George Frideric Handel
“I did think I did see all heaven before me, and the great God Himself” — words he is said to have left behind while composing the Hallelujah Chorus of Messiah
At a glance 🔭💭
Some coordinates adapted from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) · Pleiades (CC BY 3.0)
People around him ⏳🌊
- FamilyGeorg Händel
He was the father who, hoping his son would become a lawyer, long opposed his musical education.
- TeacherFriedrich Wilhelm Zachow
An organist in Halle who taught the young Handel the fundamentals of composition and organ.
- RivalryJohann Mattheson
A fellow composer in Hamburg with whom he was close friends yet even fought a duel.
- FriendshipDomenico Scarlatti
After a keyboard contest in Rome, the two acknowledged each other's talent and remained lifelong friends.
- InfluenceJohann Sebastian Bach
A fellow German master born the same year; the two wished to meet but never did, and both were later left blind after surgery by the same eye surgeon.
- FriendshipCharles Jennens
He wrote the librettos for Messiah and several other oratorios, and often clashed with Handel by letter over theological interpretation.
I. The boy of Halle · 1685–1703 (age 0–18)
He was born in February 1685, in Halle, Germany. (Father) His father, Georg Handel, was a barber-surgeon who served the Halle court and city hall. He had his son late in life, at sixty-three, and hoped the boy would become a lawyer, believing music should never rise above a gentleman's polite accomplishment. (Mother) His mother, Dorothea Taust, was a pastor's daughter. Behind her husband's back, she quietly indulged her son's musical gift, and most of the letters Handel later sent from London were addressed to her. (The attic) After his father forbade any instrument in the house, the young Handel is said to have smuggled a clavichord into the attic and practiced there every night. Whether or not the story is true, it points to a passion suppressed from an early age. (Zachow) His father changed his mind after the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, who happened to hear him play during a visit to the court, recognized his talent and urged him on. Handel then began formal study of composition and organ with Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, an organist in Halle. (Loss) His father died in 1697. Honoring his father's wishes, Handel enrolled at the University of Halle to study law, but within the year he took a post as a church organist and turned fully to music. (Same age) That same year, 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach was born some hundred kilometers away in Eisenach. The two men never once met in their lives, but as exact contemporaries they are often named together as the twin pillars of German Baroque music.
II. Hamburg and Italy · 1703–1710 (age 18–25)
(Hamburg) In 1703 he left Halle to join the Hamburg opera house as a violinist. There he grew close to the composer Johann Mattheson, and the two became rivals as well as friends. (The duel) Mattheson and Handel quarreled over precedence during a performance of one of Mattheson's operas and drew swords in a duel. As the story goes, Handel's life was saved when Mattheson's blade struck a button on his waistcoat and snapped. (Opera) In 1705 his first opera, Almira, premiered in Hamburg to great acclaim. Encouraged by its success, he resolved to study in Italy. (Italy) From 1706 he traveled between Rome, Florence, and Venice, absorbing the Italian style. In Rome he mingled with patrons such as the composer Arcangelo Corelli and Cardinal Ottoboni. (Scarlatti) At a private house in Rome, a contest was held pitting his skill against Domenico Scarlatti's on both harpsichord and organ. The harpsichord contest was judged too close to call, but on the organ Handel was thought superior, and the two remained lifelong friends afterward. (Church music) Because opera was banned by the papal authorities in Rome, he wrote a number of church works instead. Dixit Dominus, a setting of the psalm, poured out all the ambition and technical bravura of a twenty-two-year-old at once. (Venice) In Venice his opera Agrippina was staged to great acclaim, and there he also encountered the concerto style of Antonio Vivaldi, then active in the city — an influence that would leave its mark on his later instrumental works.
An early masterpiece in which a twenty-two-year-old immersed in church music in Rome poured out ambition and technical bravura all at once.
- In the opening chorus, strings and voices interlock tightly in a driving, headlong rhythm that lays bare the young Handel's audacity.
- In the 'Juravit Dominus' section, the technique of relentlessly repeating a short figure throughout (an ostinato) sounds as if it were carving the oath into stone.
- The 'De torrente' duet, in which two soprano parts chase and entwine each other, is considered one of the piece's most demanding passages for singers, both in breath control and intonation.
- The explosive climax of the closing 'Gloria Patri' chorus condenses the ambition of the entire work.
III. The king's former servant · 1710–1728 (age 25–43)
(Hanover) In 1710 he was appointed Kapellmeister to Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover. But he almost immediately took leave and crossed to London, where he staged the opera Rinaldo to great success. (Going to London) Drawn in by London's reception, he never returned to Hanover but settled there instead — an act that could look like both a breach of contract and a betrayal of his patron. (A twist) When Queen Anne died in 1714, the throne passed to none other than the Elector of Hanover — the very patron Handel had abandoned — who became George I. Handel found himself in an awkward position, but the story goes that he won back the king's favor by composing Water Music for a royal boating party on the Thames. (Settling down) He remained in London for the rest of his life and became a naturalized British subject in 1727. He never married and had no known children. Records of his private life are extremely scarce, suggesting that his musical career was, in effect, his entire life. (The Royal Academy of Music) In 1719 the Royal Academy of Music was founded with funding from the nobility, and Handel became its music director — an ambitious venture to establish Italian opera on the English stage. (Finances) He involved himself deeply not only in composing but in running the theater, engaging singers, and making investments. He spent little, managing his money with thrift and precision, and in time amassed considerable wealth.
An aria from Rinaldo, his London debut, in which the anxiety of a man staking everything on an unfamiliar city seeps into a melody of restrained sorrow.
- A slow, weighty triple-meter dance rhythm (sarabande) expresses grief in restrained, measured steps.
- The resignation and pleading of 'let me weep' unfold in simple but long-breathed phrases that test a singer's breath control.
- Moments where the accompaniment pares away to leave the voice almost bare are still sung today by sopranos, countertenors (a male voice type that sings in the high register using falsetto), and other voice types alike, in arrangements that yield widely differing interpretations.
Music of reconciliation, said to have been written for a boating party on the Thames to smooth over an awkward relationship with his former patron, now King George I.
- Written with outdoor performance in mind, so that horns and trumpets could ring out over the water, it is full of brilliant brass fanfares.
- The buoyant horn calls of the F major suite are still commonly used today in coronation footage and festival films.
- The conversational give-and-take of phrases between strings and winds seems to carry over all the merriment of the boating party itself.
IV. The opera wars and downfall · 1728–1737 (age 43–52)
(Rivalry) At the Royal Academy of Music he competed for public favor with the composer Giovanni Bononcini. London society split into two rival camps, and Handel ultimately came out on top. (The divas) The feud between the prima donnas Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni finally erupted into a physical brawl onstage that threw the theater into chaos. Handel knew how to turn even this rivalry into fodder for the box office. (The libretto) Behind the success of the opera Giulio Cesare in this period lay the practical grind of having to rewrite arias each time to suit a new prima donna's technique. (Bankruptcy) But public interest in Italian opera gradually cooled, and John Gay's English ballad opera The Beggar's Opera, which mocked him openly, became hugely popular. In 1728 the Royal Academy of Music went bankrupt. (Setback) Handel put up his own money to form a new opera company, but it collapsed again in the struggle against a rival company set up by noble patrons. In 1737, under extreme stress, he suffered an attack believed to have been a stroke, which paralyzed his right hand. (The spa) He went to recuperate at the hot springs of Aachen in Germany and recovered so remarkably within a few months that he could sit at the organ again. As an impresario of Italian opera, however, he was already past the point of recovery.
A seductive aria written amid the opera wars, one bearing the practical toil of having to be freshly tailored to a prima donna's technique.
- Sung by Cleopatra, this aria combines harp with strings played pizzicato (plucked with the fingers instead of the bow) to create an exotic, dreamlike atmosphere.
- Fitting for a song of seduction, the melody is unhurried, drawing out each note at length, laying bare the countertenor's or mezzo-soprano's control of tone.
- The entrance itself is staged as a dramatic moment, so interpretations vary widely from director to director.
V. Messiah, a new path · 1737–1742 (age 52–57)
(Transition) After a string of failures in opera, he turned to oratorios set to English librettos. Telling the story through chorus and solo voices alone, without staging or costumes, this form cost far less to produce. (Scripture) He released a series of Old Testament oratorios such as Saul and Israel in Egypt, striking a chord with the religious sensibilities of English audiences. (Messiah) Invited to a charity concert in Dublin in 1741, he composed the entire score of Messiah in just twenty-four days. Coming after long frustration and failing health, this burst of concentration is said to have felt like a spiritual experience. (Hallelujah) The 1742 Dublin premiere was a great success, and the following year, at the London performance, King George II is said to have risen to his feet when the Hallelujah Chorus rang out — giving rise to the custom of audiences standing at this passage ever since. The truth of this anecdote, however, has never been confirmed. (Faith) Handel was devout but unbound by denomination, and he frequently sparred by letter over theological interpretation with Charles Jennens, who wrote the libretto for Messiah.
A record of spiritual recovery, completed in a mere twenty-four days of concentrated work after he suffered the collapse of his opera ventures and a stroke.
- The tenor's 'Comfort ye' begins low and gradually widens in range, as if filling with conviction, delivering words of comfort.
- The chorus 'For unto us a child is born' builds through imitative entries (a fugue-like texture) in which each voice part passes along a short melodic phrase in turn, expressing joy in mounting waves.
- The trumpets and timpani of the Hallelujah Chorus symbolize divine power, and the custom of audiences standing at this passage continues to this day.
- The soprano aria 'I know that my Redeemer liveth' sings of certainty in the resurrection through a melody that climbs step by step from low to high (an ascending line), and is counted among soloists' most cherished passages.
VI. An age of charity and oratorio · 1742–1751 (age 57–66)
(Foundling Hospital) From 1749 he conducted an annual charity performance of Messiah for London's Foundling Hospital. He donated a substantial sum to the hospital, which cared for abandoned children, and remained a governor there until his death. (Fireworks) In 1749 he composed Music for the Royal Fireworks to mark the end of the War of the Austrian Succession. During the rehearsal, gunpowder misfired and set the stage alight, but the music itself soon became a public favorite. (Gluttony) He was famous as a hearty eater and had a robust build. According to one anecdote, he once ordered dinner for several people at a restaurant by himself, and when his companions were late, he declared he would start without them and ate his own portion first. (Pupils) He had few people around him who could truly be called pupils, but young composers attended his rehearsals to learn the craft of oratorio. He was known for a quick temper and fiery outbursts delivered in a thickly accented English, yet he looked after his performers' livelihoods with great care. (Fortune) In his later years he amassed considerable wealth, repeatedly adding new beneficiaries to his will. He divided his estate carefully among the Foundling Hospital, old acquaintances, and even his servants. (Childless) He never married and left no children. He corresponded with his nephews, but it was his musical colleagues, more than blood relations, who were closest to being his real family.
Written for an official royal celebration, this piece marks a period when the aging Handel, through the war's end and his charitable work, had won back the public's affection.
- The overture's brilliant wind ensemble was originally designed to be performed outdoors alongside actual fireworks, giving prominence to trumpets, horns, and oboes.
- The buoyant rhythm of the movement 'La Réjouissance' (rejoicing) captures the relief at the war's end and the festive mood of the moment.
- Listening with the memory of how the stage actually caught fire at the premiere makes the grandeur of the winds feel all the more vivid.
VII. Old age in the dark · 1751–1759 (age 66–74)
(Eyesight) From around 1751 his eyesight rapidly worsened, and he was diagnosed with cataracts. He underwent surgery from an oculist named John Taylor, but his condition only worsened, leaving him blind. (Coincidence) As it happened, John Taylor was the very man who had operated on Johann Sebastian Bach a few years earlier, and Bach, too, died from complications of that surgery. It remains an irony that two masters who never met in their lifetimes both lost their sight at the hands of the same quack. (Performance) Even after going blind, he continued to lead oratorio performances, improvising organ concertos as he went. By some accounts he played from memory, touching the keys while an assistant pretended to turn pages beside him, deceiving the audience. (Death) In April 1759, around Easter, he took to his bed just after conducting a performance of Messiah, and died in London a few days later. He is said to have hoped that his death would fall during Holy Week. (Burial) Some three thousand people gathered for his funeral, and he was interred in Westminster Abbey — an honor on par with that given to kings.
A concerto said to have been shaped even after his blindness through dictation and improvisation, steeped in the feelings of an old age spent in darkness.
- The dialogue between solo organ and orchestra flows as freely as an improvisation.
- The simple, spare melody of the slow movement sounds as though it reflects the feelings of an old man who has lost his sight.
Glossary 📚🔎
Oratorio
A large-scale vocal work that tells a biblical or dramatic story through chorus, solo voices, and orchestra, without staging or costumes. Unlike opera, it is performed concert-style, without acting.
Countertenor
A voice type in which an adult male uses falsetto to reach a high range close to that of a female alto or soprano. Today countertenors often take on roles originally written for castrato singers in Baroque opera.
Sarabande
A slow, stately dance in triple meter originating in Spain. The accent falls on the second beat, giving it the feel of a weighted, deliberate step.
Ostinato
A technique of persistently repeating the same melodic or rhythmic figure throughout a piece or passage. The repetition itself builds tension or resolve.
Cadenza
A passage, typically in a concerto, where the soloist displays virtuosity freely without orchestral accompaniment. It was originally a space for the performer's own improvisation.
Pizzicato
A string-playing technique in which the strings are plucked with the fingers instead of bowed. It produces a light, bouncy, exotic tone.
Ascending melody
A melodic line that rises step by step from low pitches to high. It is often used to express intensifying emotion or growing certainty.