George Frideric Handel Research Paper

Thomas Frost
December 10th, 2014
Dr. Rasmussen
Music History I
MUSC-3370
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was born February 23rd, 1685 to a family indifferent to music in Halle, Germany. He spent the majority of his career in London and is best known for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. He opened three commercial opera companies to supply the English with Italian operas and wrote more than forty operas in just over thirty years of his career. His works are said to be so passionate because they are hollowed, not by liturgical dignity but by moral ideals of humanity. To this day, Handel is known as one of the greatest and most influential composers of the baroque period.
His parents were on opposing sides of
It was a house on Brook Street in Mayfair. He composed four anthems for the coronation of George II in October of 1727 just after becoming a naturalized citizen of Britain. In 1732 he revived the first ever, English written oratorio “Esther” sparking a period of musical fusion if you will. He began to mix Italian operas and English-Language concert works together in his theatre sessions for the remainder of the decade. It was during that time that many of his greatest masterworks were composed and debuted. These works include Orlando, Ariodante, Alcina, Alexander's Feast, Saul, the Op. 6 concerti grossi and the Miltonic ode L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. His last Italian operas were performed then as well, “Imenio” and
However, life wasn't easy for him. At numerous times, he was severely criticized by the some voices of the English social establishment for his artistic endeavors, some had considered Italian operas ridiculous, but now others believed that presented Biblical concert dramas or musical settings of scripture was profane. For example, his famous oratorio “Messiah” was enthusiastically received at its premiere in Dublin in 1742, whereas it became the subject of great controversy following its London debut a year later. Furthermore, from summer 1737 he suffered occasional bouts of serious physical illnesses, most likely strokes, although some have speculated that he suffered central nervous system lead poisoning associated with his imbibing of cheap port. During the later years of his life, he experienced progressively debilitating cataracts, and the ensuing operations to restore his vision left him completely blind. Coincidentally, the last English oculist to treat Handel, John Taylor, also unsuccessfully cared for J.S.