George Frideric Handel
"I did think I did see all heaven before me, and the great God himself" — words said to have been left behind while writing the Hallelujah Chorus of Messiah
At a glance 🔭💭
People around him ⏳🌊
- FamilyGeorg HändelHe was the father who, hoping his son would become a lawyer, long opposed his musical education.
- TeacherFriedrich Wilhelm ZachowAs organist in Halle, he taught the young Handel the fundamentals of composition and organ.
- RivalryJohann MatthesonA fellow composer with whom he was close friends in Hamburg, yet with whom he even fought a duel.
- FriendshipDomenico ScarlattiAfter a keyboard contest in Rome, they came to respect each other and remained lifelong friends.
- InfluenceJohann Sebastian BachA German master born in the same year; the two wished to meet but never did, and both later went blind after surgery by the same eye surgeon.
- FriendshipCharles JennensHe wrote the librettos for Messiah and several other oratorios, and often clashed with Handel by letter over theological interpretation.
I. The boy from Halle · 1685–1703 (age 0–18)
He was born in February 1685 in Halle, Germany. (father) His father, Georg Händel, was a barber-surgeon employed at the Halle court and town hall. Having had this late-born son at sixty-three, he hoped the boy would become a lawyer, and believed music should be nothing more than a gentleman's accomplishment. (mother) His mother, Dorothea Taust, was a pastor's daughter. Behind her husband's back she indulged their son's musical talent, and most of the letters Handel later sent from London were addressed to her. (attic) When his father forbade instruments in the house, the young Handel is said to have secretly kept a clavichord in the attic and practiced there every night. The truth of the story is uncertain, but it points to a suppressed longing that stirred in him from childhood. (Zachow) His father had a change of heart after the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, having heard him play by chance during a court visit, recognized his talent and urged that it be cultivated. Handel then formally studied composition and organ under Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, organist in Halle. (loss) His father died in 1697. Handel honored his wish by enrolling at the University of Halle to study law, but the following year he took a post as church organist and turned decisively toward music. (same age) That same year, 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach was born some hundred kilometers away in Eisenach. The two never met in their lifetimes, yet they are often placed side by side as coevals who came to define German Baroque music.
II. Hamburg and Italy · 1703–1710 (age 18–25)
(Hamburg) In 1703 he left Halle to become a violinist at the Hamburg opera house. There he grew close to the composer Johann Mattheson while also competing with him. (duel) Mattheson and Handel quarreled over a seat during a performance of one of Mattheson's operas, and the dispute escalated into a sword duel. As the story goes, Mattheson's blade struck a button on Handel's waistcoat and snapped, sparing his life. (opera) In 1705 he staged his first opera, Almira, in Hamburg to warm acclaim. The success led him to resolve on further study in Italy. (Italy) From 1706 he moved among 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 Roman palazzo, a contest was arranged between him and Domenico Scarlatti to compare their skill at harpsichord and organ. The harpsichord contest was judged too close to call, but Handel was thought superior on the organ, and the two remained lifelong friends afterward. (sacred music) In Rome, opera was restricted by the papal authorities, so he wrote a number of sacred works instead. Dixit Dominus, a setting of the psalm, poured all the ambition and skill of a twenty-two-year-old into a single work. (Venice) In Venice his opera Agrippina was performed to acclaim, and there he also encountered the concerto style of Antonio Vivaldi, then active in the city, which left its mark on his later instrumental works.
An early masterpiece in which a twenty-two-year-old, immersed in sacred music in Rome, poured out ambition and skill at once.
- In the opening chorus, strings and voices interlock in dense counterpoint, driving the rhythm forward with a headlong urgency that reveals the young Handel's boldness.
- In the 'Juravit Dominus' section, a short figure is relentlessly repeated throughout on a technique of obsessive repetition (ostinato), as though inscribing an unshakable vow.
- In the 'De torrente' duet, the two soprano parts chase and entwine each other, making it a passage singers find demanding in both breath control and intonation.
- The explosive climax of the final 'Gloria Patri' chorus concentrates 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, the Elector of Hanover. But he almost immediately took leave to cross to London, where he staged the opera Rinaldo to great success. (going to London) Drawn by London's response, he did not return to Hanover but settled there instead — a move that could be seen as both a breach of contract and a betrayal of his patron. (reversal) 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 he is said to have won back the king's favor by composing Water Music for a royal outing 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 music was, in effect, the whole of his existence. (Royal Academy of Music) In 1719 the Royal Academy of Music was founded with funding from the nobility, and Handel served as its music director — an ambitious venture to establish Italian opera on the English stage. (finances) He was deeply involved not only in composing but also in running the theater, engaging singers, and making investments. He spent modestly and instead managed his money with thrift and precision, amassing a considerable fortune in later years.
An aria from Rinaldo, his London debut, in which the anxiety of a man staking everything on a strange city seeps into a melody of restrained sorrow.
- A slow, weighty triple-meter dance rhythm (sarabande) expresses sorrow with restrained, measured steps.
- The resignation and entreaty of 'let me weep' unfold in phrases that are simple yet long-breathed, testing a singer's breath control.
- Moments where the accompaniment thins to almost nothing, leaving the voice exposed, are still arranged today for a range of voice types — soprano, countertenor (a male voice using falsetto to reach a high register), and others — yielding widely differing interpretations.
Music of reconciliation, said to have been written for a Thames river outing to ease the awkward relationship with his former patron, now King George I.
- Written with outdoor performance in mind, so that horns and trumpets would resound across the water, the piece is full of brilliant fanfares for the wind instruments.
- The buoyant horn calls of the F major suite are still commonly used today in coronation or festival footage.
- The conversational give-and-take of phrases between strings and woodwinds seems to carry over the very gaiety of the river outing.
IV. Opera wars and downfall · 1728–1737 (age 43–52)
(rivalry) At the Royal Academy of Music, he competed with the composer Giovanni Bononcini for public favor. London society split into two rival camps, and Handel ultimately came out ahead. (divas) The feud between the prima donnas Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni escalated into an onstage brawl that threw the theater into an uproar. Handel knew how to turn even this rivalry into box-office fuel. (libretto) Behind the success of the opera Giulio Cesare in this period lay the grinding practical labor of rewriting arias each time to suit a new prima donna's particular skills. (bankruptcy) But public interest in Italian opera gradually cooled, and John Gay's English-language ballad opera The Beggar's Opera, which mocked Handel, became wildly popular. In 1728 the Royal Academy of Music went bankrupt. (setback) Handel funded a new opera company out of his own pocket, but it too collapsed in the fight against a rival company backed by noble patrons. In 1737, under severe stress, he suffered what is believed to have been a stroke, leaving his right hand paralyzed. (the spa) He went to recuperate at the hot springs of Aachen, Germany, and recovered so remarkably within a few months that he could sit at the organ again. But as an impresario of Italian opera, he was by then past the point of recovery.
An aria of seduction, bearing the practical toil of having to be reworked to suit a prima donna's technique at the height of the opera wars.
- Sung by Cleopatra, this aria combines harp with strings played pizzicato — plucked with the fingers instead of bowed — to create an exotic, dreamlike atmosphere.
- True to a song of seduction, the melody never hurries, each note drawn out at length, laying bare a countertenor's or mezzo-soprano's command of tone color.
- Because her entrance itself is staged as a dramatic event, this is a scene where directors' interpretations diverge widely.
V. Messiah, a new path · 1737–1742 (age 52–57)
(Turning point) After a string of failures in the opera business, he turned to oratorios set to English librettos. This form, which conveyed its story through chorus and solo voices alone, without stage sets or costumes, cost far less to produce. (Scripture) He turned out one Old Testament oratorio after another — Saul, 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 entirety of Messiah in just twenty-four days. Coming after years of frustration and declining health, this burst of immersion is said to have felt almost like a religious experience. (Hallelujah) The 1742 Dublin premiere was a great success, and the following year, at the London performance, an anecdote holds that George II rose to his feet when the Hallelujah Chorus rang out — giving rise to the custom of audiences standing at this passage. The truth of the story, however, remains unconfirmed. (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 just twenty-four days of immersion after he had endured the collapse of his opera business and a stroke.
- The tenor's 'Comfort ye' begins low and gradually widens in range, as if filling with conviction, to deliver its words of comfort.
- The chorus 'For unto us a child is born' builds its joy by degrees, piling up a short melodic phrase through imitative entries passed from voice to voice (a fugue-like texture).
- The trumpets and timpani of the Hallelujah Chorus symbolize divine power, and the custom of audiences rising at this passage continues to this day.
- The soprano aria 'I know that my Redeemer liveth' sings its conviction of 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. (Appetite) He was famous for his hearty appetite and stout figure. According to one anecdote, he once ordered dinner for several people alone at a restaurant, and when his companions were late, he declared he would start without them and ate through his own portion first. (Students) He had few figures around him who could truly be called students, but young composers learned the craft of oratorio by observing his rehearsals. He was known for his quick temper and for flying into rages in heavily accented English, yet he looked after the livelihoods of his performers with great care. (Fortune) In his later years he amassed considerable wealth, and repeatedly expanded the list of beneficiaries in his will. He divided his legacy carefully among the Foundling Hospital, old acquaintances, and even his servants. (Childless) He never married and left no children. He corresponded with his nephews and nieces, but it was his musical colleagues, rather than blood relatives, who were closer to being his true family.
A work the aging Handel wrote for an official royal celebration, at a time when the war's end and his charitable work had won back the public's affection.
- The overture's brilliant wind ensemble, originally designed to be played outdoors alongside the actual fireworks, gives prominence to trumpets, horns, and oboes.
- The buoyant rhythm of the movement 'La Réjouissance' (rejoicing) captures the relief of war's end and the festive mood of the moment.
- Listening with the memory of the actual fire that broke out on stage at the premiere, the grandeur of the winds feels all the more vivid.
VII. Old age in darkness · 1751–1759 (age 66–74)
(Eyesight) From around 1751 his vision deteriorated sharply and he was diagnosed with cataracts. He underwent surgery from an ophthalmologist named John Taylor, but his condition only worsened, leading to blindness. (Coincidence) As it happened, John Taylor was the very same man who had operated on Johann Sebastian Bach some years earlier, and Bach too had died from the aftereffects of that surgery. It remains an irony that two masters who never met in life should both have lost their sight at the hands of the same quack. (Performance) Even after going blind, he continued to lead oratorio performances, improvising organ concertos. He is said to have 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 expressed the hope 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 a par with that given to kings.
A concerto said to have been shaped by dictation and improvisation even after he went blind, steeped in the state of mind of old age in darkness.
- The dialogue between organ solo and orchestra flows freely, like an improvisation.
- The simple, spacious melody of the slow movement sounds as though it reflects the state of mind of an old man who has lost his sight.
- The passage where the soloist displays technique freely without accompaniment (the cadenza) was originally a space for Handel's own improvisation, which is why performers today fill it in at their own discretion.
Glossary 📚🔎
Oratorio
A large-scale vocal work that conveys a biblical or dramatic story through chorus, solo voices, and orchestra, without stage sets or costumes. Unlike opera, it is performed in concert form, without acting.
Countertenor
A voice type in which an adult man uses falsetto to produce a high range close to that of a female alto or soprano. Today it often takes on roles originally written for castrato singers in Baroque opera.
Sarabande
A slow, stately dance in triple meter, originally of Spanish origin. The accent falls on the second beat, giving it the feel of a weighted, measured gait.
Ostinato
A technique in which the same melodic or rhythmic figure is repeated insistently throughout a piece or passage. The repetition itself builds tension or resolve.
Cadenza
A passage, as 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, bouncing, exotic tone.
Ascending line
A melodic line that rises step by step from low to high. It is often used to express mounting emotion or conviction.