups amounting, in total, to fourteen men and six boys who, backed essentially by strings, were led by Handel, shouting and gesturing from a harpsichord. Renowned for his big effects, Handel was often criticised for being a ‘noisy’ composer and was always in favour of huge choirs and large numbers of instrumentalists.
Indeed, today the work is usually performed by many vocalists, which makes Messiah one of the most powerful choral works around.
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Solomon: ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’
1749, Choral
Taken from Handel’s oratorio Solomon, ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’ depicts the grand entrance of the Queen, and mirrors exactly the atmosphere and ceremony that is associated with genuine royal events. If you ever hear a live performance, you will notice that the oboe players are practically purple in their effort to sustain their notes!
Music for the Royal Fireworks
Music for the Royal Fireworks: Overture
1749, Orchestral
After the War of the Austrian Succession, George II decided to celebrate the Aix-En-Chapelle Treaty of 1748 with a grand open-air festivity. Handel was commissioned to write a work ‘. . . with martial instruments’ to accompany a startling fireworks display as part of the jubilee to be held in London’s Green Park on 27 April 1749.
The Music for the Royal Fireworks called for a massive wind ensemble (including 24 oboes, 12 bassoons, 9 horns, 9 trumpets etc . . .) for which Handel conceived a full string complement. Although plagued by roughly 12,000 people attending the event on horse-back, all went fairly smoothly through the stately overture, with its French-styled dotted rhythms, until the ‘Peace’ movement, when part of the structure built for the celebrations caught fire, and general pandemonium broke out.
The opening movement is in Handel’s most vigorous style, the first dozen bars seeming simple yet being a clever and brilliant exercise in Baroque harmony. The composer goes on to use a favourite Baroque device of harmonising contrasting instrumental groups, such as oboes, violins and trumpets.
The sixth and final movement was originally performed by oboes and bassoons alone, yet later Handel doubled the wind parts with string instuments and automatically included a harpsichord.