George Frideric Handel, a monumental German composer of the Classical era
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was a famous German composer who spent much of his life in England. He wrote operas and oratorios (including the oratorio, the Messiah). He also wrote the well-known Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks.
Handel wrote his musical works very quickly. For example, he wrote the Messiah in just 21 days. As a result, he left a huge body of work for us to enjoy.
Handel's music often shows deep psychological subtlety and the expression of the widest range of human feeling.Hallelujah Chorus (from Handel's Messiah)
Handel - Messiah - Hallelujah
Follow along with the sheet music!
Handel - Hallelujah: 14/04/2009: 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF HANDEL'S DEATH
HIGHER QUALITY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnHksDFHTQI&feature=channel_page&fmt=18 Perfomed by the Ambrosian singers. Directed by Charles Mackerras (The score has an error around 3:07/3:08, the tenor and the alto line should say "and lord of lords") The Ambrosian Singers is a small professional London choir founded in 1951.
Runtime: 238
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Handel - Messiah - For unto us a child is born
Follow along with the sheet music!
Handel: Messiah (Cambridge Music Handbooks)
Handel: Messiah (Cambridge Music Handbooks)
Amazon Price: $22.49 (as of 12/19/2009)
A clear, compact guide to the choral masterpiece
These Cambridge Music Handbooks are geared for specific background and analysis on specific musical works. I own another Cambridge book about
Haydn's Creation, which is also very good.
Burrows begins with historical background of the Messiah, recounts the initial performances in Dublin, and then covers the revisions and revivals in London. Other chapters cover later versions of Messiah (e.g. Mozart's orchestration), a short analysis of the overall design of the work, short comments on individual movements of interest, and Handel's word-setting. There are also two appendices and a wonderful bibliography.
Although brief and concise, the work is quite scholarly, containing many citations. It is clear that Burrows knows his stuff regarding Handel and Messiah.
My only disappointment with the book (and subsequent reason for four stars) is that many of Burrows' good points are buried within his scholarly prose and these gems are easy to overlook. Despite this, I would recommend this book to anybody involved in a performance of Handel's Messiah, and it is a must for any conductor. It provides a great deal of necessary background information in a concise manner, and is a great resource for program notes.
The Jupiter of Music
"Handel was the Jupiter of music;... his hallelujahs open the heavens. He utters the word 'Wonderful', as if all their trumpets spoke together. And then, when he comes to earth, to make love admidst nymphs and shepherds (for the beauties of all religions find room within his breast), his strains drip milk and honey, and his love is the youthfulness of the Golden Age."
-- Leigh Hunt, 1851
Handel (by Christopher Hogwood)
Handel, Revised Edition
Amazon Price: $18.76 (as of 12/18/2009)
George Friedrich Handel remains one of the unchallenged geniuses of musical history. Yet many revealing and fascinating aspects of his work have been obscured by generations of adulation, prejudice, or misinterpretation. Christopher Hogwood takes us back to the original Handel, blending the evidence from documents of all kinds with judicious biographical observations as well as a delightful selection of illustrations.
The result is a comprehensive and entertaining portrait of the developing character and career of Handel, with an important concluding chapter that traces the progress of the Handel legend down to our own time, and a chronological table compiled by Anthony Hicks that outlines major events in the composer's life and musical career. 100 illustrations, 10 in color.
Handel in 1733 (painting: Balthasar Denner)
Handel Music on CD
Greatest Hits HANDEL ~ Water Music, Largo, etc..
Amazon Price: $7.98 (as of 12/19/2009)
Handel - Messiah / Ameling · A. Reynolds · Langridge · Howell · Marriner
Amazon Price: $10.97 (as of 12/19/2009)
Handel: Water Music Suites
Amazon Price: $6.98 (as of 12/19/2009)
Water Music (by Handel)
Handel: Water Music (Opus Arte)
www.opusarte.com / The renowned London biographer Peter Ackroyd narrates the ambitious attempt of a team of historical experts to discover the remarkable story behind the 1717 premiere of Handel's Water Music on the Thames. The result is the second-ever performance on the river, filmed in costume on a regal-style period barge against the backdrop of the present-day Thames from Whitehall to Chelsea. More info at: www.opusarte.com
Runtime: 60
63390 views
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Handel: Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks (Cambridge Music Handbooks)
Handel: Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks (Cambridge Music Handbooks)
Amazon Price: $50.63 (as of 12/18/2009)
'Hogwood is a reliable and well-informed guide to this repertory. ...It is a fascinating document.' - Early Music
Program Notes on Famous Handel Works
- Israel in Egypt (Handel)
- "Israel in Egypt," the fifth of the nineteen oratorios which Handel composed in England, was written in 1738, the composition of the whole colossal work occupying but twenty-seven days...
CLICK ON ABOVE LINK TO READ FULL NOTES ON THIS WORK - Saul (Handel)
- The oratorio of "Saul" was written by Handel in 1738. The story closely follows the Biblical narrative of the relations between David and Saul. The overture is the longest of all the Handel introductions...
CLICK ON ABOVE LINK TO READ FULL NOTES ON THIS WORK - Samson (Handel)
- The oratorio of "Samson" was written in 1741. The last chorus was dated October 29; but in the following year Handel added to it "Let the bright Seraphim" and the chorus, "Let their celestial Concerts." The oratorio was first sung at Covent Garden, February 18, 1743...
CLICK ON ABOVE LINK TO READ FULL NOTES ON THIS WORK - The Messiah (Handel)
- "The Messiah" represents the ripened product of Handel's genius, and reflects the noblest aspirations and most exalted devotion of mankind. Among all his oratorios it retains its original freshness, vigor, and beauty in the highest degree, in that it appeals to the loftiest sentiment and to universal religious devotion, and is based upon the most harmonious, symmetrical, and enduring forms of the art...
CLICK ON ABOVE LINK TO READ FULL NOTES ON THIS WORK
Music for the Royal Fireworks (by Handel) (Part 1)
Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks 1/2 (Ouverture)
Very moving performance on 23 august 1991 of Handels Music for the Royal Fireworks by a huge baroque band on period instruments, consisting of 24 oboes, 16 bassoons, 1 contra-bassoon, 9 trumpets, 9 horns, 3 pairs of timpani and 5 drums, conducted by Robert King. The Ouverture is enlightened in this broadcast by the BBC by a dramatization in paper cut-outs of the events at the very first performance during which because of the improperly handled fireworks the concert pavillion was burned down. The recording with my old Telefunken machine has a slightly overmodulated sound, but it is not too disturbing and does not harm the overall grandioseness and beautiful splendor of the performance.
Runtime: 573
254002 views
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Musical Effect
"Handel understands effect better than any of us -- when he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt."
-- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Music for the Royal Fireworks (by Handel) (Part 2)
Interesting Internet Resources on George Frideric Handel
- Classical Music Archives: Handel
- Over 600 Handel works offered in the MIDI, MP3, and Windows Media audio formats (including the complete Messiah).
- The Handel House Museum
- The London house where Handel lived for 36 years has been now restored and turned into an interesting museum. This site gives details.
- George Frideric Handel
- Life and works of Handel (article by Francis Hueffer, Ph.D., formerly musical critic of The Times; author of The Troubadours: a History of Provençal Life and Literature in the Middle Ages and Richard Wagner and the Music of the Future; editor of Great Musicians).
George Frideric Handel - The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Handel's Handwriting (Manuscript of his Tolomeo)
Latest News on George Frideric Handel
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George Frideric Handel on 1959 German Postage Stamp
G. F. Handel - Sarabande
Show the World You Love Handel!
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- ilovemusic ilovemusic Sep 24, 2008 @ 3:48 am
- Hi Mia, I am glad you enjoyed my lens on Handel. For your interest I have added a couple of Music for the Royal Fireworks videos.
Here are some links on this music:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2007/aboutmusic/p52_handel_fireworks.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_the_Royal_Fireworks
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Reply
- MiaD MiaD Sep 23, 2008 @ 4:09 pm
- Hi, tell me please - do you have any link to Handels' music for Royal fireworks? I am working on a lens on foreworks and it was amazing to discover about this association between Handel's music and fireworks....:)
Thanks, Mia
by ilovemusic
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