George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

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
Handels 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 Handels Problem

• Success of John Gays The Beggars 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/Op
  eraComment_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 Handels oratorios. (Freeing
  of the Hebrews. Promised Messiah)
• Concerts given in benefit to the poor, hospitals,
  orphanages.

16
The odd fate of Handels operas
Even Handels 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 Handels 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

• Unlike Bach
• Hs homophony Classical era
• Hs music popular during after lifetime
• H OPERA!
• Ger It Eng

• Like Bach
• large output
• many diverse styles genres sacred secular

24
Handels 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
Handelburied 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