GEORGE FRIDERIC
HANDEL
Brittany Preator
EARLY LIFE
 Born February 23, 1685 in Halle,
Germany
 Parents: Georg & Dorothea
Handel
 Handel’s Father insisted he
studied law.
 Handel obeyed, but had a love
for music.
 Age 7: performed for the Duke
and his Court in Weissenfels,
Germany on the keyboard.
 Friedrich Wilhelm Zaccow had
Handel become his pupil
 Was taught compositions on
organ, violin, and oboe.
 Age 10: Handel began composing
music with these instruments and
several others
 Age 11: Handel’s father passed away,
leaving behind means for his education.
 Age 17: Handel enrolled at the
University of Halle as a law student.
 Became organist for Reformed
Cathedral
 Age 18: Moved to Hamburg & joined
the opera orchestra at Goosemarket
Theater as a violinist. Soon became
harpsichordist.
 Age 20: Presided over the premiere of
his first opera, Almira.
CONTINUING HIS TRAVELS
 Age 21: Traveled to Italy. Visited Florence, Venice, Rome, and
Naples.
 Met Arcangelo Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Domenico
Scarlatti.
 Handel wrote two more operas: Rodrigo (1707) and Agrippina
(1709).
 Also wrote vocal compositions and an oratorio.
A MASTER OF ITALIAN OPERA
 Appointed Kapellmeister
 Age 25: Left his new job to travel to London
 Age 26: High success with his opera Rinaldo.
 Journeyed back to Hannover, but soon given
invitation to London.
 Two more operas produced: Il pastor fodo and
Teseo.
 Also wrote Ode for the Queen’s Birthday, Utrecht
Te Deum, and Junliate.
 Awarded with annual salary of two pounds.
A NEW OPPORTUNITY
 Asked to provide music for a
royal pleasure cruise for the
King.
 Famous work, Water Music,
began composition.
 Age 30: Joined forces in the
new Royal Academy of
Music.
A CITIZEN AT LAST
 Age 41: Became a citizen of
England
 Appointed composer of music
to Chapel Royal.
 Age 43: Handel’s production of
Alessandro began.
 Faustina Bordoni vs. Francesca
Cuzzoni
DETERMINATION
 The New Royal Academy of Music
 Quick trip to Germany
 Began to produce operas at the rate of two per year
 Oratorios became more dramatic than his operas: Athalia (1733)
and Saul (1739).
 Outpouring of musical instruments
TRAGEDY STRIKES
 Age 52: Suffer from stroke
 Two final operas: Imeneo (1740) and
Deidamia (1741).
 Age 57: Finished Messiah.
 Composing two oratorios per year.
 Famous Oratorios: Samson (1743)
and Solomon (1743)
 Age 66: Handel’s eyesight began to
fail.
 April 6, 1759: Handel heard the
musical performance of Messiah
for the last time.
 April 14, 1759: Ten days later,
Handel passed away in London,
age 74.
COMPOSITION HISTORIES
 Fireworks Music: La Rejouissance
 Water Music in F: Overture No. 1
 Messiah: For Unto Us a Child Is Born
 Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus
FIREWORKS MUSIC:
LA REJOUISSANCE
 Written in 1749
 Celebratory of Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
 Originally used 24 oboes, 12 bassoons, 9 trumpets, 1 contrabassoon, 3
pairs of timpani, and 1 serpent, but changed to all brass instruments at
request of King George II
 First dress rehearsal: crowd of 12,000 people
 Real performance: April 27
 Fireworks ended up starting a fire
LISTENING GUIDE~
FIRES MUSIC: LA REJOUISSANCE
 0:00
One violin, moves onto a harmony of two, then several others begin. You
can softly hear a harp in the background . Many dynamics are used as well.
 0:30
You begin to hear triplets. Many string instruments are harmonizing
together.
 0:57
A crescendo is now used, building excitement.
 1:03
The dynamics of piano begins and it starts to repeat with a faster rhythm.
The tempo is kept at a quickened pace.
 1:33
The melody continues at a piano dynamic, creating a timbre that is both
strong and consistent. You also hear more of the brass and woodwind
instruments harmonizing together with the strings.
LISTENING GUIDE~
FIRES MUSIC: LA REJOUISSANCE
 2:03
You now hear the dynamics change from a soft piano to a mezzo forte.
 2:23
A mezzo forte becomes a very strong forte with the melody repeating a
third time.
 2:52
The dynamic is still the strong forte. The use of triplets are being used
and stirring up an consonance.
 3:00
The crescendos and diminuendos are being used often.
 3:12
A longer crescendo begins with each triplet played by the violin.
 3:42
Begins to end with a retard, slowly coming to a resolution with a
dramatic effect.
WATER MUSIC IN F:
OVERTURE NO. 1
 1717: Asked by King George I to compose
 Many people of high quality were in attendance
 Whole river was covered in boats
 Used 50 instruments
 Played over three times
LISTENING GUIDE~ WATER
MUSIC IN F: OVERTURE NO. 1
 0:00
Begins with a piano dynamic. Uses triads. It is played by several violins, cellos and bass.
 0:22
You hear a slight dissonance in the music. The melody continues in its conjunct way.
 0:47
The composer uses a chromatic range of notes.
 1:15
The composer uses a crescendo. It smoothly moves from mezzo forte to forte, and then
back down to mezzo forte.
 1:38
The melody diminuendos into nothing, but then begins the coda. The coda jumps from
each short and detached note in a staccato.
 1:44
A second violin begins to play in harmony to the staccato, playing a whole new melody.
LISTENING GUIDE~ WATER
MUSIC IN F: OVERTURE NO. 1
 1:55
The melody suddenly becomes forte as the new melody continues.
 2:08
The new melody then switches back and forth in dynamics from mezzo forte to forte.
 2:24
The melody suddenly shoots its dynamic to fortissimo and begins to use more staccato
with the detached notes.
 2:44
The violin starts to have a quickened pace in a forte dynamic. It then diminuendos into an
adagio tempo.
 2:56
The melody gradually crescendos as the violins uses of triads. The tempo also quickens.
 2:25
The music softly diminuendos down to a piano, but it crescendos back into a fortissimo.
 3:53
This piece ends with the notes at staccato and finishes off with a retard.
MESSIAH: FOR UNTO US A CHILD
IS BORN & MESSIAH:
HALLELUJAH CHORUS
 Written in 1742
 Handel most famously known for
 Contains 50 sections and takes about 2½ hours to perform
 Written in 25 days with very little food or sleep
 “I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God himself.”
 King George II stood, causing a tradition.
LISTENING GUIDE~ MESSIAH:
FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN

0:00
Begins in a strong forte with a steady rhythm and melody that shortly begins to quicken.

0:14
The chorus is heard for the first time by the sopranos. Soon after, the bass’ start to sing with
the sopranos in a short round of the chorus.

0:41
We now hear the tenors start to sing the chorus as the bass’ sing a short round and adds the
harmony.

1:00
The first verse begins with the men. The sopranos sing the first line as the men did. Then the
males and females sing switching between forte and fortissimo. You can hear duple meters
and harmonizing.

1:28
The chorus begins for a second time. Tenors start with the bass’s echoing and harmonizing.
The dynamic is mezzo forte. The sopranos soon join . The chorus is a bit shorter .

1:41
Tenors now start the second. It is sung using a staccato. The tenors hold out the first phrase
as the bass’ repeat the same phrase. Afterwards all parts harmonized the verse.
LISTENING GUIDE~ MESSIAH:
FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN

2:07
The chorus is sung for a third time. The men start, the women echo, and join together once
again.

2:25
The bass now begin singing the third verse with the sopranos and tenors harmonizing. The
tempo is kept at the mezzo forte to forte dynamics..

2:41
The parts now are repeating “wonderful counselor” as they did in an earlier verse. The violin is
very strong playing in a triple meter.

2:54
The men start to repeat the chorus yet again, and the women soon follow. The men soon
harmonize the main melody as the woman “ah” in harmonization . The women then join in on
the chorus.

3:20
The sopranos sing out concerning the name in a strong fortissimo, and the men soon join and
begin singing “wonderful counselor” once again.

3:39
The piece ends with the string instruments playing. The violin is very prominent playing the
chorus melody in forte while the cello and other string instruments help to harmonize and bring
this piece to a resolution.
LISTENING GUIDE~ MESSIAH:
HALLELUJAH CHORUS

0:00
This piece beings with both violin and bass in a slightly quick tempo in forte.

0:07
The choir joins in singing the chorus. It is sung in fortissimo.

0:26
The chorus sings short phrases between singing “hallelujah”. These phrases are sang in mezzo
forte in a slowed tempo while “hallelujah” is sang in forte and the tempo is sped up.

0:50
The sopranos sing a verse while the bass’ sing “hallelujah” as an echo. The sopranos dynamic
is forte while the bass’ sing in a mezzo forte.

1:00
The different sections now begin to sing a new arrangement of “hallelujah”.

1:18
The dynamics suddenly come to a soft piano with both voices and instruments. The tempo slows
down.

1:29
The voices and the instruments are suddenly forte singing/playing their notes staccato and in
more of a retard.
LISTENING GUIDE~ MESSIAH:
HALLELUJAH CHORUS

1:39
The bass’ now come in singing the verse. The tenors sing the same. The two group sing in round to
one another with the sopranos joining in shortly afterwards.

2:04
The women start singing a slow tempo phrase in mezzo forte, with the men echoing behind them in a
quicker tempo and a forte dynamic.

2:30
They begin to crescendo and use more staccato in their singing and in the instruments.

2:42
The singers now harmonized in a chord, as the sing staccato in a forte dynamic. They also beginning
to repeat a bit of the previous verse.

3:00
The men start singing “Prince of Peace” very boldly and strong in a fortissimo while the women echo
“hallelujah” a bit softer in mezzo forte.

3:16
The singers and musician are still using the staccato.

3:43
This song ends with a strong percussion in the background and the choir singing “hallelujah” in much
less staccato. Their dynamic has changed to fortissimo and the use a retard on the last word.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
8 Notes, George Frederic Handel,
http://www.8notes.com/school/history/handel.asp
Charles Cudworth (1994), Enclyclopedia Britannica, George Handel,
http://www.biography.com/people/george-handel9327378?page=5
Encyclopedia of World Biography, George Frederic Handel Biography,
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Handel-GeorgeFrideric.html
National Arts Centre, George Frederic Handel His Life, his Times and His Music,
http://artsalive.ca/pdf/mus/handel_all_e.pdf
Bernard Gorillo (2009), Handel in Hannover, Dusseldorf, and London,
http://indianapublicmedia.org/harmonia/handel-hanover-dsseldorflondon/
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Saxon State Library, Dresden, (1706-1710), Grand Ladies
http://www.gogmsite.net/end_of_the)era_-_1684_to_17/subalbum_
queen_anne/17061710_portrait_of_queen.html
Il Teatro Alla Moda, Buon Natale con Handel,
http://ilteatroallamoda.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html