Georg Friederich Händel

George Frideric Handel

23 February 1685—14 April 1759

George Frederick Handel, portrait by Thomas Hudson, engraved by John Faber Jr., 1749, National Portrait Gallery, London. — **George Frederick Handel**, portrait by Thomas Hudson, engraved by John Faber Jr., 1749, National Portrait Gallery, London.

GEORGE FRIDERIC (FREDERICK) HANDEL, son of Georg Händel, surgeon to Duke Augustus of Saxony; born at Halle, 23 Feb. 1685 (bapt. 24 Feb.). His talent for music was apparent almost from his birth, but was at first repressed by his father, who intended to educate him for the profession of law. After some time, however, chiefly through the mediation of the Duke of Saxe-Weisenfelds, Handel was permitted to follow the bent of his genius, and to take lessons from Zachau, organist of the cathedral at Halle. His father’s death (11 Feb. 1697) while he was still a child threw him on his own resources, and a few years afterwards, in 1703, he joined the band of the theatre at Hamburg as a violinist, and produced there his first opera, “Almira,” in 1705.

After spending some years in Italy he returned to Germany, and at first settled in Hanover, where he was appointed Chapelmaster to the Elector, afterwards George I of England. Here he made the acquaintance of some English noblemen who induced him to visit London, where he arrived about the end of 1710, and produced his opera “Rinaldo.” In 1712, he returned to England, which thenceforward became his home. In 1718, he accepted the office of Chapelmaster to the Duke of Chandos, who then lived in a style of almost royal splendour at Cannons, near London; and it was for the Duke’s private chapel, in which daily cathedral service was maintained, that Handel wrote the two Te Deums and the twelve anthems known as the Chandos Te Deums and Anthems. For the Duke of Chandos were also composed Handel’s first oratorio, “Esther,” in 1720, and the serenata “Acis and Galatea” in 1721.

In 1720, Handel became director of the Italian Opera, with which he remained connected for many years, until in 1737 his theatrical speculations came to a disastrous termination. Besides “Esther,” Handel had already produced the oratorios of “Deborah” and “Athaliah” (1733), and his failure as manager of the Opera induced him to turn his attention henceforward to the composition of works of the same class. “Saul,” written in 1738, was produced in 1739, and was followed by the long series of oratorios, ending with “Jeptha” in 1752, which have placed Handel at the head of all composers in this style, and on which his fame mainly rests.

For some time his efforts to retrieve his fortunes were unavailing against the persecution of his enemies and the cabals formed to oppose him, and in 1741 he accepted an invitation to visit Ireland, where he remained for nine months. He arrived in Dublin on the 18th of November, bringing with him his immortal work, “The Messiah,” which he had composed shortly before his departure from England, with especial reference to this visit. This oratorio was performed for the first time on the 13th of April, 1742, in the Fishamble Street Music Hall, Dublin, for the benefit of Mercer’s Hospital, of the Charitable Infirmary on the Inns-quay, and for the relief of prisoners in the several gaols in Dublin, for which charities Handel, according to statements in the local press of the time, composed this work. On this occasion the sum of £400 was realized.

In 1752, Handel’s eyesight began to fail, and in the following year he became blind. After this time he composed little, but occasionally took his place at the organ during the performance of his works. He died in London on the 14th of April, 1759, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His works include upwards of 40 operas, 2 English serenatas, 4 odes, 17 English oratorios, besides psalms, Te Deums, and other smaller works. His instrumental compositions are chiefly for the organ, for the harpsichord (his favorite instrument on which, as well as on the organ, he was a performer of the highest rank), and for the hautboy.

Handel has been fitly compared with Milton. Both are distinguished for grandeur and elevation of thought, while dignity is never forgotten even in their lighter works. In choral music Handel is unrivalled, and his genius rises with his theme. The leading characteristics of his works are truth of expression, clearness of construction, and the greatest power combined with the greatest simplicity in the means he employs.

Church Hymnal (Church of Ireland, 1894)

Featured Tunes:

ANTIOCH (COMFORT)
CHRISTMAS
INNOCENTS
JERICHO (HANDEL’S MARCH)

Handel & Hymnody:

Samuel Wesley, The Fitzwilliam Music, Never Published, Three Hymns, the Words by the late Revd Charles Wesley, A.M . . . Set to Music by George Frederick Handel . . . faithfully transcribed . . . by Samuel Wesley, and now very respectfully presented to the Wesleyan Society at large (1826): WorldCat

John Wilson, “Handel’s Tunes for Charles Wesley’s hymns: the Story Retold,” HSGBI Bulletin, vol. 11, no. 2 (May 1985): pp. 32–37.

Vernon Wicker, “Bach, Handel, and the use of the hymn in their vocal works,” The Hymn, vol. 36, no. 4 (October 1985), pp. 13–17: HathiTrust

John Wilson, “Handel and the Hymn Tune: I—Handel’s Tunes for Charles Wesley’s Hymns,” The Hymn, vol. 36, no. 4 (October 1985), pp. 18–23: HathiTrust

John Wilson, “Handel and the Hymn Tune: II—Some Hymn Tune Arrangements,” The Hymn, vol. 37, no. 1 (January 1986), pp. 25–31: HathiTrust

Donald Burrows, George Frideric Handel, The Complete Hymns and Chorales, Facsimile Edition (London: Novello, 1988): WorldCat

Donald Burrows, “German chorales and English hymns: The work of three Germans in London (Jacobi, Lampe and Handel),” Händel-Jahrbuch 51, Jahrgang (2005), pp. 235–251.

Michael F. Lloyd, “George Friedrich Händel: Musical theology that is Christological, soteriological, and supernatural,” Hymns and Hymnody, vol. 2 (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2019), pp. 268–284: Amazon

Margaret Garrett, “Operatic influences on the hymn tunes used by John and Charles Wesley,” Amazing Love! How Can it Be: Studies on Hymns by Charles Wesley (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2020).

Find it on Amazon:

Hndl Bgrphy

Life & Works:

John Mainwaring, Memoirs of the Life of the Late George Frederic Handel (London: R. & J. Dodsley, 1760): PDF

John Hawkins, A General History of the Science and Practice of Music, vol. 5 (London: 1776), pp. 262ff.

Charles Burney, A General History of Music from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period, vol. 4 (London: 1789).

Victor Schoelcher & James Lowe, The Life of Handel (London: Robert Cocks & Co. 1857): Archive.org

“Georg Friedrich Händel,” Church Hymnal, George A. Crawford & Jacob A. Eberle, eds., 7th ed. (Dublin: APCK, 1894), pp. 35-36: Archive.org

Watkins Shaw, A Textual and Historical Companion to Handel’s Messiah (London: Novello, 1965): WorldCat

Jens Peter Larsen & Alfred Mann, Handel’s Messiah: Origins, Composition, Sources, new ed. (London: Norton, 1989): WorldCat

Donald Burrows, Handel: Messiah (Cambridge: University Press, 1991): Amazon

Donald Burrows and M.J. Ronish, A Catalogue of Handel’s Musical Autographs (Oxford: Clarendon, 1994): WorldCat

Donald Burrows, Handel, 2nd ed. (Oxford: University Press, 2001): Amazon

Christopher Hogwood, Handel, rev. ed. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2007): Amazon

Jonathan Keates, Handel: The Man and His Music (2009): Amazon

Dennis Shrock, “George Frideric Handel 1685–1759,” Choral Repertoire (Oxford: University Press, 2009), pp. 326–343.

Ellen T. Harris, George Frideric Handel: A Life with Friends (2014): Amazon

Jane Glover, Handel in London: The Making of a Genius (Pegasus, 2018): Amazon