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Volume 1, Number 1: 18th-Century London

	Music	George Frideric Handel (February 23, 1685–April 14, 1759)
		George Frideric Handel is best known today as a composer of operas, orchestral music, and oratorios. Born in Germany, he played organ, studied, and composed in Germany, Italy, and finally England, where he settled and became a British subject in 1727. Brilliantly successful in his own time, especially with his operas and oratorios, his works dominated the musical world for more than 100 years after his death and are often performed today by orchestras, choirs, and early-music groups.
	Handel	Visit the Stacks page to find books and other resources on Handel.

Major Works*

	1705	Almira (Italian opera)
	1711	Rinaldo (Italian opera)
	1717	Water Music (orchestral suite)
	1724	Giulio Cesare (Italian opera)
	1727	Zadok the Priest (English coronation anthem)
	1733	Orlando (Italian opera)
	1738	Serse (Xerxes) (Italian opera)
	1739	Saul; Israel in Egypt (English oratorios)
	1742	Messiah (English oratorio)
	1743	Samson (English oratorio)
	1747	Judas Maccabeus (English oratorio)
	1749	Music for Royal Fireworks (orchestral music); Solomon (English oratorio)
	1752	Jephtha (English oratorio)

*Because Handel was so incredibly prolific, this table can show only some of
his most famous works. To see an exhaustive listing of Handel’s compositions,
click here. To listen to a sampling of Handel’s music, click here.

Some Musical Contemporaries

Baroque*: Handel’s contemporaries in the baroque style include the German
organist and composer Johann Sebastian Bach (Brandenburg Concertos,
Toccata and Fugue in D minor), German composer and close friend Georg
Philipp Telemann (prolific composer of operas, cantatas, orchestral suites,
chamber music, and concertos, including Concerto in G Major for Viola and
String Orchestra), and Italian composer and virtuoso violinist Antonio Vivaldi
(The Four Seasons).

Classical*: As Handel neared the end of his career, a new style of music was
emerging. The German classical composer Christoph Willibald von Gluck (ballet
Don Juan and opera Orfeo) met Handel in London in 1745. At the time of
Handel’s death, the classical composer Franz Joseph Haydn (Surprise and
London symphonies) was just beginning his public career; the prodigy Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart was three years old.

*Baroque music “is marked generally by use of complex forms, bold orna-
mentation, and the juxtaposition of contrasting elements often conveying a
sense of drama, movement, and tension.” Classical music is “characterized by
an emphasis on balance, clarity, and moderation.” (Both definitions from the
Merriam-Webster online dictionary).

What I Love About George Frideric Handel

Dedication to his calling: Despite Handel’s obvious musical talent, his
father did not want him to be a musician. Handel smuggled a small keyboard
into the family attic so he could practice. Later, when his father insisted he
study law, Handel simultaneously continued his music studies.

Artistic vision: When the English public began turning away from ornately
serious Italian operas and toward more “popular” works (such as John Gay’s
Beggar’s Opera), Handel gave them the oratorio. His oratorios used beautiful
music and English-language singing to portray sacred themes and stories,
without the dramatic staging associated with opera.

	What I Love About Handel’s Messiah
	I think the Sinfonia of Messiah is one of the most sublime pieces of music I’ve ever heard. Of course the Hallelujah chorus is the most famous, but it is also a kick to sing. There is both solemnity and joy, a reverence.

	Can’t Get Enough of Handel?
	Baroque Music Handel House Museum NPR Music “Handel is the greatest composer who ever lived. I would bare my head and kneel at his grave.”—Ludwig van Beethoven

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