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George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (/ ˈ h æ n d əl /; baptised Georg Fried(e)rich Händel, German: [ˈɡeːɔʁk ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈhɛndl̩] ⓘ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos.
Jul 20, 2023 · Through the 1730s, Handel wrote many new and successful operas, including Ariodante (1735), Alcina (1735), and Atalanta (1736), but there were many failures, too, and the strain was beginning to tell. In April 1737, the composer suffered a minor stroke.
- Mark Cartwright
- What is George Frideric Handel famous for?George Frideric Handel is famous for being a composer of baroque music, in particular, the Messiah oratorio.
- What are 3 facts about George Frideric Handel?3 facts about George Frideric Handel are he wrote the Messiah oratorio, probably the most popular choral piece ever written, he was born in Germany...
- What is unique about Handel's music?A unique feature of Handel's music is that he created a new type of performance, the English oratorio, which was a mix of sacred music with operati...
- What is one of the most famous works of George Frideric Handel?The most famous work by George Frideric Handel is his Messiah oratorio, first performed in Dublin in April 1742.
- Overview
- Music of George Frideric Handel
- Influence
The first basis of Handel’s style was the north German music of his childhood, but it was soon completely overlaid by the Italian style that he acquired in early adulthood during his travels in Italy. The influences of Arcangelo Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti can be detected in his work to the end of his long life, and the French style of Jean-Baptiste Lully and, later, that of the English composer Henry Purcell are also evident. There is a robustness in Handel’s later music that gives it a very English quality. Above all, his music is eminently vocal. Handel’s directness of manner makes him one of the great masters of choral music. His choruses have a power and effectiveness that have never been surpassed, and his writing for them is remarkable for the manner in which he interweaves massive but simple harmonic passages with contrapuntal sections of great ingenuity, the whole most effectively illustrating the text. His writing for the solo voice is outstanding in its suitability for the medium and its unerring melodic line. Handel had a striking ability to depict human character musically in a single scene or aria, a gift used with great dramatic power in his operas and oratorios.
Though the bulk of his music was vocal, Handel was nevertheless one of the great instrumental composers of the late Baroque era. His long series of overtures (mostly in the French style), his orchestral concertos (Op. 3 and Op. 6), his large-scale concert music for strings and winds (such as the Water Music and the Music for the Royal Fireworks), and the massive double concertos and organ concertos all show him to have been a complete master of the orchestral means at his command.
Handel had a lifelong attachment to the theatre—even his oratorios were usually performed on the stage rather than in church. Until almost the end of his life he loved Italian opera, and only after it involved him in ever-increasing financial losses did he abandon it for English oratorio. Like other composers of his time, he accepted the conventions of Italian opera, with its employment of male sopranos and contraltos and the formalized sequences of stylized recitatives and arias upon which opera seria was constructed. Using these conventions, he produced many masterpieces. Among the Italian operas, such works as Giulio Cesare (1724), Sosarme (1732), and Alcina (1735) still make impressive stage spectacles, with some scenes of great dramatic power bursting through the formal Baroque grandeur. Many of his Italian operas were revived in the 20th century.
But Handel’s oratorios now seem even more dramatic than his operas, and they can generally be performed on the stage with remarkably little alteration. Most of them, from early attempts such as Esther to such consummately crafted later works as Saul, Samson, Belshazzar, and Jephtha, treat a particular dramatic theme taken from the Old Testament that illustrates the heroism and suffering of a particular individual. The story line is illustrated by solo recitatives and arias and underlined by the chorus. With Israel in Egypt and Messiah, however, the emphasis is quite different, Israel because of its uninterrupted chain of massive choruses, which do not lend themselves to stage presentation, and Messiah because it is a meditation on the life of Christ the Saviour rather than a dramatic narration of his Passion. Handel also used the dramatic oratorio genre for a number of secular works, chief among which are Semele and Hercules, both based on stories from Greek mythology. But the finest of his secular choral works is Acis and Galatea, which has a youthful magic he never quite recovered in subsequent pieces of this type.
Handel’s most notable contribution to church music is his series of large-scale anthems, foremost of which are the 11 Chandos Anthems; though written for a small group of singers and instrumentalists, they are conceived on a grand scale. Closely following these works are the four Coronation Anthems for George II; the most celebrated of these, Zadok the Priest, is a striking example of what Ludwig van Beethoven called Handel’s ability to achieve “great effects with simple means.”
Most of the orchestral music Handel wrote consists of overtures, often in the style of Lully, and totaling about 80 in number. Handel was equally adept at the concerto form, especially the concerto grosso, in which he generally employed four or more movements. His most important works of this type are the Six Concerti Grossi (known as The Oboe Concertos), Op. 3, and the Twelve Grand Concertos, which represent the peak of the Baroque concerto grosso for stringed instruments. The Water Music and Fireworks Music suites, for wind and string band, stand in a special class in the history of late Baroque music by virtue of their combination of grandeur and melodic bravura. They are still among the most popular of his works.
The first basis of Handel’s style was the north German music of his childhood, but it was soon completely overlaid by the Italian style that he acquired in early adulthood during his travels in Italy. The influences of Arcangelo Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti can be detected in his work to the end of his long life, and the French style of Jean-Baptiste Lully and, later, that of the English composer Henry Purcell are also evident. There is a robustness in Handel’s later music that gives it a very English quality. Above all, his music is eminently vocal. Handel’s directness of manner makes him one of the great masters of choral music. His choruses have a power and effectiveness that have never been surpassed, and his writing for them is remarkable for the manner in which he interweaves massive but simple harmonic passages with contrapuntal sections of great ingenuity, the whole most effectively illustrating the text. His writing for the solo voice is outstanding in its suitability for the medium and its unerring melodic line. Handel had a striking ability to depict human character musically in a single scene or aria, a gift used with great dramatic power in his operas and oratorios.
Though the bulk of his music was vocal, Handel was nevertheless one of the great instrumental composers of the late Baroque era. His long series of overtures (mostly in the French style), his orchestral concertos (Op. 3 and Op. 6), his large-scale concert music for strings and winds (such as the Water Music and the Music for the Royal Fireworks), and the massive double concertos and organ concertos all show him to have been a complete master of the orchestral means at his command.
Handel had a lifelong attachment to the theatre—even his oratorios were usually performed on the stage rather than in church. Until almost the end of his life he loved Italian opera, and only after it involved him in ever-increasing financial losses did he abandon it for English oratorio. Like other composers of his time, he accepted the conventions of Italian opera, with its employment of male sopranos and contraltos and the formalized sequences of stylized recitatives and arias upon which opera seria was constructed. Using these conventions, he produced many masterpieces. Among the Italian operas, such works as Giulio Cesare (1724), Sosarme (1732), and Alcina (1735) still make impressive stage spectacles, with some scenes of great dramatic power bursting through the formal Baroque grandeur. Many of his Italian operas were revived in the 20th century.
But Handel’s oratorios now seem even more dramatic than his operas, and they can generally be performed on the stage with remarkably little alteration. Most of them, from early attempts such as Esther to such consummately crafted later works as Saul, Samson, Belshazzar, and Jephtha, treat a particular dramatic theme taken from the Old Testament that illustrates the heroism and suffering of a particular individual. The story line is illustrated by solo recitatives and arias and underlined by the chorus. With Israel in Egypt and Messiah, however, the emphasis is quite different, Israel because of its uninterrupted chain of massive choruses, which do not lend themselves to stage presentation, and Messiah because it is a meditation on the life of Christ the Saviour rather than a dramatic narration of his Passion. Handel also used the dramatic oratorio genre for a number of secular works, chief among which are Semele and Hercules, both based on stories from Greek mythology. But the finest of his secular choral works is Acis and Galatea, which has a youthful magic he never quite recovered in subsequent pieces of this type.
Handel’s most notable contribution to church music is his series of large-scale anthems, foremost of which are the 11 Chandos Anthems; though written for a small group of singers and instrumentalists, they are conceived on a grand scale. Closely following these works are the four Coronation Anthems for George II; the most celebrated of these, Zadok the Priest, is a striking example of what Ludwig van Beethoven called Handel’s ability to achieve “great effects with simple means.”
Most of the orchestral music Handel wrote consists of overtures, often in the style of Lully, and totaling about 80 in number. Handel was equally adept at the concerto form, especially the concerto grosso, in which he generally employed four or more movements. His most important works of this type are the Six Concerti Grossi (known as The Oboe Concertos), Op. 3, and the Twelve Grand Concertos, which represent the peak of the Baroque concerto grosso for stringed instruments. The Water Music and Fireworks Music suites, for wind and string band, stand in a special class in the history of late Baroque music by virtue of their combination of grandeur and melodic bravura. They are still among the most popular of his works.
In England, Handel was accorded the status of a classic composer even in his own lifetime, and he is perhaps unique among musicians in never having suffered any diminution of his reputation there since. As a young man on the European continent, he had to some extent supplied the demands of aristocratic patronage, but in England he adapted himself t...
Nov 21, 2023 · Biography of Handel. Handel was a musical child prodigy that lived his entire life producing quality compositions. In his lifetime, he composed approximately 30 oratorios and 50 operas in...
- Who was King of England during Handel's time?George, Elector of Hanover in Germany, became King George I of Great Britain while Handel was living in London. Handel composed Water Music for t...
- What is Handel most famous for?Handel is most famous for his oratorio Messiah with its renowned Hallelujah chorus. The piece is most often performed around Christmas and Easter.
- What did Handel write for King George?Handel was honored to play before many royals. For his performance for King George I, Handel composed Water Music , which was performed outdoors.
- What is Handel's musical style?Handel's primary musical style is considered to be high-Baroque. He created the English oratorio and organ concerto, and he introduced a new style...
At just 21, Handel moved to Italy to develop his skills as a composer, and had considerable success with his first ever operas. In 1714 Handel finally settled in England, and transformed British music and opera tastes. He is now best known for operas such as Rinaldo (his first London success), Rodelinda and Acis and Galatea (his first staged ...
And in fact, this would be one of three opera companies that he would write. Basically, I think he just kind of became a titan of industry. He wrote five operas, I think five or six before this. Then he would write 36 operas for English audiences. 00:22:25
Handel composed more than forty operas in over thirty years, and since the late 1960s, with the revival of baroque music and historically informed musical performance, interest in Handel’s operas has grown.
