George Frideric Handel (German: Georg Friedrich Händel ; ) (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-English Baroque composer, who is famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerti grossi. His life and music may justly be described as "cosmopolitan": he was born in Germany, trained in Italy, and spent most of his life in England. Born in Halle in the Duchy of Magdeburg, he settled in England in 1712, becoming a naturalised subject of the British crown on 20 February 1727. His works include Messiah , Water Music , and Music for the Royal Fireworks . Strongly influenced by the techniques of the great composers of the Italian Baroque era, as well as the English composer Henry Purcell, Handel's music became well-known to many composers, including Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.
Early years
Handel was born in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt in the Duchy of Magdeburg (a province of Brandenburg-Prussia) to Georg and Dorothea (née Taust) Händel in 1685, the same year that both Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti were born. Handel displayed considerable musical talent at an early age; by the age of seven he was a skillful performer on the harpsichord and pipe organ. However, his father, a distinguished citizen of Halle and an eminent barber-surgeon who served as valet and barber to the courts of the Duchy of Saxe-Weissenfels and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, was opposed to his son's wish to pursue a musical career, preferring him to study law. By contrast, Handel's mother, Dorothea, encouraged his musical aspirations.
Nevertheless, the young Handel was permitted to take lessons in musical composition and keyboard technique from Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, the organist of the Liebfrauenkirche, Halle. Handel learned about harmony and contemporary styles. He studied with Zachow from 1692 to 1703, when he left for Hamburg. He analyzed scores and learned to work fugue subjects and copy music. Sometimes he would take his teacher's place as organist for services. For his seventh birthday his aunt, Anna, gave him a spinet, which was placed in the attic for Handel to play, whenever he could avoid his father.
From Halle to Italy
Handel's progress was interrupted in 1697 when his father died. In 1702, following his father's wishes, Handel began the study of law at the University of Halle; however, he abandoned law for music, becoming the organist at the Protestant Cathedral. In 1703, he moved to Hamburg, accepting a position as violinist and harpsichordist in the orchestra of the opera house. There, he met Johann Mattheson, Christoph Graupner and Reinhard Keiser. His first two operas, Almira and Nero , were produced in 1705. He produced two other early operas, Daphne and Florindo , in 1708.
During 1706, Handel travelled to Italy at the invitation of Gian Gastone de' Medici. During his stay in Hamburg, Medici had become acquainted with Handel. Handel also met Medici's brother Ferdinando, who was a musician himself, and Antonio Salvi. While opera was temporarily banned at this time by the Pope, Handel found work as a composer of sacred music; the famous Dixit Dominus (1707) is from this era. He wrote many cantatas in operatic style for gatherings in the palace of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. Rodrigo , his first all-Italian opera, was produced in Florence in 1707. Agrippina was first produced at Venice in 1709. Agrippina , which ran for an unprecedented 27 performances, showed remarkable maturity and established his reputation as an opera composer. Two oratorios, La Resurrezione and Il Trionfo del Tempo , were produced in Rome in a private setting for Ruspoli and Ottoboni in 1709 and 1710, respectively.
The move to London
In 1710, Handel became Kapellmeister to George, Elector of Hanover, who would soon be King George I of Great Britain. He visited Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici on his way to London in 1710, where he settled permanently in 1712, receiving a yearly income of £200 from Queen Anne. During his early years in London, one of his most important patrons was the young and wealthy Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, who showed an early love of his music. Handel spent the most carefree time of his life at Cannons and laid the cornerstone for his future choral compositions in the twelve Chandos Anthems . Romain Rolland stated that these anthems were as important for his oratorios as the cantatas were for his operas. Rolland also highly estimated Acis and Galatea , like Winton Dean, who wrote that "the music catches breath and disturbs the memory". During Handel's lifetime it was his most performed work.
In July of 1717 Handel's Water Music was first performed for a water party on the Thames. The composition was written and performed as a reconciliation between the king and Handel.
In 1723 Handel moved into a newly built house at 25 Brook Street, London, which he rented until his death in 1759. This house is now the Handel House Museum, a restored Georgian house open to the public with an events programme of baroque music. There is a blue commemorative plaque on the outside of the building. It was here that he composed Messiah , Zadok the Priest and Music for the Royal Fireworks . (In 2000, the upper stories of 25 Brook Street were leased to the Handel House Trust, and after an extensive restoration program, the Handel House Museum opened to the public on 8 November 2001.)
In 1726 Handel's opera Scipio was performed for the first time—the march from which remains the regimental slow march of the British Grenadier Guards. He was naturalised a British subject in 1727.
In 1727 Handel was commissioned to write four anthems for the coronation ceremony of King George II. One of these, Zadok the Priest , has been played at every British coronation ceremony since. Handel was director of the Royal Academy of Music 1720–1728, and a partner of John James Heidegger in the management of the King's Theatre 1729–1734. During March of 1734 Handel composed a wedding anthem for the Princess of Orange. Handel also had a long association with the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, where many of his Italian operas were premiered.
In April 1737, at age 52, Handel suffered a stroke (or similar malady) which left his right arm temporarily paralysed—preventing him from performing. He also complained of difficulties in focusing his sight. To aid recovery, Handel travelled to Aachen, Germany — taking hot baths and eventually playing the organ for the local audience.
Having lost a fortune in operatic management, Handel gave up the business in 1740.
Later years
Following his recovery, Handel focused on composing oratorios instead of opera. Handel's Messiah was first performed in New Musick Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin on 13 April 1742, with twenty-six boys and five men from the combined choirs of St Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals participating.
In 1749 he composed Music for the Royal Fireworks; 12,000 people came to listen. Three people died, including one of the trumpeters, on the day after.
In 1750 Handel arranged a performance of Messiah to benefit the Foundling Hospital. The performance was considered a great success and was followed by annual concerts that continued throughout his life. In recognition of his patronage, Handel was made a governor of the Hospital the day after his initial concert. He bequeathed a fair copy of Messiah to the institution upon his death. His involvement with the Foundling Hospital is today commemorated with a permanent exhibition in London's Foundling Museum, which also holds the Gerald Coke Handel Collection . In addition to the Foundling Hospital, Handel also gave to a charity that helped to assist impoverished musicians and their families. Also, during the summer of 1741, the Duke of Devonshire invited Handel to Dublin to give concerts for the benefit of local hospitals.
In August 1750, on a journey back from Germany to London, Handel was serious
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