German composer courtier of the English king. Biography of George Frideric Handel. Organizations and publications

HANDEL (Handel) Georg Friedrich (or George Frederick) (February 23, 1685, Halle - April 14, 1759, London), German composer and organist. He worked in London for about half a century. Master of monumental oratorio, mainly on biblical subjects (c. 30), including “Saul”, “Israel in Egypt” (both 1739), “Messiah” (1742), “Samson” (1743), “Judas” Maccabeus" (1747). More than 40 operas, organ concerts, concerto grosso for orchestra, instrumental sonatas, suites.

At an early age he discovered great musical abilities and at first studied music in secret from his father, the court barber-surgeon, who wanted his son to become a lawyer. Only around 1694 Handel was sent to study by F.V. Tsakhov (1663-1712) - organist of the Church of St. Mary in Halle. At the age of 17, Handel was appointed organist of the Calvinist cathedral, but he became interested in writing his first opera, Almira, which was followed a month and a half later by another opera, Nero. In 1705 Handel went to Italy, where he spent about four years. Worked in Florence, Rome, Naples, Venice; in all these cities his opera seria were staged, and in Rome his oratorios (including “Resurrection”) were staged. The Italian period of Handel's life was also marked by the creation of numerous secular cantatas (mainly for solo voice with digital bass); in them Handel honed his skill in vocal writing to Italian texts. In Rome, Handel wrote several works for the church with Latin words.

At the beginning of 1710, Handel left Italy for Hanover to take up the position of court conductor. He soon received leave and went to London, where at the beginning of 1711 his opera Rinaldo was staged, enthusiastically received by the public. Returning to Hanover, Handel worked for a little over a year and in the fall of 1712 he again left for London, where he remained until the summer of 1716. During this period, he wrote four operas, a number of works for the church and for performance at the royal court; was awarded a royal pension. In the summer of 1716 Handel in his retinue English king George I visited Hanover again (perhaps it was then that his Brockes Passion was written with a German libretto) and returned to London at the end of the same year. Apparently, in 1717 Handel wrote "Water Music" - 3 orchestral suites, intended to be performed during a royal fleet parade on the Thames. In 1717-18, Handel was in the service of the Earl of Carnarvon (later Duke of Chandos), and directed musical performance at his castle Cannons (near London). During these years he composed 11 Anglican spiritual hymns (known as Chandos Anthems) and two stage works in the popular English masque genre, Acis and Galatea and Esther (Haman and Mordecai). Both Handel masks were designed for the capabilities of the modest performing ensemble that the Cannon court had at its disposal.

In 1718-19, a group of aristocrats close to the royal court, seeking to strengthen the position of Italian opera in London, founded a new opera company - the Royal Academy of Music. Handel, nominated musical director Academy, went to Dresden to recruit singers for the opera, which opened in April 1720. The years from 1720 to 1727 were the culmination of Handel's activity as an opera composer. "Radamist" (the second opera written specifically for the Royal Academy) was followed by "Ottone", "Julius Caesar", "Rodelinda", "Tamerlane", "Admetus" and other works belonging to the peaks of the opera seria genre. The Royal Academy's repertoire also included operas by Giovanni Bononcini (1670-1747), who was considered a rival of Handel, and other prominent composers; Many outstanding singers took part in the performances, including soprano Francesca Cuzzoni (1696-1778) and castrato Senesino (d. 1759). However, the business of the new opera enterprise went with varying degrees of success, and the sensational success of the parody "common people" "The Beggar's Opera" (1728) to the libretto by John Gay (1685-1732) with musical design by Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667-1752) directly contributed to its collapse. A year earlier, Handel received English citizenship and composed four anthems on the occasion of the coronation of George II (even earlier, in 1723, he was awarded the title of composer of the Royal Chapel).

In 1729, Handel co-founded new seasons of Italian opera, this time at London's King's Theater (in the same year he went to Italy and Germany to recruit singers). This opera enterprise lasted about eight years, during which successes alternated with failures. In 1732. new edition Esther (in oratorio form) was performed twice in London, first under the baton of Handel himself and then by a rival company. Handel was preparing this work for production at the Royal Theatre, but the Bishop of London forbade the transfer of the biblical story to the theatrical stage. In 1733 Handel was invited to Oxford for a festival of his music; He wrote the oratorio “Athalia” specifically for performance at the Oxford Sheldonian Theatre. Meanwhile, a new troupe, the Opera of the Nobility, was established in London, providing serious competition to Handel's seasons. Handel's recent favorite singer, Senesino, became her leading soloist. The struggle between the Noble Opera and Handel's enterprise for the sympathy of the London public was dramatic and ended in the bankruptcy of both troupes (1737). Nevertheless, in the mid-1730s, Handel created such wonderful operas as Roland, Ariodante and Alcina (the last two with extensive ballet scenes).

The years from 1737 to 1741 in Handel's biography were marked by oscillations between Italian opera seria and forms based on English texts, most notably the oratorio. He was prompted to make a final choice between these two genres by the failure of the opera Deidamia in London (1741) and the enthusiastic reception of the oratorio Messiah in Dublin (1742).

Most of Handel's subsequent oratorios premiered at London's new Covent Garden Theater during or shortly before Lent. Most of the plots are taken from the Old Testament ("Samson", "Joseph and his brothers", "Belshazzar", "Judas Maccabee", "Joshua", "Solomon" and others); his oratorios on themes from ancient mythology (Semela, Hercules) and Christian hagiography (Theodora) were not particularly successful with the public. As a rule, in between movements of oratorios, Handel performed his own concertos for organ and orchestra or conducted works in the genre of concerto grosso (especially notable are the 12 Concerti grossi for string orchestra, Op. 6, published in 1740).

During the last ten years of his life, Handel regularly performed the Messiah, usually with 16 singers and about 40 instrumentalists; all these performances were for charity (in favor of the Orphanage in London). In 1749 he composed the suite "Music for the Royal Fireworks" to be performed in Green Park in honor of the Peace of Aachen. In 1751, Handel lost his sight, which did not prevent him from creating the oratorio “Jeuthae” a year later. Handel's last oratorio, The Triumph of Time and Truth (1757), is composed primarily of earlier material. Generally speaking, Handel often resorted to borrowing from his early works, as well as from the music of other authors, which he skillfully adapted to his own style.

Handel's death was perceived by the British as the loss of the nation's greatest composer. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Before the "Bach Renaissance" of the early 19th century. Handel's reputation as the most important composer of the first half of the 18th century remained unshakable. V. A. carried out new editions of "Acis and Galatea" (1788), "Messiah" (1789), the oratorio "The Festival of Alexander" (1790) and Ode for St. Cecilia (1790). considered Handel the greatest composer of all time. Of course, this estimate is exaggerated; Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Handel's monumental oratorios, and above all Messiah, belong to the most impressive monuments of Baroque music.

GeorgeHandel is one of the biggest names in history musical art. Great composer The Enlightenment opened new perspectives in the development of the genre of opera and oratorio and anticipated the musical ideas of the following centuries: the operatic drama of Gluck, the civic pathos of Beethoven, the psychological depth of romanticism. He's a man inner strength and conviction.Show said: "You can despise anyone and anything,but you are powerless to contradict Handel.” “...When his music sounds on the words “seated on his eternal throne,” the atheist is speechless.”

George Frideric Handel was born in Halle on February 23, 1685. Primary education he got in the so-called classical school. In addition to such a thorough education, young Handel learned some musical concepts from his mentor Pretorius, a music connoisseur and composer of several school operas. In addition to schoolwork, he was also helped to “have a sense of music” by the court bandmaster David Poole, who came into the house, and the organist Christian Ritter, who taught Georg Friedrich how to play the clavichord.

Parents paid little attention to their son's early inclination towards music, classifying it as children's entertainment. Only thanks to a chance meeting of the young talent with a fan of musical art, Duke Johann Adolf, the boy’s fate changed dramatically. The Duke, having heard the wonderful improvisation played by the child, immediately convinced his father to give him music education. Georg became a student of the famous organist and composer Friedrich Zachau in Halle. In three years he learned not only to compose, but also to play the violin, oboe, and harpsichord fluently.

In February 1697, his father died. Fulfilling the wishes of the deceased, Georg graduated from high school and five years after his father’s death he entered the Faculty of Law University in Halle.

A month after entering the university, he signed a one-year contract, according to which “the student Handel, due to his art,” was appointed organist at the city’s Reformed cathedral. He trained there for exactly a year, constantly “improving his agility in organ playing.” In addition, he taught singing at the gymnasium, had private students, wrote motets, cantatas, chorales, psalms and organ music, updating the repertoire of city churches every week. Handel later recalled: “I wrote like the devil at that time.”

In May 1702, the War of the Spanish Succession began, sweeping across Europe. In the spring of 1703, after the expiration of the contract, Handel left Halle and headed to Hamburg.Center musical life The city had an opera house. The opera was led by composer, musician and vocalist Reinhard Keyser. Handelstudied the style of opera compositionsfamous Hamburgerand the art of orchestra management.He got a job at the opera house as a second violinist (he soon became the first). From that moment on, Handel chose the field of a secular musician, and opera, which brought him both fame and suffering, became the basis of his work on for many years.

The main event of Handel's life in Hamburg can be considered the first performance of his opera Almira, on January 8, 1705. The operaHandelplayed successfully about 20 times.In the same year, the second opera was staged - “Love acquired by blood and villainy, or Nero.”

In Hamburg, Handel wrote his first work in the oratorio genre. This is the so-called “Passion” based on the text of the famous German poet Postel.It soon became clear to Handel that he had grown up, and Hamburg had become too small for him. Having saved money through lessons and writing, Handel left.Hamburg owes the birth of his style. The time of apprenticeship ended here, hereHandeltried his hand at opera and oratorio - the leading genres of his mature work.

Handelwent to Italy. From the end of 1706 to April 1707 he lived in Florence and then in Rome. In the autumn of 1708, Handel achieved his first public success as a composer. With the help of Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany, he staged his first Italian opera, Rodrigo.He also competes in public competitions with the best of the best in Rome, and Domenico Scarlatti recognizes his victory. His harpsichord playing has been called diabolical, a flattering epithet for Rome. He writes two oratorios for Cardinal Ottoboni, which are immediately performed.

After success in Rome, Handel hurries south to sunny Naples. A constant rival of Venice in the arts, Naples had its own school and traditions. Handel stayed in Naples for about a year. During this time he wrote the charming serenade "Acis, Galatea and Polyphemus."Handel's main work in Naples was the opera Agrippina, written in 1709 and staged the same year in Venice, where the composer returned again. At the premiere, the Italians, with their usual ardor and enthusiasm, paid tribute to Handel. " They were thunderstruck by the grandeur and grandeur of his style; they had never known before all the power of harmony“, wrote someone present at the premiere.

Italy gave Handel a warm welcome. However, the composer could hardly count on a strong position in the “empire of Music.” The Italians had no doubt about Handel's talent. However, like Mozart later, Handel was ponderous for the Italians, too “German” in art. Handel went to Hanover and entered the service of the Elector as court bandmaster. However, he did not stay there long. The rude morals of the small German court, the absurd vanity and imitation of the big capitals caused disgustHandel. By the end of 1710, having received leaveat the elector's, he went to London.

There Handel immediately entered theater world British capital, received an order from Aaron Hill, the tenant of the Tidemarket Theater, and soon wrote the opera Rinaldo.

To fateby Handelinfluenceddebut in the popular English genre of ceremonial music. In January 1713, Handel wrote the monumental Te Deum and Ode for the Queen's Birthday. Queen Anne was pleased with the musicOdesand personally signed permission to perform the Te Deum. On the occasion of the signing of the Peace of UtrechtJuly 7in the presence of the Queen and Parliamentunder the arches of St. Paul's Cathedral soundedthe solemn and majestic sounds of Handel’s Te Deum.

After the success of Te Deum, the composer decided to pursue a career in England.Until 1720, Handel was in the service of the old Duke Chandos, who was superintendent of the royal army under Anna. The Duke lived at Cannon Castle, near London, where he had an excellent chapel. Handel composed music for her.These years turned out to be very important - he mastered the English style. Handel wrote anthemas and two masks - a modest number given his fabulous productivity. But these things (along with the Te Deum) turned out to be decisive.

The two antique performance masks were English in style. Handel later revised both works. One became an English opera (“Acis, Galatea and Polyphemus”), the other became the first English oratorio (“Esther”). Altemy — heroic epic, “Esther” is a heroic drama based on a biblical story. In these works, Handel already fully masters both the language and the nature of feelings expressed by the English in the art of sounds.

The influence of anthems and operatic style is clearly felt in Handel’s first oratorios - “Esther” (1732), and in the subsequent “Deborte”, “Athalia” (1733). And yet the main genre of the 1720-1730s remains opera. She consumes almost all of Handel's time, strength, health and fortune.In 1720, a theatrical and commercial enterprise was opened in London, it was called the “Royal Academy of Music”. Handel was instructed to recruit the best singers in Europe, mainly from the Italian school. Handel became a free entrepreneur, a shareholder. For almost twenty years, starting in 1720, he composed and staged operas, recruited or disbanded a troupe, and worked with singers, orchestras, poets and impresarios.

This is the history that has been preserved. At one of the rehearsals, the singer was out of tune. Handel stopped the orchestra and reprimanded her. The singer continued to fake it. Handel began to grow angry and made another remark, in much stronger terms. The falsehood did not stop. Handel stopped the orchestra again and said: “ If you sing out of tune again, I'll throw you out the window." However, this threat did not help either. Then the huge Handel grabbed the little singer and dragged her to the window. Everyone froze. Handel placed the singer on the windowsill... and so that no one would notice, he smiled at her and laughed, after which he took her from the window and carried her back. After that, the singer began to sing clearly.

In 1723, Handel staged "The Distillation". He writes easily, melodically pleasant, it was the most popular opera in England in those days. In May 1723 - “Flavio”, in 1724 — operas: “Julius Caesar” and “Tamerlane”, in 1725 - “Rodelinda”. It was a victory. The last triad of operas was a worthy crown for the winner. But tastes have changed.Handel fell on hard times. The old Elector, the only strong patron - George I - died. The young king, George II, Prince of Wales, hated Handel, his father's favourite. George II intrigued him, inviting new Italians, and set enemies against him.

In 1734 - 35 French ballet was in vogue in London. Handel wrote operas and ballets in french style: “Terpsichore”, “Alcina”, “Ariodantus” and pasticcio “Orestes”. But in 1736, due to the aggravated political situation, the French ballet was forced to leave London and Handel went bankrupt. He fell ill and was paralyzed. The opera house was closed. Friends lent him some money and sent him to a resort in Aachen.The rest was as short as a dream. He woke up, he was on his feet, his right hand was moving. A miracle happened.

In Decembere 1737Handelcompletes Faramondo and takes on the opera Xerxes.At the beginning 1738 the public willingly went to see Faramondo. In FebruaryHeput pasticcio "A"lessandro Severo”, and in April - “Xerxes”. At this time, he wrote unusually well: the imagination was unusually rich, the excellent material obediently obeyed the will, the orchestra sounded expressive and picturesque, the forms were polished.

George Frideric Handel composes one of the best “philosophical” oratorios - “Cheerful, Thoughtful and Moderate” based on the beautiful youthful poems of Milton, a little earlier - “Ode to St. Cecilia" to Dryden's text. The famous twelve concerti grossi were written by him during these years. And it was at this time that Handel parted with opera. In January 1741, the last one, Deidamia, was staged.

Handelaftertwenty years of persistencebecame convinced that the sublime kind of opera seria had no meaning in a country like England. In 1740 he stopped contradicting English taste - and the British recognized his genius -Handelbecame the national composer of England.If Handel had written only operas, his name would still have taken pride of place in art history. But he would never have become the Handel we appreciate today.

HandelHe polished his style in opera, improved the orchestra, aria, recitative, form, voice performance; in opera he acquired the language of a dramatic artist. And yet, in the opera he failed to express the main ideas. The highest meaning of his work was oratorios.

A new era began for Handel on August 22, 1741. On this memorable day, he began the oratorio “Messiah.” Later writers Handel will be awarded the sublime epithet - “creator of the Messiah.” For many generations she will be synonymous with Handel. “Messiah” is a musical and philosophical poem about human life and death, embodied in biblical images. However, the reading of Christian dogmas is not as traditional as it might seem.

Handelcompleted Messiah on September 12. The oratorio had already begun to be rehearsed when Handel unexpectedly left London. He went to Dublin at the invitation of the Duke of Devonshire, the English viceroy in Ireland. He gave concerts there all season. On April 13, 1742, Handel staged Messiah in Dublin. The oratorio was warmly received.

On February 18, 1743, the first performance of “Samson” took place - a heroic oratorio based on the text of Milton, whichis one of the best European tragedies of the second half of the 17th century.Milton's "Samson" is a synthesis of the biblical plot and the genre of ancient Greek tragedy.

In 1743, Handel showed signs of a serious illness, but he recovered fairly quickly.10 February 1744composerdirected “Semela”, on March 2 - “Joseph”, in August he finished “Hercules”, in October - “Belshazzar”. In the autumn he again rents Covent Garden for the season. Winter 1745Handeldirects Belshazzar and Hercules. His rivals are making every effort to prevent the success of the concerts, but they succeed. In March, George Handel fell ill and fell ill, but his spirit was not broken.

11 Augustta 1746Handel completes the oratorio Judas Maccabee, one of his best oratorios on a biblical theme. In all of Handel’s heroic-biblical oratorios (and the composer’s a whole series: “Saul”, “Israel in Egypt”, “Samson”, “Joseph”, “Belshazzar”, “Judas Maccabee”, “Joshua”) the focus is on the historical fate of the people. Their core is fight. The struggle of the people and their leaders against the invaders for independence, the struggle for power, the struggle with apostates in order to avoid decline. The people and their leaders are the main characters of the oratorio. People like character in the form of a choir - Handel's heritage. Nowhere in music before him had people appeared in such guises.

In 1747 Handel once again rented Covent Garden. He gives a series of subscription concerts. On April 1 he staged “Judas Maccabee” and was a success.In 1747 Handel wrote the oratorios Alexander Balus and Joshua. He stages oratorios, writes “Solomon” and “Susanna”.

In 1751 the composer's health deteriorated. May 3, 1752 to himunsuccessfullyoperateeyes.In 1753, complete blindness sets in. Handel distracts himself with concerts, playing from memory or improvising. Occasionally writes music. On April 14, 1759 he died.

Handel’s friend and contemporary, writer and musicologist Charles Burney, wrote: “ Handel was a large, dense and heavy-moving man. The expression on his face was usually gloomy, but when he smiled, he looked like a ray of sunshine breaking through the black clouds, and his whole appearance became full of joy, dignity and spiritual greatness" “This ray still illuminates and will always illuminate our lives.”

OrchestroHandel's (1685-1759) style belongs to the same era in the development of orchestration as the style of his peer Bach. But he also has some peculiar features. Orchestral texture of oratorios, toconcertos for organ and orchestra and concHandel's erto grosso is close to the choral polyphonic texture. In operas, where the role of polyphony is much less, the composer is much more active in the search for new orchestral techniques. In particular, his flutes are found moretheir characteristic register (manyhigher than oboes); Having gained freedom in a new register, they become more mobile and independent.

Handel's greatest interest is in the grouping of instruments. By skillfully alternating groups, contrasting strings with wood or brass with drums, the composer achieves a variety of effects. Working in opera houses, Handel had much larger casts and greater opportunities than Bach. His orchestration style is more lush and decorative.

GEORGE FRIEDRICH HANDEL

ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: PISCES

NATIONALITY: GERMAN; THEN CITIZEN OF ENGLAND

MUSICAL STYLE: BAROQUE

IMPORTANT WORK: THE MESSIAH (1741)

WHERE HAVE YOU HEARD HIM: ON THE RADIO, IN SHOPPING CENTERS AND IN CHURCHES EVERY CHRISTMAS AND EASTER

WORDS OF WISDOM: “I WOULD BE SAD TO KNOW THAT I WAS JUST ENTERTAINING THEM. I WANTED TO MAKE THEM BETTER.”

George Frideric Handel is primarily known for one of his works, and even one fragment of this work: the Hallelujah chorus from the oratorio Messiah. Equally loved by church singing groups and television advertising producers, the Hallelujah Choir is the embodiment of celebration and joy.

However, the oratorio "Messiah" was not at all the triumph that Handel longed for. He valued himself primarily as a composer of operas, and not at all of religious music. However, the opera impresario's many years of success and fame disappeared instantly when the English public suddenly lost interest in the composer's lavish productions. This is where Handel had to start composing something other than operas: he took on oratorios in the spirit of “Messiah” only because there wasn’t much to choose from. So the next time you listen to Hallelujah and the audience rises to its feet at the first stirring chords, remember that Handel would have preferred to see a similar reaction at a performance of one of his operas.

DAD, CAN YOU HEAR ME?

Handel's father was a respected healer who believed that music was a risky and ignoble activity. Unfortunately, his son George, from a young age, demonstrated such a persistent interest in extracting sounds and composing melodies that Handel the Elder was forced to impose a ban on any musical instruments in the house. On the contrary, his wife believed in her son’s talent, so she secretly brought a small harpsichord into the attic.

One day, the father took his son on a trip to the court of the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. After the service in the chapel, the boy made his way to the choir and began to play the organ. The Duke inquired who was sitting at the instrument, and when he was told that it was the son of a doctor visiting the court, he expressed a desire to meet both. The good doctor immediately complained about his son's unfortunate passion for music and announced his intention to make George a lawyer.

To which the Duke said: you cannot destroy something that definitely looks like God’s gift. Submitting to the highest pressure and, probably, inevitability, Handel the elder allowed his son to receive a musical education.

However, it was still up to dad last word, and in 1702, seventeen-year-old Georg entered the law faculty of the University of Halle. A year later, his father died, the shackles fell off, and Georg moved to Hamburg to play the harpsichord in opera house. The world of opera absorbed Handel. In 1705, his first two operatic works were staged in Hamburg, the performances were a success, and in 1706 Handel moved south to Italy. His career suffered a temporary setback in 1707, when the Pope banned opera performances; While the ban lasted, Handel switched to religious music - a strategy that would later serve him well.

HOW TO PLEASE KINGS AND INFLUENCE SINGERS

Handel's fame grew, for which reason George, Elector of Hanover, drew attention to him. In 1710, George hired Handel as conductor (choir leader), but dusty provincial Hanover did not appeal to the composer. Less than a month into his service, Handel, taking advantage of a loophole in his contract, rushes to cosmopolitan, opera-loving England. In London he writes and produces intricate, extravagant plays. One of the most luxurious productions was the opera Rinaldo, which featured not only thunder, lightning and fireworks, but also live sparrows flying around the stage. (However, the impression of Handel’s spectacular discoveries was spoiled by the wealthy audience, who, according to the custom of that time, sat right on the stage. Not only were the wealthy spectators constantly chatting with each other and sniffing tobacco, in addition, they felt entitled to walk among the scenery. A certain opera regular complained about know: how annoying it is when gentlemen wander around where, according to the authors’ plans, the ocean is raging!)

After some time, Handel nevertheless returned to Germany in order to cajole the enraged authorities, but less than a year later he left for England again - “for several months,” stretching over many years. But before George used his power, Queen Anne died, and the Elector of Hanover became King of England George I. The king did not punish the fugitive composer; on the contrary, he commissioned numerous works from him, including “Water Music” - three orchestral suites played for royal guests on barges in the middle of the Thames.

Handel continued to work in the opera field, despite interference in the form of behind-the-scenes squabbles. It was especially difficult to manage the sopranos, who endlessly argued with the composer over the length, complexity and style of their solo arias. When one of the singers refused to sing the part written for her, Handel grabbed her in his arms and threatened to throw her out the window. Another time, the rival sopranos became so jealous of each other that Handel, in order to calm them down, had to compose two arias of exactly the same length, down to an equal number of notes. The audience was divided into two teams - each rooting for its performer - and at one performance in 1727, the hissing and whistling turned into screams and obscene swearing. The evening ended with the competing singers clutching each other's hair without leaving the stage.

THE COMING OF THE "MESSIAH"

By the 1730s, there had been a shift in audience tastes, and not better side for Handel, - the public is tired of listening to operas on foreign languages. The composer continued to work stubbornly, but the opera season of 1737 was a failure, and Handel himself fell ill with physical exhaustion. His condition was so serious that his friends feared for his life. However, he recovered, and the question inevitably arose before him: how to strengthen his shaky career. Perhaps he then remembered the long-gone days in Rome, when a papal ban forced him to compose religious music.

WHEN ONE OF THE SOPRANOS REFUSED TO SING THE ARIA, HANDEL GROUND HER IN HIS ARM AND THREATENED TO THROW HER OUT THE WINDOW.

In the eighteenth century, oratorios were religious choral works- the format was similar to operas, but without scenery, costumes and specific theatrical bombast. Handel set to work; the first oratorios “Saul”, “Samson” and “Joshua” won public recognition, despite the grumbling of particularly religious listeners who suspected the composer of turning Holy Scripture into entertainment. Handel, a devout Lutheran all his life, objected: aimless amusements are not his path, he advocates Christian enlightenment, and added, referring to the audience: “I would be upset to know that I was just entertaining them. I wanted to make them better."

Handel's most famous oratorio - in fact, his most celebrated work - was written in 1741 by order of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for a charity performance in Dublin, the funds raised were intended to help various orphanages. Handel created Messiah, an oratorio that tells the story of the life of Christ, from birth to crucifixion and resurrection. The composer's fame ran ahead of him - the demand for tickets in Dublin was so great that women were persuaded to give up crinolines so that more listeners could fit in the hall. From the very first performance, the oratorio “Messiah” became a hit.

BURNING THE HOUSE

Handel still composed extensively and successfully for entertainment English nobility. In 1749, he was commissioned to immortalize in music the conclusion of the War of the Austrian Succession (now well forgotten). "Music for the Royal Fireworks" was first performed at a dress rehearsal open to the public - a run-through that attracted 12,000 listeners, creating a three-hour traffic jam on London Bridge. The main event took place a week later in Green Park. According to the plan, the final chords were supposed to be crowned with a grandiose fireworks display, but first the weather let us down: it started to rain, and then the pyrotechnics were disappointing. To top it off, one of the missiles hit the music pavilion, which instantly burned to the ground.

Handel's career began to decline in the 1750s. His eyesight was deteriorating, and by 1752 he was completely blind. They tried in vain to improve his eyesight; he resorted to the services of many doctors, including a wandering impostor, “ophthalmiatrist” John Taylor. This healer also operated on Johann Sebastian Bach with the same success. Recent years Handel's life was overshadowed by serious illnesses; he died on April 14, 1750 at the age of seventy-four and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

LEGACY AND HEIRS

Handel's music never lost its appeal, especially in England. Patriots of the Victorian era proclaimed him a truly English musician, not embarrassed by the composer's German origins. Impressive festivals dedicated to his oratorios were held annually; the largest took place in 1859 with the participation of an orchestra of 500 performers and a choir of five thousand people; the festival was attended by 87,769 listeners.

In the 1920s and 30s, the Germans tried to return Handel to his homeland. The Nazis actively took up the initiative, although they were annoyed that many oratorios written on subjects from the Old Testament showed an overly positive attitude towards Jews. Some works were "Aryanized" with new librettos in which Jewish characters were replaced by Germans. Thus, the oratorio “Israel in Egypt” turned into “Rage of the Mongols.” After World War II, these bastard versions happily disappeared into eternity.

Despite all the fuss, Handel would likely have been disappointed by the enthusiastic attention given to his oratorios at the expense of his operas. IN post-war period the situation began to change, and today Handel's operas regularly appear on stage, if not always to the delight of the public, then invariably to the approval of critics. Be that as it may, none piece of music with English text is not heard as often or used as widely as "Messiah".

THERE IS NO LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!

Going to Ireland for the premiere of Messiah, Handel knew that he would have to work with unfamiliar singers and mostly non-professionals. One bass named Jenson, a printer by profession, was recommended to the composer as an excellent singer, capable of sight-singing even the most intricate works.

At the rehearsal, however, Jenson only hummed incomprehensibly as he flipped through the sheet music. The enraged Handel, cursing the printer in four languages, cried out:

Scoundrel! Didn't you say that you can sight sing?!

Yes, sir, I did,” Jenson replied. - And I can sight sing. But not from the first sheet that came across.

DUEL OF HARLEVISINISTS

In 1704, while Handel was playing the harpsichord in the Hamburg orchestra, he became friends with a young musician named Johann Matteson. A big fan of showing off, Matteson, at the age of twenty-three, was composing operas, not only writing scores and conducting performances, but also playing the harpsichord and singing the title roles.

True, one of the performances ended in an almost fatal fight. They performed Matteson's opera Cleopatra, in which the multi-stage composer performed the part of Anthony. Since Anthony kills himself at least half an hour before the end of the opera, Matteson, after the funeral service, liked to go down to the orchestra pit and sit at the harpsichord. However, at that performance, Handel flatly refused to give him his place at the instrument. The enraged Matteson challenged Handel to a duel, and, going out into the air, the musicians started a fight. Matteson almost finished off his opponent with a blow to the chest, but the blade of the knife came across either a massive metal button on Handel’s frock coat (according to one version), or an opera score tucked into his breast pocket (according to another).

Matteson later boasted that he taught Handel everything about composition. It’s hard to believe - unlike Handel, who became a world celebrity, Matteson did not leave his native Germany until the end of his life, and his work was mostly forgotten.

SOMETHING BANG THERE...

Born in the same country just four weeks apart in age, Bach and Handel were supposed to be friends. In fact, they did not even know each other, although Bach made persistent attempts to meet his colleague. Handel, apparently, was not too eager to get to know his compatriot, which, in general, is not surprising. Judge for yourself: Handel was the favorite composer of the king of England, and Bach was an unknown village musician. Handel could not have imagined that subsequent generations would value the church organist above the royal composer.

MYTHS AROUND THE “MESSIAH”

There are many legends about the creation of the Messiah. The first concerns timing. Handel actually wrote the oratorio in less than three weeks, and one often hears stories of how he worked day and night, without sleep or rest, inspired by divine inspiration. Not really. Handel always worked quickly; three weeks was not a record for him. He wrote the opera Faramondo in nine days. (The speed of creation of new works is also explained by the fact that Handel used music from previous scores; he constantly and without hesitation borrowed from himself - and even, according to critics, from others.)

According to the second legend, a certain servant found Handel at work in tears. Without wiping his tear-stained face, he said: “I am sure that Heaven and the great Lord himself appeared to me.” This story has no factual evidence and seems extremely uncharacteristic for a composer known for his stern disposition and taciturnity.

Finally, there is a tradition among the public to stand up during the performance of “Hallelujah” - supposedly the beginning of this tradition was started by George II (son of George I): he was the first to listen to the “Hallelujah” chorus while standing. There are a number of explanations for the king’s behavior - from the profound (George II thus honored Christ as the King of kings) to the medical (His Majesty had gout, and he rose to his feet to get rid of the discomfort) and simply funny (the king dozed off at a concert, and the solemn chords woke him up so suddenly that he jumped up). No contemporary evidence has been found on this score, but standing during “Hallelujah” has become as strong a habit among music lovers as it is among football fans to jump up when a goal is scored on the field. And if you don't want to concert hall They looked at you askance, you better stand up.

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George Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685 in Halle (Saxony). My father, no longer a young surgeon, was at first against it. music lessons son, but when the boy was eight years old, he allowed him to study the organ for three years under the guidance of a local organist. In January 1702, after the death of his father, Handel entered the law faculty of the university hometown, but a month later he was appointed organist in cathedral. The following year he said goodbye to Halle and went to Hamburg, where he became first a violinist and then a harpsichordist at the Hamburg Opera, at that time the only opera house in Germany. In Hamburg, Handel composed the Passion based on the Gospel of John (Passion nach dem Evangelium Johannes), and in 1705 his first opera, Almira, was staged there. She was soon followed by Nero, Florindo and Daphne. In 1706 he left for Italy and remained there until the spring of 1710, living in Florence, Rome, Naples and Venice and composing Italian cantatas and oratorios, Catholic church music and operas. Handel met A. Corelli, A. and D. Scarlatti and other presenters Italian composers, surprising them with his virtuoso playing on various instruments; his stay in Italy strengthened Handel’s previously identified inclination towards the Italian musical style.

Trips to England.

In June 1710, Handel replaced A. Steffani as court conductor of the Elector of Hanover, George, having previously requested leave to travel to England. In the autumn of the same year, he went to London, where immediately upon arrival, within fourteen days, he composed the opera Rinaldo, staged on February 24, 1711.

Six months later, Handel returned to Hanover, but in the spring of 1712 he again found himself in England, where he wrote several more operas and dedicated an Ode to Queen Anne for her birthday, and in honor of the conclusion of the Peace of Utrecht he wrote Te Deum (1713). However, in 1714 the queen died and was succeeded by George of Hanover, who was very angry with Handel for his unauthorized delay in England.

Forgiveness was granted after the performance of Water Music, a surprise prepared by Handel for the king's boat trip along the Thames from Whitehall to Limehouse one evening in August 1715. (The story of Handel's forgiveness is considered by some to be a legend, since it is known that Handel's music was played during another royal voyage in July 1717.) The king approved an annual pension of 200 pounds granted to the composer by Queen Anne, and in January 1716 Handel accompanied the monarch on his visit to Hanover; it was created then last piece composer to a German text - a poem about the Passion of the Lord by B.H. Brockes, also used by J.S. Bach in his Passion for John.

Upon his return to London (1717), Handel entered the service of the Duke of Chandos and directed concerts at the Ducal Palace of Cannons near London; A number of Anglican anthems (church chants), the pastoral Acis and Galatea and the masque (entertainment performance) Haman and Mordechai, the first edition of the oratorio Esther, were also created there.

Opera composer and manager.

Handel's service with the Duke coincided with a period when Italian opera was not performed in London, but in 1720 opera performances resumed in the so-called. The Royal Academy of Music, which was founded a year earlier with the participation of representatives of the English nobility and under the leadership of Handel, J.M. Bononcini and A. Ariosti. Handel went to Europe in search of singers and returned with a new opera, Radamisto. The Academy existed for nine seasons, during which Handel staged several of his best operas - for example, Floridante, Ottone, Giulio Cesare, Rodelinda. In February 1726, Handel became a British citizen. After the death of King George I (1727), he composed 4 coronation anthems for his heir. In 1728, the Academy of Music went bankrupt, unable to compete with the original, sharply satirical Opera of the Beggar by Gay and Pepusch, which had just been staged in London, which had a colossal success. Nevertheless, Handel did not want to admit defeat and, together with his business partner Heidegger, began to fight: he assembled a new opera troupe and staged performances first at the Royal Theater, then at the Lincoln's Inn Fields theater in Covent Garden. Since he had to perform Esther without a stage production during Lent (1732), the following year he composed the oratorio Deborah especially for the Lenten period, when opera could not be performed. Handel's enterprise had a strong rival in the person of the opera troupe, which, in defiance of his father-king, was patronized by the Prince of Wales. During this period, the composer's health deteriorated, and in 1737 rheumatism, overwork and a deplorable financial situation finished off Handel, who was also abandoned by his companion. The composer concluded a truce with creditors and went to take hot baths in Aachen.

Oratorio. 1737 is a turning point in Handel's life. He returned from the resort cheerful and strengthened. But although he renewed his partnership with Heidegger and from 1738 to 1741 the enterprise staged several more Handel operas at the Royal Theater (in particular, Deidamia, the composer's last opera), Handel's attention now turned to another genre - the English oratorio, which did not require a stage , nor expensive Italian singers.

Best of the day

On March 28, 1738, Handel presented a program at the Haymarket Theater that he called an Oratorio (in fact, it was a mixed program of works of different genres), and it brought the composer an income of about a thousand pounds, which allowed him to pay off all his debts. By this time, Esther, Deborah and Athalia already existed, but so far these were only scattered examples of the new genre. From now on, starting with Saul and Israel in Egypt (1739), Handel began to compose oratorios with the same regularity with which he had previously created Italian operas. The most famous oratorio, Messiah (1741), was composed in three weeks and first performed on April 13, 1742 in Dublin. She was followed by Samson, Semele, Joseph and Belshazzar. In the summer of 1745, Handel suffered a second serious crisis, both financial and related to deteriorating health, but managed to recover from it and celebrated the suppression of the Jacobite uprising with the creation of a pasticcio called Occasional Oratorio. Another oratorio associated with the Jacobite uprising was Judas Maccabaeus (1747), which contemporaries perceived as a thinly disguised biblical story a laudatory ode to the savior of England, the “butcher” Cumberland (William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland). Judas Maccabee is Handel's best oratorio; at the first performance, the work turned out to be so consistent with the general mood that Handel immediately became national hero, and a hero of the entire people, including not only the nobility, but also the middle class. In 1748–1750, he pleased his fans with a whole series of masterpieces - Alexander Balus, Joshua, Susanna, Solomon and Theodora, not all of which were as successful as they were. deserved it. In 1749, Handel composed Fireworks Music for the celebration of the peace treaty in Aachen, ending the War of the Austrian Succession; The fireworks themselves were not very successful, but Handel's music was a great success.

Last years, blindness and death.

Handel's summer 1750 last time visited Germany. Returning to England, he began work on the oratorio Jephtha, but felt that his eyesight was failing him. He underwent operations three times, but in January 1753 Handel became completely blind. However, he did not sit idly by, but with the help of his devoted friend J.K. Smith composed his last great pasticcio, Triumph of Time and Truth (1757), the material for which was borrowed mainly from Handel's early Italian oratorio Il Trionfo del Tempo (1708), as well as from other previously created works. Handel continued to play the organ and conduct concerts. So, on April 6, 1759, a week before his death, he directed the performance of the Messiah at the Covent Garden Theater. Handel died on April 14 and was buried in Westminster Abbey on April 20; His coffin was accompanied by about three thousand people, and the combined choir of the abbey and the Cathedral of St. sang at the funeral. Paul and the Royal Chapel.

my opinion
Arina 09.11.2006 08:03:05

I think that this text is too boring. Especially for essays. In schools, children simply will not listen to this. If you listen to your readers, then I really hope that you will listen to my opinion!