And Economic Factors Affect The Composition Of Handel's Judas Maccabaeus '?

Discuss the effect that political and economic factors had on the composition of Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus. ‘Judas Maccabaeus’ is an oratorio composed by George Friderick Handel and was written to be first performed in 1747. The piece was written in honor of the duke of Cumberland to acknowledge his success in the battle of Culloden during the Jacobite rebellion. The political links with the work had a clear influence on the final outcome of the piece, and this is shown through its story and the audiences responses after the release. Perhaps less obviously, there were also economic factors that played their part in the works composition, dictating the direction and style. Before the 19th century, composers comparable with Handel relied on a patronage system for financial
The king, Charles II, had a profound interest in the ways of the French musicians, and wished to have a band resembling the nature of Vingt-quatre violins du roi, it was this band to which John Banister was given orders to direct, instruct and pay. An offered salary of 600l per year was a secure amount for the period, however, in reality, it is questionable as to whether or not Banister did in fact actually receive this payment. On 29 March 1667 the 24 Violins fabricated a case against Banister, stating all occasions on which they believed there had been unfair distribution of the money. Despite evidence for this, it may have come as a result of Banister himself not receiving his salary which he had been informed to share, and therefore by no fault of his own, could not fulfil the bands payments. In response to his money worries, Banister turned away from the old system of the time, and propelled himself in to a new musical world, directed at the middle classes, as opposed to the