George Frideric Handel For High School Music History Tiffany James

 Born in Germany on February 23, 1685  Non-musical family  Father did not believe that music was a suitable career for his son  Allowed him to study music because of natural talents

 Took lessons with Fredrich Wilhelm Zachow  Studied the organ, harpsichord, violin and oboe  Learned counterpoint and contemporary composition

 Enrolled in the University of Halle in 1702, at the age of 17  Cathedral organist at the Calvinist Cathedral  Lost interest and wanted to pursue opera composition

 Moved to Hamburg, the center of German opera  Played violin in the Hamburg opera house  Absorbed Italian operatic style from playing in the orchestra

 “Almira”, his first opera was premiered at the Hamburg opera house in 1705  Completed his second opera, “Nero” within the same year  Left Hamburg in 1706  Moved to Italy, staying in the main opera cities

 Met many important composers, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, Corelli, Caldara and Steffani  Composed Latin motets, an oratorio, Italian cantatas and operas in Italy  His compositional style was almost fully developed by the time he left Italy

 Returned to Germany at the age of 25 to become music director at the electoral court of Hanover  Took an almost immediate leave to visit London  Gained success in London with his opera “Rinaldo”  Four more of his operas premiered in London between 1712 and 1716

Royal Academy of Music  In 1718 a group of wealthy men organized a company to present operas to the London public  Handel, Giovanni Bononcini and Filippo Amadei were the appointed composers  The company was very popular between 1720 and 1728

 Handel was very active in writing, producing and directing his operas for the Royal Academy of Music  His operas included: “Radamisto”, “Ottone”, “Giulio Cesare”, “Rodelinda” and “Admeto”  The public grew tired of Italian opera and the Academy began to have financial difficulties

 Oratorios (opera-like compositions set on a religious subject) were becoming increasingly popular in London  So….Handel began composing oratorios after the failure of the Royal Academy of Music

 Handel became a master of oratorios very quickly  He composed an oratorio, “Saul”, which was performed 6 times in 1739  His greatest achievements in this genre include “Israel in Egypt”, “Messiah”, “Judas” “Maccabaeus” and “Jeptha”

 In Dublin, the year 1742, Handel and John Rich leased a theater to present oratorios every year during lent  Handel’s oratorios were immensely popular during this time due to the innovations he made on the form  He composed 26 oratorios throughout his career

 He lost eyesight due to cataracts  Dictated his last works, conducted oratorios and perfomed on the organ  1759-Collapsed in the theater while conducting the Messiah and died some days later

 International compositions, incorporating German, French and Italian styles  Most important composer of Baroque operas and oratorios  Internationally renown during his lifetime