George Frideric Handel Essay Example For Students

George Frideric Handel Essay George Frederick Handel (1685 1759) was a German born, English composer. Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach were the last of the Baroque Masters. Duringhis lifetime, Handel was known mainly as an opera composer and producer, but hisfame today came mainly on his English oratories, especially The Messiah (1742). His music has strength and simplicity. Handels operas are not often heard,but Largo, an aria from Serse, and other selections are sometimes playedin concerts. Handel was born in Halle and attended the University of Halle as astudent of law due to his fathers wishes. During his education there hisinterest in music awakened and this was aided by the three years of lessonsgiven to him by an organ player Wilhelm Zachow. In 1697 Handels father died,and no longer being subject to his wishes, Handel left Halle and went to Hamburgas a violin player in an orchestra. This spoiled his chances of becoming alawyer but improved his chances of success as an artist. Young Handel became askilled organist and harpsichordist, and after playing with an opera company inHamburg went to Italy in 1706 to study opera. In 1710 Handel became court musicdirector for the elector of Hanover. He immediately afterwards took a leave ofabsence and visited London for six months. He returned to London in 1712. Hispatro n was crowned King of England in 1714 and Handel remained, becoming aBritish subject in 1726. For more than 15 years Handel composed and producedItalian opera in London. Following the success of The Beggars Opera (1728),by Gay and Pepusch, Italian opera lost favor and Handel turn to oratorios. Handels parents wanted Handel to grow up in the profession of law, butmusic was in Handels blood. When Handels father soon realized this, hesent Handel away to study in Berlin. In Berlin, Handel was taught under thegreat composer Frideric Wilhelm Zachau. One of the great influences on Handle was while he was writing theMessiah in three weeks. Handle, before writing the Messiah, had rented atheatre for his own use, and though he had some successes, he had morefailures. He was bankrupt twice through his opera business. If Handel hadbeen more successful with his with his operas, we would never have had thegrand oratorios for which his name is most famous for now. This is becausewhen he had exhausted himself with the operas, he started to make theoratorios. He was the director of music in Italy for several years and hewas a composer of the Italian style music in England and even absorbed thecharacteristics of English music especially English Choral Music. Like was said before, Handel wrote many oratorios and operas. He didnthave many famous operas, but he had some. Some of his operas are: GiulioCasare, Tamerlano, Orlando, Alcina, and Serse. He had many differentoratorios though. Of the many, his one that he is most famous for is theMessiah for it is not so much dramatic as Meditative. I have included a fewpages from his play Israel in Egypt. The most famous instrument of his timewas a mixture of things, but he preferred the Violin while making theoperas and oratorios. My impression on Handel is that he was a very creative person alwaysthinking up new and recent ideas for his time. I would have liked to livehis life because he was able to sneak up to his attic late at night andbecause he made some very famous plays which are being revived and theoratorios like Messiah which are being said every Christmas by some family. Handel was probably inspired to write that wonderful music was heroichistorical figures for the plays and the Bible for the oratorios. I admiredHandel for his will to keep on making music after so many people made funof him with this song: Some say, compared to Buononcini That Mynheer Handels but a ninny; Others aver that he to Handel Is scarcely fit to hold a candle. Strange all this difference should be Twixt tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee.Bibliography1) The Book Of Knowledge The Grolier SocietyPublished by: The Amalgamated PressCopyright: 1926-352) The Prodigy Service- Interactive Peronal ServiceMade By: Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. Copyright: 1990