George Frideric Handel: The Harmonious Tunesmith

Handel began his career as church organist in his hometown of Halle, but soon sought greener pasture in Hamburg, where he accepted the position as violinist and harpsichordist in the orchestra at the opera house.  His first two operas, Almira and Nero, were performed there in 1705 when he was only 20 years old; and their success earned him an invitation to a 3-year tour of Italy, where he mastered the Italian style of opera and oratorio.

Upon his return to Germany, he was appointed Kapellmeister to the elector of Hanover; but since he had already been bitten by the travel bug, he took several leaves of absence to stage his operas in London, from where he would never returned from his final trip in 1712.  Obviously, the elector never took it against him for going AWOL, when the elector later became George I of England and awarded Handel an attractive pension.

Although his main interest was always opera, Handel also composed a fair amount for organ and harpsichord being an excellent keyboard player himself, and some orchestral music according to the latest French and Italian fashion. Perhaps his most well-known orchestral works are the Water Music, performed for King George I on the Thames River, and the Music for the Royal Fireworks, written for the celebration of the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle that brought the War of Austrian Succession to a close, both good examples of Handel the showman.  He also wrote quite a number of brilliant concerti grossi, sonatas and concertos for organ that displayed his gift of harmony and innovation, as do his 16 keyboard suites, particularly The Harmonious Blacksmith.

In 1711, Handel enjoyed great success with the staging of his opera Rinaldo at Queen’s Theater in London that he eventually decided to settle permanently in England.  He followed it with several more, expecting for the same sort of success.  However, although the public adored his music, they were not exactly thrilled about opera sung in Italian, and the operas got mixed reviews. 

Often regarded as the highlight of Baroque oratorio composition, Messiah was the defining moment in his career that when it premiered in Dublin in 1742 to glowing reviews, Handel wholly gave up opera and dedicated the rest of his life to English oratorio. It was a masterwork that encompassed all components of his mature style; and it is still one of the most commonly performed choral works even in the present.   He ultimately composed a dozen more oratorios primarily based on Old Testament Scriptures (such as Samson, Solomon and Joshua) and classical mythology (Semele and Hercules).  However, deteriorating health and blindness cut short his musical production in the 1750s, but when he died in 1759, he was recognized as the greatest composer of his time, and was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.

More classical music treats:

• Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-tempered Musician
• Ludwig Van Beethoven: The Extraordinary Genius
• Hector Berlioz: Truly Fantastique
• Johannes Brahms: The Classical Romantic
• Frederic Chopin: The Poet of the Piano
• George Frideric Handel: The Harmonious Tunesmith
• Franz Joseph Haydn: Father of The Symphony
• Felix Mendelssohn: The Midsummer Night’s Dreamer
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Wunderkind
• Franz Schubert: The Great Lieder
• Antonio Vivaldi: The Red Priest