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George Frederic Handel
Born in Halle Saxony – part of Germany - on February 23, 1685
Died in London on April 14, 1759 – 250 years ago!!
Who else is celebrating a 250th anniversary? ♫ Guinness Beer
What other composers were born that year?♫ Johann Sebastian Bach ♫ Domenico Scarlatti
Who didn’t want Handel to study music?
His Father – WHY?
He wanted Handel to be a lawyer
But, Handel followed his dream and studied music!
To how many places did Handel travel?
Halle Saxony, Germany
Hamburg, Germany
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy
Venice, Italy
Hanover, Germany
London, England – where he lived for most of his life and became an English citizen in 1727
Canon, England
Dublin, Ireland
Berlin, Germany
He went from composing operas to composing oratorios!
What was a BIG change in Handel’s life?
What was Handel’s most famous oratorio?
Handel’s Messiah
How many times has Messiah been performed?
How long did it take Handel to compose Messiah?
Just 25 days!
Million of times all over the world!
The first performance of Messiah was in Dublin, Ireland on April 13, 1742
The first performance of Messiah in London, England was on March 23, 1743
From 1750 to 1758, Handel directed an annual benefit performance of Messiah for the Foundling (Orphan) Hospital in London
Why do people stand up during “The HallelujahChorus”?
♫ He was so moved by the performance that he rose to his feet… or
♫ As was and is the custom, one stands in the presence of royalty as a sign of respect. The Hallelujah chorus clearly places Christ as the King of Kings. In standing, King George II accepted that he too was subject to Lord of Lords…or
♫ He arrived late to the performance, and the crowd rose when he finally made an appearance… or
♫ His gout (a bone disease like arthritis) acted up at that precise moment and he rose to relieve the discomfort… or
♫ After an hour of musical performance, he needed to stretch his legs…
Because British King George II was attending the March 23rd, 1743 London performance and stood up – this established a tradition
But WHY did the King stand up?
