Handel’s Music
Church Music
Handel was a famous organist and often went to St. Paul’s Cathedral in the evening after the services were over to improvise on the organ. Afterwards he went to the nearby Queen’s Arms tavern to eat, drink and play the harpsichord!
He also composed music for the choir of Westminster Abbey, including the famous anthems for the coronation of George II in 1727. The music was performed by a choir of 40 singers and a huge orchestra of 160 players.
Operas and Oratorios
As a composer of dramatic works, Handel was closely associated with two theatres in the centre of London – the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket, and the Covent Garden Theatre, so-called because it was built on the site of a former convent.
Handel often had preliminary rehearsals for the singers at home where he was famous for his hot-headed but humorous rehearsal style. Then when the orchestra arrived, he kept up a punishing schedule at the theatre leading to performances of up to five different oratorios in a matter of days. In the intermissions of performances he often performed organ concertos.
Music for the King
Handel often visited at St. James Palace, the main residence of King George and Queen Caroline, to attend social functions, to perform concerts and to give music lessons to the two princesses. He composed music for national occasions such as victories in war and royal funerals. His most famous royal commission was the music for the water party that took place on the Thames River on July 17, 1717.
Messiah
Handel composed over 30 operas for the London public; when his style of opera fell out of fashion he turned to the composition of 30 “oratorios”, dramatic but unstaged sacred works for soloists, orchestra and choir. The most famous of these was Messiah, which remains one of the most often performed pieces of music today.
Handel, at the low ebb of his career and, as a consequence of a stroke, suffered partial paralysis on his left side, composed Messiah in the incredibly short period of time of 21 days. The composer had been invited to give a series of concerts in Dublin, some of which would benefit various charities. The premiere was met with considerable success and served to boost Handel’s spirits for a return to London.
In many parts of the world it is traditional for the audience to stand during the Hallelujah chorus. Legend has it that King George II was so moved by the music that he stood to his feet when he heard it, requiring that his subjects followed suit.
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