George Frederic Handel
Written by ChrisRick on Thursday 21 February 2008
George Frederic Handel, who would become famous for his operas, concerti grossi and oratorios, was born in Halle (modern day Germany) on 23 February 1685. By the age of seven he was giving performances on harpsichord and the pipe organ and began composing at the age of nine.His father was against a musical career and instead Handel studied law beginning in 1702 at the University of Halle. Upon the death of his father in 1703 he switched to music. 1704 found Handel moving to Hamburg for a position as a violinist and harpsichordist at the opera house. In 1705 they produced his first two operas Nero and Almira while 1708 saw Daphne and Florindo. He traveled to Italy 1706-09 and found work as a composer and wrote Dixit Dominus in 1707. Also from this period in his life are a large number of cantatas. His three-act opera Rodrigo was produced in 1707 in Florence while in 1709 Agrippina was done in Venice followed closely by two oratorios La Resurrezione and Il Trionfo del Tempo which were produced in Rome in 1709-10.
That same year he became Kapellmeister, the main composer, for the soon-to-be King George I of Great Britain and moved to London where he would remain from 1712 on. Queen Anne gave him an astounding £200 a year while he retained other patrons increasing his fame and fortune.
He lived in London until his death in 1759 and many of his works are still ingrained in government functions including Scipio, which is used by the Grenadier Guards and Zadok the Priest which is used at the coronation ceremonies. In 1741, he composed Handel’s Messiah, which was performed the following year in Dublin. He would, over his life, write more than 600 pieces including 42 operas. He died in 1759 after almost a decade of health problems, nearly blind from illness and was buried in Westminster Abbey with full state honors.
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