GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL 1685 - 1759

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GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL1685 - 1759

• Born in Halle, 1685
• Not from a musical family - his father hoped he
  would pursue law
• At age 10, Handel impressed Johann Adolph, Duke
  of Weissenfels, who then financed his musical
  studies
• Age 17 Handel became organist for one of Halles
  principal churches
• In 1703 he moved to Hamburg and became a
  violinist and harpsichordist in the opera
  orchestra
• In 1706 -Handel went to Italy (Florence, Rome,
  Venice) to study opera

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GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL1685 - 1759

• In 1710 Handel returned to Germany as court
  composer to Georg Ludwig, the Elector of Hanover
• 1710 - London - success with opera Rinaldo
• 1711 - back to Hanover
• 1712 - back to England again, producing operas in
  London
• Handel receives an annual stipend from Queen Anne
• In 1714, August, Queen Anne died leaving no heir
• September 1714 - the crown is passed to the house
  of Hanover and. . .
• Georg Ludwig, the Elector of Hanover, is crowned
  King George I of England

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George I

• Formerly, the Elector of Hannover
• King of England 1714 - 1727

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George II

• King of England 1727 - 1760

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GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL1685 - 1759

• Handel became Englands national composer
• The 1720s English audience begins to tire of the
  opera plots
• In 1737 Handel began to compose oratorios
• 1741 - Messiah
• Handel died in 1759 and was buried in Westminster
  Abbey - 3000 people attended his funeral
• His reputation grew even after his death
• Handel never married
• In the 19th century Handels music continued to
  reach a large audience

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The Water Music

• Composed for an excursion on the Thames river
  hosted by King George I
• First heard on July 17, 1717
• The music is a loose selection of overtures,
  fanfares, dances, and instrumental airs
• The Water Music, as well as the Royal Fireworks
  Music, is normally heard as a suite
• SUITE
• A group of dances presented together as a single
  composition
• The dance suite developed in France and Germany
• Water Music
• Hornpipe

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Which His Majesty Liked So Well. . .

• King George I and his party, in a large open
  barge, went up the river (Thames). About 50
  musicians accompanied the King (on a separate
  barge). The finest music, composed by Mr. Handel,
  pleased the King so well that it had to be
  played three times going and returning.
• The orchestra consisted of trumpets, horns,
  hautbois, bassoons, German flutes, French flutes,
  violins, and basses

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• The Handel House Museum is located at 25 Brook
  Street, London, home to the baroque composer
  George Frideric Handel from 1723 until his death
  in 1759. It was here that he composed some of the
  greatest music in history, including Messiah,
  Zadok the Priest and Fireworks Music.

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Did Handel Compose ChristmasCarols?

• John Foster (1762-1822, of High Green House,
  Yorkshire) composed While Shepherds Watched Their
  Flocks By Night by adapting the aria 'Non vi
  piacque, ingiusti Dei' from Handel's opera Siroe.
  
• Edward Miller (1735-1807, Doncaster) composed a
  version by arranging 'See, the Conqu'ring Hero
  Comes' from Handel's oratorio Judas Maccabaeus.
• Thomas Taylor (Chester) reworked the harpsichord
  suite The Harmonious Blacksmith to yield Hymning
  Seraphs Wake the Morn.

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What About Joy To The World?

• Joy to the World was not composed by Handel. The
  tune first appeared in the early 1830's in
  English tune-books.
• William Holford revised the tune and published it
  (which he called Comfort) in the mid-1830's and
  attributed it to Handel because of the tunes'
  resemblance to the opening phrases of the
  choruses Lift Up Your Heads and Glory to God from
  Messiah.
• The American composer Lowell Mason (1792-1872) in
  1839 retained the attribution to Handel, changed
  the tune-name to Antioch, and united it with
  Isaac Watt's hymn i.e., text for the first
  time. Thus, Joy to the World was born.

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If Handel was born in 1685,

• why do the Westminster Abbey Handel monument and
  floor plaque list his birthdate as "February
  XXIII, MDCLXXXIV" and "1684", respectively?
  Similarly, why was the first centennial festival
  of his birth observed in 1784?

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Handel's contemporaries

• believed Handel's birthdate was 23 February 1684.
  This birthdate was miscalculated under the
  incorrect assumption that Handel was born under
  the old Julian calendar. At the time of his birth
  in Saxony/Magdeburg, the new Gregorian calendar
  was already in use. Dates using the Julian
  calendar placed the beginning dates of a year (up
  through March 25 -- the day the "new year" began
  in the Julian calendar) as dates from the
  previous year.

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How did the tradition of the audience standing
during 'The Hallelujah Chorus' (from Messiah)
begin? Did the King (George II) start this
tradition and why did he stand? "...When Messiah
was first performed in London (1743), when the
chorus struck up, 'For the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth' ('Hallelujah Chorus), reportedly the
audience and King George II stood and remained
standing until the chorus had ended... (1780)
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During Handel's lifetime, his name was mistakenly
written as

• Handle, Handell, Hendell, Hendler, Händeler,
  etc.)
• Of interest, he was christened Georg Friederich
  Händel however, he first signed his name Georg
  Friedrich.

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Handel and the Oratorio

• The Oratorio is a large-scale narrative work with
  soloists, chorus, orchestra no sets, costumes,
  or acting
• Handel was an internationally known composer,
  German-born, trained in Italy, worked in England
• Handels Messiah is in 3 parts - Christmas,
  Easter, Redemption

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• This is a reproduction of the original program,
  1742
• No. 1 Overture Slow Fast

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(No Transcript)
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Handel, at the low ebb of his career and, as a
consequence of a stroke, suffering partial
paralysis on his left side, composed Messiah in
the incredibly short period of time of 21 days.
The composer had been invited to give a series of
concerts in Dublin, some of which would benefit
various charities. The premiere was met with
considerable success and served to boost Handel's
spirits for a return to London. While it is true
that George II stood during the singing of the
mighty "Hallelujah" Chorus at the second London
performance, Messiah did not enjoy the popularity
of many of Handel's other oratorios during the
composer's lifetime. In fact, it was only through
Handel's annual Eastertide performances to
benefit his favorite charity, the Foundling
Hospital, that Messiah was heard at all!

• No. 44 Chorus Hallelujah

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Boston Handel and Haydn Society

• Founded as a choral society in 1815 by a group of
  Boston merchants, Handel and Haydn is among the
  oldest continuously performing arts organizations
  in the country. From its earliest years the
  Society established its tradition of innovation,
  performing the American premieres of Handels
  Messiah in 1818, Haydns Creation in 1819,
  Verdis Requiem in 1878, and Bachs B minor Mass
  in 1887. The Society began performing Handels
  Messiah annually in 1854. Throughout its history
  the Handel and Haydn Society has brought the
  worlds most beautiful music, and its greatest
  artists, to local audiences, setting a standard
  for orchestral and choral performances that
  remains unparalleled.
• Kings Chapel, Boston
• Founded in 1686, designed in 1749
• The first Anglican Church in New England
• First large building in America to be built of
  quarried stone
• First church in America to use an organ
• First American performance of Handels Messiah
  were here
• First concert home of the Boston Handel and
  Haydn Society
• The bell, weighing over one ton, the largest
  ever cast by Paul Revere and Sons in 1816

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The Castrato

• Castrati raised the art of singing beyond human
  limits
• They attained a level of popularity similar to
  that of the rock stars
• The golden age of castrati lasted for two
  centuries, from the beginning of the 17th Century
  to the dawn of the 19th Century
• The usual explanation given to justify the use of
  castrati was that women were forbidden to sing in
  church choirs or theatres in the papal states.
  However, their vocal supremacy was the real
  reason for their extraordinary popularity.

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Farinelli

• Farinelli was the most famous singer of his
  century and one of the greatest singers of all
  time
• Farinelli enjoyed a mythical status
• exceptional voice
• highly skilled performer
• praised for the beauty of his sound,
• the range of his voice covered more than three
  and a half octaves
• he could produce 250 notes in a single breath and
  sustain a note for more than a minute
• Farinelli, at the age of 32, chose to retire from
  the limelight at the height of his success so he
  could sing exclusively for King Philip V of Spain
  who was known to have been severely depressed for
  many years
• Thus began Farinelli's Spanish career, spanning
  more than two decades in the service of Philip V
  (1700-46) and Ferdinand VI (1746-59)
• Farinelli performed at all the main courts of
  Europe
• Farinelli died in 1782 and was buried on a
  hillside in Bologna. His tomb no longer exists
  today as it was destroyed by Napoleon's armies
• Farinelli never actually sang for Handel

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Farinelli il castrato 1994

• GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNER
• BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

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Alessandro Moreschi 1858-1922

• Bach-Gounod
• Ave Maria
• Recorded in Rome, April 11, 1904