Born: 23 February
1685, Halle, Germany Died: 14 April 1759, London, England
Händel,
Georg Friedrich
Händel was born in the same
year as J.S. Bach,
but unlike him, was not a member of a particularly musical family. His
father wanted him to study law, but Händel learned music by himself
and impressed the duke for whom his father worked so much, that the latter
convinced the father to allow him to study music. He composed his first
operas
in Hamburg, where
he played the harpsichord
in the opera theatre, and later he was invited to Florence,
where he further developed his mastery of Italian musical style. In Italy
he met Corelli,
Alessandro Scarlatti
and Vivaldi,
who had a deep effect on his writing.
He was extremely fertile, and his visit to London
was a great success that encouraged him to stay there for the rest of his
life.
He composed his wonderful piece
"Water Music"
for King George, then recently crowned as King of England, and this work
demonstrates his unique talent for orchestration.
Another famous work is "Music for the
Royal Fireworks", that apart from the
music itself, includes an exciting spectacle; yet his big break came as
he created the English oratorio
- a combination of the style of the Italian opera with little or no stage
action and an English, religious text. His first oratorio
"Esther",
was accepted with great enthusiasm, and was followed by many oratorios
such as his all-time famous "Messiah",
"Judas Maccabaeus"
, "Israel in Egypt"
and others.
Händel is one of Baroque's
greatest artists, and alongside Bach, he wrote
the most excellent instrumental pieces of his era, especially the 12
Concerti Grossi Op. 6.
Due to an illness, Händel
was completely blind in his last years.
Handel's Messiah 5 of 14 - For unto us a Child is born
Händel,
Georg Friedrich
