George Frideric Handel (jan 1, 1685 – jan 1, 1759)

Description:

a German, later British, Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi and organ concertos.

Careers and Lifestyles: Handel First
1. Handel was born one month earlier than Bach, and they have often been linked in
music history. Nonetheless, the two never met, and their careers took them down entirely
different paths.
2. Handel moved from Halle when he was eighteen, traveling to Hamburg. There he
played violin and harpsichord in the opera house.
3. Handel went to Italy (Florence and Rome) to study.
4. In 1710 Handel became the court music director for George Louis, Elector of Hanover,
who became King George I of England in 1714.
5. Handel moved to London before George I ascended to the throne, and lived there the
rest of his life.
6. Handel presented thirty-odd operas for London theaters.
7. Competition from younger opera composers caused Handel to turn his efforts to
oratorio.

Handel’s Instrumental Music
1. Even though Handel is remembered chiefly for his vocal music, he left a considerable
amount of instrumental music.
2. His orchestral suites are his largest instrumental pieces.
3. The most famous are the “Water Music,” composed for performance while the king
floated down the Thames, and “The Musick for the Royal Fireworks”—composed for just that.

Vocal Works Introduction
1. In every idiom, Handel’s music is imbued with aspects of music for theater.
2. In the early eighteenth century, opera tended to be formulaic, which made it possible to
compose quite a few in a short period.
3. Handel’s Giulio Cesare is a prime example of the composer’s operatic style, written at
the height of his career (1724).
4. The aria “Empio, diró, tu sei” contains several exciting aspects of what Handel could
do within a da capo aria.
5. Handel eventually fell out of favor with London audiences, who came to prefer the
lighter works.

Lofty Entertainments
1. As his operas declined in popularity, Handel realized that he would need a new outlet
to continue his career in England. He returned to the genre of oratorio.
a. A performance of Esther in 1732 showed Handel that there was public interest
in such works.
b. His Saul (1739) introduced a new type of oratorio, now known as the
Handelian oratorio.
c. Israel in Egypt (later in 1739) moved the genre further away from opera in its
lack of personal dramatic action in favor of colorful choruses that supply the narrative.

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