George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
One of the greatest composers of the late baroque period (1700-1750) and, during his lifetime, perhaps the most internationally famous of all musicians.
Handel was born February 24, 1685, in Halle, Germany, to a family of no musical distinction. His own musical talent, however, manifested itself so clearly that before his tenth birthday he began to receive, from a local organist, the only formal musical instruction he would ever have. Although his first job, beginning just after his 17th birthday, was as church organist in Halle, Handel's musical predilections lay elsewhere. Thus, in 1703 he traveled to Hamburg, the operatic center of Germany; here, in 1704, he composed his own first opera, Almira, which achieved great success the following year. Once again, however, Handel soon felt the urge to move on, and his inclinations led him to Italy, the birthplace of operatic style. He stopped first at Florence in the autumn of 1706. In the spring and summer of 1707 and 1708 he traveled to Rome, enjoying the patronage of both the nobility and the clergy, and in the late spring of 1707 he made an additional short trip to Naples. In Italy Handel composed operas, oratorios, and many small secular cantatas; he ended his Italian sojourn with the spectacular success of his fifth opera, Agrippina (1709), in Venice.
London Opera Career
Handel left Italy for a job as court composer and conductor in Hannover, Germany, where he arrived in the spring of 1710. As had been the case in Halle, however, he did not hold this job for long. By the end of 1710 Handel had left for London, where with Rinaldo (1711), he once again scored an operatic triumph. After returning to Hannover he was granted permission for a second, short trip to London, from which, however, he never returned. Handel was forced to face his truancy when in 1714 the elector at Hannover, his former employer, became King George I of England. The reconciliation of these two men may well have occurred, as has often been said, during a royal party on the River Thames in 1717, during which the F major suite from Handel's Water Music was probably played. Under the patronage of the duke of Chandos, he composed his oratorio Esther and the 11 Chandos anthems for choir and string orchestra (1717-1720). By 1719 Handel had won the support of the king to start the Royal Academy of Music for performances of opera, which presented some of Handel's greatest operas: Radamisto (1720), Giulio Cesare (1724), Tamerlano (1724), and Rodelinda (1725). In 1727 Handel became a naturalized British subject; in 1728 the academy collapsed. He formed a new company the following year. Forced to move to another theater by the Opera of the Nobility, a rival company, in 1734, he continued to produce opera until 1737, when both houses failed. Handel suffered a stroke and retired to Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) to recuperate.
Oratorios
In 1738 Handel, as determined as ever, began yet another operatic endeavor, which ended with his last opera, Deidamia, in 1741. During the 1730s, however, the most important directions taken by Handel were, first, the composition of English dramatic oratorios, notably Athalia (1733) and Saul (1739); and, second, the surge of instrumental music used in conjunction with the oratorios, including some of Handel's greatest concertos-the solo concertos of op. 4 (1736, five for organ and one for harp) and the 12 concerti grossi of op. 6 (1739). In 1742 Messiah, the work for which he is best known, was first performed in Dublin. Handel continued composing oratorios at the rate of about two a year, including such masterworks as Samson (1743) and Solomon (1749), until 1751, when his eyesight began to fail. Handel died in London on April 14, 1759; the last musical performance he heard, on April 6, was of his own Messiah.
Legacy
Throughout his life Handel avoided the rigorous contrapuntal techniques of his compatriot and exact contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach and achieved his effects through the simplest of means, trusting always his own innate musicianship. The music of both composers, however, sums up the age in which they lived. After them, opera took a different path; the favorite baroque genres of chamber and orchestral music, trio sonata and concerto grosso, were largely abandoned; and the development of the symphony orchestra and the pianoforte led into realms uncharted by the baroque masters. Thus, their influence cannot be found in specific examples. Rather, Handel's legacy lies in the dramatic power and lyrical beauty inherent in all his music. His operas move from the rigid use of conventional schemes toward a more flexible and dramatic treatment of recitative, arioso, aria, and chorus. His ability to build large scenes around a single character was further extended in the dramatic scenas of composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Italian Gioacchino Rossini. Handel's greatest gift to posterity was undoubtedly the creation of the dramatic oratorio genre, partly out of existing operatic traditions and partly by force of his own musical imagination; without question, the oratorios of both the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn and the German composer Felix Mendelssohn owe a large debt to those of Handel. He was one of the first composers to have a biography written of him (1760), to have centennial celebrations of his birth (1784-1786), and to have a complete edition of his music published (40 vol., 1787-1797)-Ludwig van Beethoven cherished his set. Although today, as in the 19th century, Handel is best known for only a few of his works, such as Water Music and Messiah, more and more attempts are being made to bring his other compositions, especially his operas, before the public. Handel's rich and unique musical genius deserves to be remembered in the extraordinary fullness of its entirety.
Works from J.S.Bach & Haydn
ORIGINAL TEXT OF THE MESSIAH
Comfort ye!
comfort ye my people!
saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplish'd,
that her iniquity is pardon'd.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Ev'ry valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill made low,
the crooked straight,
and the rough places plain.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.
And all flesh shall see it together:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts;
Yet once a little while
and I will shake the heav'ns and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
And I will shake all nations,
and the desire of all nations shall come.
The Lord whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to His temple,
ev'n the messenger of the covenant,
whom ye delight in,
Behold, He shall come,
saith the Lord of Hosts.
But who may abide the day of His coming?
and who shall stand when He appeareth?
For He is like a refiner's fire.
And He shall purify the sons of Levi,
that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
Behold, a virgin shall conceive,
and bear a son,
and shall call his name Emmanuel,
God with us.
O! thou that tellest good tidings to Zion,
get thee up into the high mountain;
O! thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem,
lift up thy voice with strength;
lift it up, be not afraid;
say unto the cities of Judah,
Behold your God! Arise, shine,
for thy light is come,
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
For, behold!
darkness shall cover the earth,
and gross darkness the people;
but the Lord shall arise upon thee,
and His glory shall be seen upon thee.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light,
and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light,
and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,
upon them hath the light shined.
For unto us a Child is born,
unto us a son is given,
and the government shall be upon His shoulder:
and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
There were shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them,
and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them,
Fear not, for behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour,
which is Christ, the Lord.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude
of the heavenly host praising God, and saying:
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace on earth,
good will towards men.
Rejoice greatly,
O daughter of Sion,
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem,
behold, thy King cometh unto thee.
He is the righteous Saviour.
And he shall speak peace unto the heathen.
Then shall the eyes of the blind be open'd,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap as a hart,
and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd;
and he shall gather the lambs with His arm,
and carry them in His bossom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
Come unto Him, all ye that labour
come unto him that are heavy laden,
and He will give you rest.
Take his yoke upon you,
and learn of him;
for he is meek and lowly of heart,
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
His yoke is easy, his burden is light.
Behold the Lamb of God,
that taketh away the sin of the world.
He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief.
He gave his back to the smiters,
and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair,
He hid not His face from shame and spitting.
Surely he hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows!
He was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was upon him.
And with his stripes we are healed.
All we, like sheep,
have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
All they that see him,
laugh him to scorn:
they shoot out their lips,
they shake their heads,
saying.
He trusted in God that he would deliver him:
let him deliver him,
if he delight in him.
Thy rebuke hath broken his heart;
He is full of heaviness.
He looked for some to have pity on Him,
but there was no man;
neither found He any to comfort Him.
Behold,
and see if there be any sorrow like unto his sorrow!
he was cut off out of the the living:
for the transgression of Thy people was He stricken.
But thou didst not leave his soul in hell;
nor didst thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.
Lift up your heads,
O ye gates;
and be ye lift up,
ye everlasting doors;
and the King of Glory shall come in!
Who is the King of Glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up,
ye everlasting doors;
and the King of Glory shall come in.
Who is the King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts,
He is the King of Glory.
For unto which of the angels said He at any time,
Thou art my Son,
this day have I begotten thee?
Let all the angels of God worship Him
Thou art gone up on high,
Thou hast led captivity captive,
and received gifts for men;
yea, even for Thine enemies,
that the Lord God might dwell among them.
The Lord gave the word:
great was the company of the preachers.
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things!
Their sound is gone out into all lands,
and their words unto the ends of the world.
Why do the nations so furiously rage together?
why do the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth rise up,
and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord,
and against His anointed.
Let us break their bonds asunder,
and cast away their yokes from us.
He that dwelleth in heaven
shall laugh them to scorn;
the Lord shall have them in derision.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Hallelujah!
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord,
and of His Christ:
and He shall reign for ever and ever.
King of kings and lord of lords.
I know that my redeemer liveth,
and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth
And though worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God.
For now is Christ risen from the dead.
the first fruits of them that sleep.
Since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Behold, I tell you a mystery!
We shall not all sleep;
but we shall all be changed,
In a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet.
The trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption,
and this mortal must put on immortality.
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin;
and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God,
who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
If God be for us,
who can be against us?
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?
It is God that justifieth.
Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again,
who is at the right hand of God,
who makes intercession for us.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
and hath redeemed us to God by his blood,
to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom,
and strength, and honour,
and glory, and blessing.
Blessing, and honour,
glory and power,
be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Amen.
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