Hello class! Today, I will continue with one of our feature composers for the semester. George Friedrich Handel was born on February 23, 1685, in Halle, Germany, and he is one of the most significant composers of the Baroque era. Handel's music is glorious but also regal.
For hundreds of years, he was the most significant composer of the Baroque, regardless of Johann Sebastian Bach's colossal output. Nonetheless, His musical legacy is vast and rich. So, the story goes like this. His body of work includes all significant Baroque music genres. He wrote oratorios and operas in addition to concerti grossi and anthems.
But it is worth noting that Handel was also a great visionary and businessman. Handel's contributions shaped our Western Baroque music tradition, with works that are as current today as when they were written. My plan is to make sure you understand his musical view, and how influential he was during his times.
His music was well respected by all. Kings and nobility felt represented by his musical ideas. Even Mozart said, he is the master of us all.
Handel's early life was always associated with music. Despite opposition from his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer, young George could not stay away from music for long. He studied law at Halle University, but decided to quit and dedicate himself to music full-time with his mother's approval.
At the cathedral, he received musical training from Friedrich Wilhelm Zocco. Mr. Zocco taught Handel many aspects of music, including composition, counterpoint, and playing the organ and violin. His operatic career began much earlier in his life when he joined the Hamburg Opera as a member of the violin section. It took no time before he received an offer to write his first opera, Elmira. This job helped him learn the intricacies of the voice.
He also traveled to Italy to learn the secrets of opera writing. One of his early operas, Rinaldo, written in 1711, was well received in London. A German national, Handel became a British citizen in 1727, with King George I's approval on a petition from the House of Lords. His musical career blossomed as court composer for the new King of England.
The Fireworks Music Suite and the Water Music Suite are some of the royal commissions that made a living legend out of Handel while he lived in London. These pieces were written for public occasions and large audiences, but still maintained the pompous and celebratory spirit of his music. To his advantage, Handel was quite adept at writing music well-received by popular and elite listeners alike. His opera works are filled with drama, expressive arias, and complex orchestrations. Two more of his operas show his understanding of the genre by displaying human emotions and an uncanny ability to blend highly technical vocal lines with rich orchestral textures of the strings.
The experience gained in the Hamburg opera proved very helpful for Handel. He was instrumental in developing the opera style during the Baroque period. Giulio Caesar and Alsina are certainly great examples of opera in the Italian style that Handel learned and used.
Perhaps what is most impressive about Handel was his ability to adapt and innovate. We'll see this later in his life, as he decides to stop composing operas to favor writing oratorios. Handel wrote 42 operas, but the decision to switch to oratorios was a business decision based on the changing tastes of audiences.
and financial challenges with opera production at the time. His understanding of the voice and his love for the theatre propelled Handel's opportunities to make great music and generate profit for himself. He was attracted to oratorios because they did not use the elaborate costumes of the opera, and British audiences loved them because they were sung in English. His opera success is not disputed, but his immediate popularity with oratorios cemented his lasting fame.
Messiah and Judas Maccabeus, written in the 1740s, were highly celebrated. And in the United States, Messiah is staged every year, signaling Christmas time, but originally was performed in 1742 during Easter. It made more marketable sense for it to be sung during Christmas to signal the birth of Christ.
The Hallelujah Chorus is synonymous with Handel's name and music. For your information, oratorios differ from operas, because they are performed without staging or costumes. Therefore, allowing Handel more time to concentrate on the musical aspects of the work. Oratorios are mostly based on biblical passages, and reflect Handel's ability to display his spiritual and emotional depth through his music. On the other hand, His instrumental music, particularly his Concerti Grossi, is considered a treasured collection of the Baroque period.
His knowledge of melodies, probably deriving from his Hamburg operatimes, demonstrates a great understanding of counterpoint and balance. Undoubtedly, his music is recognized today as a great representative of the Baroque period, and a great companion of other Baroque greats, such as Johann Sebastian Bach. George Philippe Telemann, and Antonio Vivaldi. His music influenced the next wave of great composers of the following periods. The great Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven used many of his musical concepts in their compositions.
Beethoven recognized Handel's work and once said that Handel was the greatest composer who ever lived. Handel's structure and dramatic settings helped to develop the upcoming innovations of the classical period. In addition, his music played an important role in the lives of 18th-century Londonians.
One could listen to his music in public and royal ceremonies, as it shaped the English musical scene and culture of his time. The regular worldwide performances of Messiah continue to be an opportunity to establish a musical tradition that is welcomed by all. As we come to the end of Handel's presentation, It is important to state that his legacy stays alive through many events and festivals that program yearly events dedicated to the legendary composer's music.
They are convinced that his music will remain a living tradition that will continue inspiring and delighting the new and younger generations in times to come. The many operas and oratorios that he composed are a testament to his genius. Handel continues to be one of the composers who shaped the times in which he lived.
Along with his many hymns and Concerti Grossi, he continues to be revered and extremely relevant to the world of music.