We have now come to the first of two composers we will be dealing with from the Baroque period. I will only be discussing two, in part because, in all honesty, I don't really know a lot about many Baroque composers. In fact, my last post, which dealt with the period as a whole, contained much information that was new to me and that I didn't know until I actually looked it up and wrote it there. But I'm also only doing two because each of these composers was a giant in his day, and I probably wouldn't be able to stuff in everything that could be said about them if I tried. So there's well enough information with just the two of them.
And just so you are aware, I have decided to divide each composer we talk about into two posts, one dealing with his life, the other dealing with his music. This will make information easier to find, and keep my posts from getting too long. (As might have already happened with some of these...) Naturally, it might happen every once in a while that I deal with a lot of a certain composer's music, or something like that, and he'll be talked about in more than two posts. But for now this is how it will be. :)
The year is 1685. The Baroque period is now only halfway over, and already numerous changes have taken place. Many great composers have begun to shape a new kind of music, a music that will carry its influence through many years to come. It is in this year, however, that the height of the Baroque era will begin. For in this year, two of the greatest composers of the century will be born: George Frideric Handel, and Johann Sebastian Bach.
Handel was born on February 23rd, to a well-to-do family in Halle, Germany. His father was a prominent surgeon, and was 63 years old when his son was born.
From very early in his life, Handel showed great interest in music. His father, however, was less than thrilled at the prospect of his son becoming a musician, and told him that he would rather Handel become a lawyer. Still, the boy found ways to practice, and for a while, managed to sneak up to a top room in the house and play on the harpsichord whenever his father was not around.
Handel's proper introduction to music finally began when his father took him on a trip to visit some relatives who worked for Duke Johann Adolf I. According to popular belief, the Duke overheard Handel playing on his organ, and was so impressed that he urged Handel's father to get his son some musical training. From then, Handel progressed very rapidly in his studies, and by the age of 13 he had become an accomplished organist, had studied multiple styles of composing, and had performed for Frederick I, Duke of Prussia (who would later become King of Prussia).
He continued to study and progress and in 1703, he moved to Hamburg, where he made acquaintances with several prominent composers, and produced his first two operas. In 1706, he moved to Italy at the urging of a friend, and it was there, in 1709, that he gained his first great spotlight in the musical world for his opera, Agrippina. The opera was performed a record 27 times.
In 1710, Handel became the head musician for the Elector of Hanover (who 4 years later would become King George I of England), and finally settled in London in 1712, becoming a full British citizen. In 1717, King George commissioned Handel to compose music for him to listen to as he floated on the River Thames on his royal barge. Thus was produced Handel's Water Music, a set of three suites that would become some of his most popular music. The musicians sat on a separate boat, and floated alongside the King, who loved it so much he ordered the entire concert to be played three times throughout the trip.
Over the next several years, Handel continued to increase his musical output with numerous oratorios (large-scale concert pieces containing soloists, an orchestra, and a choir) and operas. In 1729, Handel became joint-manager of the Queen's Theater where he premiered no less than 25 operas. He wrote Acis and Galatea, a "little opera" as he called it once, which became the most popular and most played of his works during his lifetime.
In 1737, when Handel was 52, he suffered a stroke which left his right arm paralyzed. It was thought that he would never perform or play the organ afterwards, but after six weeks of recovery, he did indeed play again. He continued to compose more operas until 1741, when he found himself in debt from poor financial management. His last opera, Deidamia, was performed three times.
In that same year, Handel sat down with a copy of a libretto by Charles Lennens, and in just 24 days, composed possibly his most famous work, Messiah. The oratorio held its premiere performance in Dublin, Ireland in 1742, and remains immensely popular to this day. It is said that during the first London performance of the work, once the first few notes of the majestic "Hallelujah" chorus sounded, King George II rose to his feet, and the rest of the audience followed suit, starting a tradition that has lasted for 200 years.
In 1749, Handel was commissioned to compose background music for a royal fireworks show, celebrating the end of the War of the Austrian Succession. He held a public rehearsal of his piece, Music for the Royal Fireworks, and thousands of people, desperate to see it, flooded the streets of London. The actual fireworks show was a little bit of a disaster; the building constructed to house the musicians caught fire following the collapse of a large statue of George II. But the music remained hugely popular.
In his latest years, Handel was made a governor of the Foundling Hospital in return for his various donations. His last attended performance was of his Messiah, and in 1759, at the age of 74, he died. He was mourned by thousands at his funeral.
Well, that's the life of Handel. (So much for not having lengthy posts...) I do apologize for the rather "textbook" way I went about telling it. Like I said, I don't know much about these Baroque composers, and much of this information came from the sources I had just looked at. But overall, I think we can see at least a fairly decent picture of a man who, as a composer, enjoyed great financial and social success, which is a trait hard to come by in later years. He donated to several charities, and entertained royalty. He was loved by the masses. But most of all, he understood something about music. He had a unique ability to form communicative and attractive musical ideas. But I'll save that for the next post, when we'll get to delve into his actual compositions...
No comments:
Post a Comment