George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was born one month before J.S. Bach on February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany. He was a master of Italian opera and English oratorio. Being the son of a barber-surgeon, who wanted him to study law he did not come from a family of musicians. However, Handel showed great musical talent at an early age. At the age of seven he was a skillful performer on the harpsichord and organ. His father recognized his amazing talent and allowed him to study with a local organist and composer. By the age of nine he began to compose music. In 1702, he obeyed his father's wishes and began to study law at the University of Halle, but it did not last very long. He at the young age of eighteen left for Hamburg where he accepted a position as a violinist and harpsichordist in the orchestra of the opera house. T
It was at the end of a performance of Messiah that he clasped and died three days later in London on April 14, 1759. Although almost blind, Handel continued to conduct and perform. In 1710, he returned to Germany where he became Kapellmeister for Elector Georg Ludwig of Hanover. He lost a fortune in the business and suffered a breakdown. They are usually based on stories from the Old Testament. He created the most popular oratorios in all of Western tradition. These include Esther ( 1720); Saul (1739); Israel in Egypt (1739); Messiah (1742); Samson (1743); Judas Maccabaeus (1747); and Jephthah (1752). As the popularity of Italian opera faded, Handel began producing oratorios. In 1714 the royal patron that he had left behind in Hanover followed him to London where he reigned as George I, as the first Hanoverian king. he opera house in Hamburg was where his first opera Almira was successfully produced in early 1705. Since the 1960's interest has revived in Handel's Italian operas, and many have been recorded and performed on stage. The most famous Messiah was his telling of the life of Jesus. He again took a leave of absence to go to London and settled there in 1712. The "Hallelujah Chorus" from the Messiah is the most recognizable piece of western classical music.
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