George Frideric Handel

Born: February 23, 1685. Halle, Germany
Died: April 14, 1759. London, England

English composer, German by birth. Composed in all genres, but primarily remembered for his operas and oratorios.

George Frideric Handel began his life in Germany, the son of a barber-surgeon who wanted him to study law. He died an English citizen, the most renowned musical figure of his day and a national treasure. The career that led him there was, in almost every way, a complete contrast to that of his contemporary and fellow countryman, Johann Sebastian Bach (born less than a month after him). Where Bach composed for the church and for his patrons, Handel composed for the general public. Where Bach was primarily of man of God, Handel was a man of the world. And where Bach was a man who never left his native country, Handel was a world traveler.

Handel showed great musical talent at an early age, and his father allowed him to study with a local organist and composer. At age seventeen, the young Handel went to Hamburg, where he played violin in the opera orchestra. He was soon composing in the Italian style that he heard and played, and his first opera, Almira, was a rousing success. The next three years were spent in Italy, where his operas were extremely popular and where he continued to perfect his operatic style. He returned to Germany in 1710 to take the post of music director for the elector of Hanover, but almost immediately was invited to England to produce his opera Rinaldo. His return to Hanover was short-lived. In 1712 he again asked leave to go to England. His request was granted, but Handel never returned. In an interesting irony, the royal patron he left behind followed him to London in 1714 as the successor to the English throne, where he reigned as George I, the first of the Hanoverian kings. It was for his former employer that Handel wrote his Water Music.

In England, Handel continued to write operas in the serious Italian style, but his position as the leading operatic composer in England was soon challenged, first by the advent of a rival opera company (the Opera of the Nobility) and then by the development of a new and lighter style of the ballad opera. This latter style was begun by John Gay with The Beggar's Opera of 1728. As the popularity of Italian opera faded, Handel turned to another popular genre, the oratorio. Over the course of the next twenty years, he created a series of works that became some of the most popular in all of the Western tradition. Most famous among these was his telling of the life of Jesus, his Messiah (1742), and the "Hallelujah Chorus" from this work is arguably the most immediately recognizable piece of Western classical music.

Handel's output as a composer declined in his later years, but he continued to conduct and perform (he was a brilliant organist). Indeed, it was at the end of a performance of Messiah that he collapsed, dying three days later.

Musical Examples:

Audio example"Se un di m'adora" Aria from Mi palpita il cor
Audio exampleWater Music, Suite in D major, Allegro
Audio exampleSonata in F major for Recorder and Basso continuo
Audio example"Glory to God" from Messiah
Audio example"Hallelujah Chorus" from Messiah
Audio example"O Thou That Tellest" from Messiah


Works: