 aendel was born
on February, 23rd, 1685 in Halle, Germany. Very little is known about his childhood. Yet,
an anecdote reports that when his father went to meet the Duke of Weissenfels in 1693, he
followed him secretly. When Georg Haendel discovered that his son had joined him, he had a
hard time trying to convince him to return. In vain : a few days later, young Georg
Friedrich was playing the organ before the court. According to the advice of the Duke of
Weissenfels, Georg Haendel agreed to provide his son with a musical schooling and let him
be Zachow's pupil. This enabled Georg Friedrich to improve his organ-playing technique,
but also to learn to play the harpsichord, the violin, the oboe and the cello.
Furthermore, Zachow taught him musical theory and allowed him to discover the music of
contemporary German masters.
Thus, in 1696, Haendel started to compose. Yet, when Friedrich I, King of Prussia,
intended to send the young composer to Italy to improve his schooling, Georg Haendel
refused to let his son go before he had finished his law studies. Hence, Haendel kept on
studying. Nevertheless, he became in parallel the official organist in Halle, and started
teaching in 1702.
Once he had finished his studies, in 1703, he went to Hamburg, a town which was said to
be full of opportunities as far as opera was concerned. His meeting with Mattheson, a
famous composer, enabled him to join the local orchestra as a violinist. Though he had
composed the Johannes Passion in 1704, his main preoccupation had always remained opera.
His first two attempts were Almira and Nero in 1705. The former was a success, but the
latter did not rouse much enthusiasm. This is the reason why Haendel, who had just met
Gian-Gastone de Medici, the brother of the Great Duke of Tuscany, accepted his invitation
to Italy.
Hardly had he arrived in Florence in 1706 when he suddenly realized that Gian-Gastone
was in fact a minor character of the Court. Without any hope of becoming a successful
composer in Florence, Haendel decided to go to Rome. This new trip gave him the
opportunity to meet musicians like Corelli, Caldara or Alessandro Scarlatti, but, most of
all, to make himself familiar with the Italian style, which he used to compose his
Carmelite Vespers (Dixit Dominus , Nisi Dominus , ...) but also his first secular oratorio
Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno in 1707. Meanwhile, the opera-house in Hamburg was
performing his new operatic productions, Florindo and Dafne . A born-traveller, Haendel
eventually returned to Florence for the creation of another opera entitled Rodrigo , and
stayed there for a few weeks to compose Italian cantatas.
A first trip to Venice in 1708 enabled him to meet Domenico Scarlatti, Ernst-August of
Hanover, the brother of the Elector and the Duke of Manchester who was the British
Ambassador in Venice. Without knowing how important these meetings were to prove, Haendel
returned to Rome to have his first sacred oratorio performed. In spite of its success, La
Resurrezione nearly caused a scandal, since the Catholic Church could not accept that
Maria Maddalena's part be played by ... a woman! Anyway, a war had just broken out and the
battlefront was drawing nearer to Rome, so Haendel decided to move to a safer place. In
Naples, he composed the serenata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo for the wedding of the Duke of
Alvito, and began writing the music of a new opera : Agrippina . Aiming at having it
performed in the North of Italy, he returned to Venice in 1709. For " Il caro sassone
", the première was a triumph. Yet, Haendel was no longer to stay in Italy since
Steffani, whom he had met in Rome, offered him his post as a Kapellmeister at the Court of
Georg-Ludwig, Elector of Hanover.
Thus, in 1710, Haendel was back in Germany. There, he would meet a lot of French
musicians employed in the orchestra, which could account for the French influence which
could sometimes be found in his works. But Haendel had only accepted the post provided
that he would be given twelve months leave devoted to a new trip. Hence, by the end of the
year 1710, he was already in London. To captivate his new audience, Haendel wrote a
splendid score, re-using former works mixed with new material : Rinaldo . With one single
performance, he had made the conquest of the British public.
Yet, he had promised to be back in Hanover after twelve months and his leave had come
to an end. Hence, he returned to Germany, where he found the opera-house closed. His
becoming more and more distant from the court led him to ask for more leave in 1712. This
was granted, provided that Haendel was back " within a reasonable time ". In
fact, the Hanover family was acting from selfish motives : as a pretender to the throne,
the Elector was exchanging Haendel, who was Queen Anne's favourite composer, for the
opportunity to be the first one on the list as a potential King of England.
Be that as it may, Haendel was again in England in 1712. Accommodated by the Earl of
Burlington in Piccadilly, he was introduced to prominent national writers and started
studying the English language as well as Purcell's music. Yet, his latest two operas, Il
Pastor Fido in 1712 and Teseo in 1713, obtained little success. Fortunately, Queen Anne
promoted him to the rank of official composer for the court, and Haendel triumphed in 1713
with his Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne , and his Te Deum and Jubilate composed to
celebrate the Peace of Utrecht.
1714 must have been a strange year for Haendel who had " forgotten " his
promise to return to Hanover " within a reasonable time " : Indeed, the Elector
had just become George I and had arrived on British soil. Nevertheless, George I did not
bear Haendel ill-will for abandoning him in Germany, and a new Te Deum put an end to any
tension which could have risen between the two men. Haendel went on composing operas
(Silla in 1714, Amadigi in 1715) but puritanism caused the opera-houses to close in 1715.
At the same time, George I set off on a trip to Germany. Haendel took this opportunity to
accompany him and visit his relatives. He also composed the Brockes Passion in 1716, but
was finally back in England before George I himself.
1717 was a turning-point for Haendel, who started the year by once more playing a major
public part, composing the Water Music for the King's row on the Thames, but finally
decided to accept the invitation of James Brydges, Earl of Carnavon and future Duke of
Chandos, who was offering to let him spend some time in his residence in Cannons. For the
Duke's Chapel, Haendel composed the eleven Chandos Anthems , which represented the
synthesis of all the different national styles Haendel had ever come across. A time of
withdrawing and deep introspection, the three years spent in Cannons (1717-1719) also
enabled him to discover English religious texts in details, which would prove very useful
for his late oratorio-writing period. This yielded Haman and Mordecai , a first draft of
what would be his first real English oratorio fourteen years later : Esther . Yet, Haendel
went on composing secular works, such as Acis and Galatea .
The " Chandos-period " finished in 1719, when Haendel formed an outstanding
project : creating a joint-stock opera company to perform new productions in London. The
so-called " Royal Academy of Music " was born. George I asked Haendel to go to
Italy and bring back the best of Italian opera-singers. The following year, the Haymarket
Theatre was presenting Haendel's first score composed for the Royal Academy : Radamisto ,
another success.
Everything seemed to be right for Handel in 1720 (successful operas, publishing of his
harpsichord suites,...), when the Earl of Burlington, a member of the board of directors
of the Academy, announced that he had met a famous Italian composer called Bononcini and
that he intended to present his works to Londoners. Suddenly, compared with Bononcini's,
Haendel's style appeared too sophisticated for the public. A competition was organized
between Bononcini, Haendel and a third composer called Amadei, involving a common
three-act opera called Muzio Scevola , each musician composing one act. Even though
Haendel won the contest, his new score (Floridante , 1721) had to surrender when Bononcini
presented his Griselda in 1722. The Funeral Anthem for the Duke of Marlborough was even
commanded to Bononcini, and not to Haendel although he was the official composer for the
court.
Discovering that he had been one of the victims of a cabal against " the German
protégés of the Hanover family ", Haendel retorted with a new score, Ottone , whose
triumph was in fact mainly due to the presence of an extraordinary soprano called
Francesca Cuzzoni. What did he care ? He had regained the preference of the audience, and
his following opera, Flavio (1723), was another success. Yet, this was not a sufficient
victory : beside a few sonatas and a psalm for the King's return from a trip to Hanover (O
Praise the Lord ), Haendel was preparing the very score which would cause his rival
Bononcini to be definitively defeated : the opera Giulio Cesare . Along with Tamerlano and
Rodelinda (1724-1725), this new production gave him a crushing victory : in 1725, he was
again England's premier composer.
In 1726, Haendel officially became a British citizen. As a consequence, we will from
now on use the British spelling of his name : Handel. Nevertheless, new crises were still
to rise : his operas, tailor-made for his singers, had become very dependent on the latter
: Alessandro , Scipione (1726), Admeto (1727) were only pretexts for the stars to compete
on stage. The worst could be expected, and the worst happened : in the presence of the
Prince of Wales, sopranos Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni came to blows during a
performance. The scandal had a disastrous effect on the image of Italian opera and
Handel's Riccardo Primo (1727), Siroe and Tolomeo (1728) turned out to be failures. To
crown it all, Gay and Pepusch had just composed The Beggar's Opera , a scathing satire of
Italian opera, sung in English, staging beggars and thieves and thus taking the opposite
view to the traditional opera-heroes. Hence, in 1728, the first Royal Academy of Music
could no longer survive.
The previous year, George I's death, and, consequently, the coronation of George II,
had led Handel to compose the Coronation Anthems , thus ensuring him that, in spite of the
dire situation of his operas, he had remained the official composer for the Royal Family.
In any case, it was not like him to accept a defeat : getting rid of the useless board
of directors which had " governed " the first Royal Academy under the influence
of the court, Handel decided to become his own impresario and to found a second Academy.
In 1729, he was already returning to Italy to take on new singers. He took advantage of
his being in Rome to compose the splendid motet Silete Venti for Cardinal Colonna. Back in
London, he presented new scores such as Lotario (1729) or Partenope (1730), that did not
manage to counterbalance the success of The Beggar's Opera , which was all the more
surprising as Handel's fame in Europe had never been so important. Fortunately, famous
castrato Senesino joined him again in 1731 to create Poro , which enabled this new opera
to be a success. Yet, the cause of opera was never won : in 1732, Ezio was another,
whereas Sosarme roused enthusiasm.
Anyway, Handel had other fish to fry : without any permission, the chorus master of the
Royal Academy had performed one of Handel's former works, Haman and Mordecai , renaming it
Esther . The same year, Acis and Galatea was presented as well. In order to protect his
royalties, Handel decided to conduct his works himself. To his great surprise, these
works, sung in English, were fascinating audiences at a time when operas were never sure
to obtain any success. Though encouraged by former librettists to definitively abandon
Italian in favour of the English language, Handel did not understand the expectations of
the public, and, in 1733, presented a new opera, Orlando , along with an oratorio :
Deborah .
The worst was still to come : opposed to his father, the Prince of Wales had founded a
rival opera company called the Nobility Opera. Joining famous Italian composer Nicola
Porpora and castrato Farinelli, all Handel's singers but Anna Strada abandoned him.
Handel's most difficult struggle had begun, hardly interrupted by the intermission of the
creation of the oratorio Athalia , in Oxford. Gathering a new troupe of singers, Handel
nevertheless managed to perform his pasticcio Semiramide reconosciuta in the presence of
the Royal Family, although the latter were supposed to be at St James's Palace to attend
the King's birthday party! In 1734, while Porpora was presenting his Arianna in Nasso ,
Handel triumphed with his own Arianna in Creta .
But other hard times were in store : his former partner, the owner of the Haymarket
Theatre, refused to renew his contract and opened his theatre to the Nobility Opera
Company. Handel was left no other solution but to accept to share the stage of the Covent
Garden Theatre with the local actors.
To rival with Hasse's opera Artaserse , he quickly recomposed Il Pastor Fido and used
French style in the ballet Terpsicore , which he presented at the same time. In 1735, he
performed Ariodante and - to rival with Porpora's Polifemo , Alcina , a masterpiece. This
was to be his last triumph : French ballet-dancer Marie Sallé, who had been involved in
his latest productions, was responsible for a scandal because of " too short clothing
on a stage ". The event triggered off a wave of xenophobia, which reached Handel as
well. Feeling his health failing, he announced that no opera would be planned for the rest
of the year. Instead, he composed a secular work in English, Alexander's feast (1736), a
wedding anthem for the Prince of Wales and an Italian cantata, Cecilia, volgi un sguardo .
Yet, giving up his struggle for opera would have been impossible and Handel performed
new productions (Atalanta , Giustino in 1736, Arminio , Berenice , Didone abbandonata in
1737). But he had over-estimated his physical capacities : after subduing the Nobility
Opera Company, which caused Porpora and Farinelli to return to Italy, Handel was affected
by a paralysing attack. He agreed to go to Aix-la-Chapelle to get medical treatment, and,
after a quick recovery, was back in London to compose the Funeral Anthem for Queen
Caroline .
In 1738, Handel was given back the Haymarket Theatre, left vacant since Porpora's
departure, and he performed Faramondo and Serse . But the Londoners did not want to hear
about Italian opera any more : only Handel's organ concertos, sonatas, and oratorio Saul
in 1739 managed to rouse enthusiasm, which does not mean that oratorios were always
successful : indeed, Israel in Egypt did not please because of its excessive choral
aspect. Thanks to his Ode for Saint Cecilia's day - a tribute to Purcell - and his
Concerti Grossi , Handel regained the confidence of his public. The situation was not to
last : after the cold winter of 1740, which had caused the theatres to close, his musical
arrangement of Milton's poems, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato was no real success.
Neither were his last two attempts to impose Italian opera (Imeneo in 1740 and Deidamia in
1741). The growing hostility shown by both nobility and gentry (Handel's bills were torn
up, concert-boycotting was organized,...) led him to depart to Ireland.
In Dublin, his arrival was a triumph : for the première of Messiah in 1742, gentlemen
were asked to come without their swords and ladies without their crinolines, in order to
spare room to let more people in. When he returned to London in August 1742, Handel had
been revigorated by this success. His 1737 illness had turned him towards religion and his
failures of the early 1740s made him abandon opera to devote himself to oratorios. In
London, his absence had caused the animosity to fade. Thus, the creation of Samson , in
1743 was welcomed.
But Handel made a big mistake when he decided to have Messiah performed on British soil
: devout people felt outraged by the idea of representing a sacred story in a theatre. To
make it up with the Londoners, Handel composed a Te Deum and an Anthem for the victory of
Dettingen. But this was not sufficient. After the failures of Semele , Joseph and his
Brethren (1744) and Hercules (1745), Handel announced that he would refund his subscribers
and stop composing. Fortunately, the public reacted immediately and asked Handel not to
give up performing his works. Yet, Belshazzar , a real masterpiece, was not granted the
reception it deserved. Dejected, Handel suffered another attack.
Surprisingly, the sudden change in the situation came from extra-musical events : in
1745, the Scottish rebellion had triggered major concern in London. When Handel composed
his Song for the Gentlemen Volunteers of the City of London , he was suddenly acknowledged
as a real national musician. The situation grew even better when he wrote the score of the
Occasional Oratorio (1746) to support the English army and Judas Maccabaeus (1747) to
celebrate the victory of the Duke of Cumberland in Culloden. His new oratorios (Joshua ,
Alexander Balus in 1748, Solomon , Susanna in 1749) were not as successful as his Music
for the Royal Fireworks composed in 1749 for the commemoration of the end of the long War
of the Austrian succession.
There was nothing more to add : for his public, Handel had become an occasional
composer! This is probably the reason why his latest works did not please : his favourite
oratorio, Theodora , was a failure. The Choice of Hercules , a secular oratorio re-using
the score of a never-performed work called Alceste , would be granted no better reception.
After composing Jephtha , in 1751, he became progressively blind and had to dictate his
last secular oratorio, The Triumph of Time and Truth , to his servant. On April, 14th,
1759, he who had aimed " not only at entertaining his public, but also at making them
better " died in the house he had bought in Brook Street, London, thirty-five years
earlier. In his will, he had mentioned the Foundling Hospital, the orphanage for which he
had composed his anthem Blessed are they that considereth the poor in 1749, and to which
he bequeathed the score of Messiah . On April, 20th, 1759, three thousand people were
gathered in Westminster Abbey to pay a last tribute to Handel. Music had lost a master.
British music would never really get over it.
--Arnaud Fischer
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Haendel 
