Handel: Music for Water & Fire

Water Music In 1712 Handel decided to settle in London, despite the fact that he was employed to be choirmaster for Prince George in Germany. When Prince George became King George of England in 1714, Handel was in trouble. He needed to do something to get back in the good graces of his new King. Handel wrote a set of dance suites to be played while the king went boating on the river Thames.

London’s Daily Courrant At about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 17 July 1717, King George I and several aristocrats boarded a royal barge at Whitehall Palace for an excursion up the Thames toward Chelsea. The rising tide propelled the barge upstream without rowing. Another barge provided by the City of London contained about fifty musicians who performed Handel's music. Many other Londoners also took to the river to hear the concert. According to the Courant, "the whole River in a manner was couver'd" with boats and barges. On arriving at Chelsea, the king left his barge, then returned to it at about 11 p.m. for the return trip. The king was so pleased with the Water Music that he ordered it to be repeated at least three times, both on the trip upstream to Chelsea and on the return, until he landed again at Whitehall. Handel's orchestra is believed to have performed from about 8 p.m. until well after midnight, with only one break while the king went ashore at Chelsea.

Dance Suites In Baroque times nobles liked to put on dances for their friends. Part of a nobleman or woman’s education included learning how to do the popular dances well: minuet, bourrée, hornpipe, etc. The dances were very formal, done in couples, and faced the nobleman or king who presided at the dance. Musicians were hired to write and perform the music for the dances. Dance songs were written in “suites” or collections that included a set of the most common types of dances. Sometimes these “dance” songs found their way into other types of music, including keyboard music and even religious music. Water Music is really a set of three dance suites.

Water Music: Ste I, Mvt 7, Bourrée The Bourrée dance originated in France and was based on a quick steps with the couple mirroring each other. http://youtu.be/epmG43H9D98?t=5m17s

Water Music: Ste II, Mvt 2, Alla Hornpipe The “hornpipe” was originally a sailor’s dance played on an instrument made out of a horn. Over-all Form: Form of “A” Section: http://youtu.be/UcknsYVgdkM?t=32m47s A B Happy, ascending melody with leaps & trills; alternating strings/woodwinds & brass Minor, descending melody; strings & woodwinds only. Exact repeat of ‘A’ A B1&2 B1 S/W T H B2 var B1 B2

Music for the Royal Fireworks In 1749 Handel was asked to write military music to accompany fireworks to celebrate a peace treaty with France. The suite includes an overture, a bourrée, and two minuets. Against his will, Handel had to limit the suite to wind instruments and kettle drums. He also had to have a public dress rehearsal that was attended by 12,000 people and jammed up London for 3 hours. The musical performance was successful but the fireworks show was not. The weather was rainy and one of the pavilions caught on fire in the middle of the show. Handel later performed “Music for the Royal Fireworks” again for the foundling hospital and added string parts as he wanted. http://youtu.be/fNqJ8mED1VE