1. George Frideric Handel
(1685-1759)

2. George Fredric Handel
born in Halle, Germany
Father was a wealthy barber/surgeon that
believed that Handel should never enter the
music field.
Born Georg Friedrich Händel, Handel
anglicized the spelling of his name after
becoming a British citizen in 1727.
Handel never married.

3. Early Years
Learned opera style through actively
absorbing it as a violin player in Hamburg.
First opera was Almira (age 20).
Was a great success for his age.
Age 25 appointed as the conductor for the
Elector of Hanover.

4. Hanover
He traveled to London to stage his opera,
which was very well received
The next time he went to London, he just
stayed
He was dismissed by the Elector of
Hanover
The elector of Hanover, was crowned King
George I of England in 1714.
Oops!

5. Handel’s Water Music 1717
An offering to King
George I after
irritating His Serene
Highness.
Music for an outing
on the Thames river.
His former salary (in
Hanover) was
doubled

6. Water Music (1717)
Dance Suite
First performance lacking Basso Continuo
Instruments: Harpsichord or Clavichord
would not fit in the boat. Too Top Heavy.
Hornpipe, Lentement as well as the
standard dance forms.

7. G.F. Handel
1720 Founded the Royal Academy of
Music
Purpose: presentation of Italian Opera
OPERA SERIA: Italian opera, sung in Italian,
serious themes, serious plots, high aristocratic
form of entertainment.
wrote about 40 operas

8. Italian Opera in England
At first was popular, but the royal academy
of music did not remain successful.
Squabbles between Handel and his opera
manager Bononcini.
Mismanagement of funds at the opera
house.

9. New Operatic Forms Compound
Handel’s Problem
Success of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera.
Ballad or Dialogue Opera: opera with
spoken text, light, humorous, sung in the
vernacular language.
http://www.free-ed.net/free-ed/Humanities/Opera/OperaComment_VOD.asp

10. Oratorio
Baroque vocal piece.
Multi-movement
First oratorios were sacred operas.

11. Oratorio
Eventually stripped of staging and costumes
etc.
At the end of the Baroque it was simply a
“non-staged event.”
Middle and late oratorio used no acting,
staging, costumes. -- Concert version.
Based upon a biblical story

12. Oratorio
Like opera:
large-scale work
recitatives tell story
arias ponder
ensembles of main
characters
orchestra
Unlike opera
English language
plots: O.T. stories
Chorus = VIMP
Narrator = VIMP
NO Visual
Soloists, orchestra, chorus.
Uses all of the “MUSICAL” elements of opera to
create a non-staged event.

13. Oratorio
Sudden change in fashion in London;
oratorios replace operas as favored
entertainment
Oratorio – unstaged narrative work for
voices, chorus & orchestra, usually on
religious themes
More generally, a move to new, Classical,
style in opera puts Handel on the operatic
shelf for 200 years

14. Middle Class Appeal
England had just lived through the
Commonwealth period when restrictions on
society and on the middle class were
perceived as unbearable.

15. Middle Class Appeal
Middle class identified with the Old
Testament stories found in Handel’s
oratorio’s. (Freeing of the Hebrews….
Promised Messiah)
Concerts given in benefit to the poor,
hospitals, orphanages.

16. The odd fate of Handel’s operas
Even Handel’s best and very popular
operas fell out of favor, and were rarely if
ever performed again until the 20th
Century. Compare that to the
case of Handel’s Messiah
which has been performed
every year since its premiere
in 1742.

17. Messiah (1742)
Premiered in Dublin, Ireland.
Composed in 24 days.
Libretto: Biblical verses divided in three
parts:

18. Structure of Messiah
Christmas: prophecy and coming of Christ.
Easter: The passion of Christ
Redemption: detailing how to live through
faith.

19. Concert etiquette for Messiah
Why stand at the Hallelujah Chorus.
Tradition or Religious significance?
King George

20. the Top 10 (possible) reasons
the king was awakened by the loud chords
of the beginning of the chorus
he was tired of sitting
he was hard of hearing and thought they
were playing “God Save the King”
he had gout and stood for relief
he arrived late and all stood when he
entered

21. he had hemorrhoids and stood for relief
he had to go to the bathroom
he mistook the words “And he shall reign
forever and ever” to be a personal tribute
he thought the chorus was so splendid that
he assumed it marked the end of the show
he was actually moved and inspired to stand

22. 1749 Produced Music for the Royal
Fireworks to celebrate the end of the War
of Austrian Succession

23. Handel
Like Bach
large output
many diverse styles &
genres; sacred &
secular
Unlike Bach
H’s homophony
Classical era
H’s music popular during
& after lifetime
H = OPERA!
Ger
It
Eng

24. Handel’s last years
he lost his eyesight during the last years of
his life
so did Bach
they had the same physician who treated
them both for cataracts

25. Handel
buried in Westminster Abbey
Note the wrong date on
the grave marker.

26. Handel is the greatest composer
who ever lived. I would bare my
head and kneel at his grave.
- Ludwig Van Beethoven