MuseData: George Frideric Handel

Life

Operas

The Royal Academy (1719-28)

The Royal Academy (1729-34)

Covent Garden Theatre (1734-37)

Covent Garden opened on December 7, 1732. Spoken plays constituted most of the repertory that the theater initially offered to the public. The theater was built by John Rich, manager of the Duke's Company at Lincoln Inn Fields. There Rich's singular success rested on his support for John Gay's highly successful Beggar's Opera (1728), a low-life work with simple songs and other incidental music that satirized Italian opera and those who admired it. Its popularity heightened existing tensions with serious opera.

The new theater lay within a district of produce and flower vendors sanctioned a century earlier by royal charter. This conferred on it the designation "royal" and the right (shared only with Drury Lane) to present spoken plays to the public. The idea of interleaving opera performances a few nights week created an opening for Handel. While Ariodante was taking shape, Handel composed ballet music for a revival of Il pastor fido and assembled the pastiche Oreste, both of which were performed at the theater late in 1734.

Ariodante (HWV 33)

Handel's Ariodante was composed between August and October 1734. The London Daily Post reported on January 1 (when the work was in rehearsal) that "the Scenes prepar'd for [it] are thought to excell any Thing of the Kind that has yet appear'd." [1] Opening on 8 January 1735, it was the first new opera entirely by Handel to be performed at the Royal Theatre at Convent Garden. The castrato Giovanni Carestini sang in the title role.

Antonio Salvi's text (then called Ginevra in Scozia) was originally composed in 1708 for a production (with music by Giacomo Perti) at Pratolino (Florence). It became better known through Carlo Francesco Pollarolo's setting (as Ariodante) for San Giovanni Grisostomo, Venice, in November 1716. It was this opera production that launched the stellar career of Faustina Bordoni, whose voice was by now celebrated throughout Europe.

Mark Stahura's 1994 edition of Ariodante, based on Handel's autograph in the British Library and made under contract with the Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities (CCARH) with the help of Frances Bennion and Edmund Correia Jr., is available here: Ariodante score and parts.

Alcina (HWV 34)

Alcina opened at Covent Garden on 16 April 1735. The score, which had been started early in February, was completed only eight days earlier. Anna Maria Strada del Pò took the title role. It was a popular work, enjoying eighteen performances in 1735 and three more in 1737.

Beginning of the "Bird of May" (arrangement of the Musette movement) for violin and basso continuo from Handel's Alcina. Glasgow University Library.

Rich in the use of "woodland" instruments (flutes, piccolo, and oboes), a few excerpts took on a life of their own in such editions as John Walsh's Alcina for a flute, containing the overture, songs, and symphonys curiously transpos'd and fitted for the flute. John Bland's Bird of May: To a favorite aire in Alcina by Mr. Handel prompted John Simpson to issue Bird of May: To a nightingale....The adieu to the Spring Garden at Vaux Hall, and many further issues, all in 1735 and 1736. The basis for this "favourite aire" was nothing other than the Musette movement of the opera's overture. The rest of the eighteenth century, in which images of natural innocence were highly valued, was filled with musical depictions of nightingales.

The sorceress Alcina had a long history on the opera stage. Antonio Fanzaglia's libretto had been written for Riccardo Broschi's opera L'isola di Alcina, which had been performed in Rome in 1728. It was based on Cantos 6 and 7 of Ariosto's Orlando furioso. The knight Ruggiero is retained, but other roles have been modified. Handel, who had become acquainted with text during his visit to Italy in 1729, revised the music in 1736 and again in 1737, leading to a production in Brunswick in 1738.

Stage witches were intended to be alluring enchantresses. This set them radically apart from countless alleged witches, who had been burned at the stake in considerable numbers under the edict of James I. The subject was highly topical when Alcina was performed, because King George II would very soon modify James's Witchcraft Act (1604) by reducing the sentence to fines and imprisonment, with effect from June 24, 1736.

The 1868 edition of Alcina by the Händel Gesellschaft (the German Handel Society) is available for viewing and download (1868 edition of Handel's Alcina at the Vifamusik website)

Atalanta (HWV 35)

<htmlet>atalanta</htmlet>
Performed with CCARH
score/parts

Handel's Atalanta was first performed on 12 May 1736. Composed one year earlier, it came to form part of a festive period immediately following the wedding of Frederick, Prince of Wales (April 27), the eldest son of King George II, to Princess Augusta of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha. The same season had begun on May 5 with a revival of Ariodante, now featuring the Italian castrato Gioacchino Conti ("Ghiziello"). Conti's range, which extended to c3, was exceptionally high and Handel exploited its capabilities. He won the great praise of Lord Shaftesbury, who immediately called him "one of the best Performers in this Kingdom". By the day before Atalanta opened Shaftsbury had come to rank Conti above Farinelli, the best known castrato of the time, for his greater agility and pitch control.

The original text of this pastorale, by Belisario Valeriani, was entitled La caccia in Etolia when it was written. Its first setting, by Fortunato Chelleri, was performed in Ferrara, 1715). The libretto formed the basis of revivals and new settings given in Modena (1716), Ravenna (1726), Florence (1727), and Vienna (1733).

Handel's autograph for Atalanta is in the British Library, with further material in the Manchester Public Library.

Arminio (HWV 36)

Composed in September 1736, Arminio was first performed at Covent Garden on 12 January 1737. Antonio Salvi's text on Arminius (Hermann), the Germanic chief who defeated Roman legions in the first years of the first century, had been written for an earlier setting (Pratolino, 1703) by Alessandro Scarlatti. The subject itself had been treated in Venetian operas of the later seventeenth century.

Arminio was not by any measure one of Handel's more successful operas. After its initial six performances, it had no revivals, nor did it generate any significant number of circulated offshoots. Some cast members were little known to London audiences. In particular, the castrato Domenico Annibali, who sang in the title role, was well known at the Dresden court, his principal place of employment, for his appearances in the operas of Johann Adolf Hasse, but had no particular impact in London.

The German Handel Society edition is available for download from Vifamusik: Arminio (1882 edn.).

Giustino (HWV 37)

Composed during a three-week period starting on August 14, 1736, Giustino had its premier at Covent Garden on February 17, 1737. It was more successful than Arminio in that ten performances were given over a four-month period. The text had been inspired by that of Niccolò Beregan (Venice 1683), for Giovanni Legrenzi's like-named work, and its adaptation by Pietro Pariati (Bologna 1711; Rome 1724).

A flute arrangement of the "overture, songs and symphonys" was published soon after its premier by John Walsh (London, 1737) under the title Justin. Specific items within the work were recycled by Handel in subsequent operas and oratorios. The Händel Gesellschaft edition can be downloaded from Vifamusik: Giustino.

Berenice (HWV 38)

Berenice, the final opera in Handel's Covent Garden series, opened on May 18 1737. Handel had composed it from mid-December to late January. Anna Maria Strada del Pò was featured in the title role.

Its libretto, by Antonio Salvi, had been written in 1709 for performance at the Villa of Pratolino (Florence). As a subject for dramatization, Berenice had much older roots in Renaissance commedia. Interest in had been rekindled in the late seventeenth century by Racine's stage tragedy. It was conveyed to the musical stage by a spectacular setting for the Contarini Villa at Piazzola (near Treviso). The work was recast for Venice (1711) as Le gare di politica e di Amore by Gio. Maria Ruggieri.

The Händel Gesellschaft edition is available for download from Vifamusik: Berenice.

Early Oratorios (1707-1718)

Handel's early oratorios are largely lost. The first two were composed in Rome. The third may not have been performed at all. The first and fourth same to life after extensive revisions in the 1730s.

Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (BWV 46a, 46b)

Only source for first version (46a) dated 1707, possibly for performance in Rome. Second version (46b) assembled, with extensive new music, winter 1737. Performed 1737, 1739.

La Resurrezzione di Nostro Signor Gesù Cristo (BWV 47)

Music not extant. Performed on April 8, 1708 in the Palazzo Bonelli, Rome.

Der für die Sünde der Welt (Brockes Passion, BWV 48)

Music not extant. Possibly performed in Hamburg in 1716.

Esther (HWV 50a)

Cf. Esther (HWV 50b), 1732.

Late Oratorios (1733-1751)

The revisions to Esther that Handel made in 1732 seemed to revive his interest in the genre. Most of the oratorios he wrote over the next eighteen years enjoyed significant popularity. Their choruses became a stimulus to the formation of choral societies. The choral societies in turn made their own modifications to the works, thus feeding the mill of revised versions. Meanwhile, London publishers undertook to publish both arias from Handel's operas and various pieces from the oratorios. Many oratorios were published in their entirety in the later half of the century, even though the publication of an entire opera was all but known.

Esther (BWV 50a, 50b)

Esther had perhaps the longest run of any of Handel's oratorios. The first version (50a), composed in 1718, had strong synergies with London social and literary circles of the time. Derived from the Old-Testament book of the same name, its text was composed of passages from Alexander Pope [2], John Gay [3], and the satirist John Arbuthnot [4]. Arbuthnot was a friend of Handel's in the 1710s and played an important role in establishing the Royal Academy of Music in 1719, shortly after this oratorio (originally dedicated to the Earl of Carnarvon, later the Duke of Chandos) was composed.

When Handel revised the work (as 50b) in 1732, he added considerable material. The later version was performed over and over between then and 1757. Its success served as a stimulus to many of Handel's later oratorios. Printed versions were offered by William Randall (1776) and H. Wright (c. 1783). Two others close to Handel's works--John Walsh and Samuel Arnold--were subscribers.

Deborah (HWV 51)

Partly recycled from earlier works, score assembled in 1733. Performed between 1733 and 1756.

Athalia (HWV 52)

Assembled with some new music spring 1733. Performed between 1733 and 1756.

Saul (HWV 53)

Composed summer 1738, Saul was first performed in the Haymarket Theater on January 16, 1739. The libretto, based on the First and Second Books of Samuel, was by Charles Jennens. Like many of Handel's mature oratorios, it had a long afterlife (London performances 1739-1754), followed by a continued presence in print.

A London edition (by William Randall) of 1773 may be seen at the Haendel-Haus in Halle, Germany (Handel's birthplace). Consult the "Digitalisate: Musikalien- und Büchersammlun" [Digitized music and books] section of the "Bibliothek" [Library] at this link: [5].

Israel in Egypt (HWV 54)

Composed autumn 1738. Performed 1739-1758.

Messiah (HWV 56)

Handel's most famous and most often performed work is the oratorio Messiah, composed in 1741 and first performed in Dublin in 1742. Many individual numbers within the work have independently become familiar.

As it comes to us in the twenty-first century, Messiah is unusual in several respects. Its text suggest that it is a sacred work, but it has enjoyed a substantial life as concert fare. A north German in the service of the British crown, Handel's oratorios were symbols of the (protestant) Church of England and its stature in British society. Dublin, which we know today as the capital of Eire (Ireland), was heavily dominated in Handel's time by English gentlemen.

Handel in Dublin

Handel was invited by enthusiastic fans of his music to go to Dublin in the autumn of 1741. (He had been invited the previous summer by the Duke of Devonshire, who was then Viceroy of Ireland.) The series of subscription concerts that were given there late in the year were a raging success. They featured some of his best loved works: the Te Deum and Jubilate (December 10); L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, ed il Moderato (December 23, on John Milton's text [6]; repeated by command of the Viceroy on January 13, 1742); and a double bill featuring Acis and Galatea with Alexander's Feast on January 20th, with an encore performance a week later. Each concert included concertos in addition to vocal and choral works. The concerts were given in the new Neale's Music Hall on Fishamble St. Handel wrote to Charles Jennens on December 29, 1741 that the most recent subscription concert [December 23] attracted an audience of 600, among which were not only "Ladyes of Distinction" but also "many Bishops, Deans, Heads of the Colledge, [and] the most eminent People in the Law...all of which are very much taken with [Milton's] poetry."[Baselt, IV, 341].

The series continued with some of Handel's best loved works--Acis and Galatea paired with The Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, based on the text of John Dryden [7], on January 20 and 27, 1742. Jonathan Swift [8], then dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral [9], Dublin, was persuaded by the growing reputation of the performances to permit eight of his singers to join the weekly programs of the Charitable Musical Society (through which all the concerts were benefits).

Because the response had been so substantial a second subscription series was launched on on February 17 with Alexander's Feast. It continued on Wednesdays through April 7, when the featured work was a revised version of Esther.

Dublin was by now well primed for the open rehearsal of Messiah that took place the following day. Its fame was instant, for on the basis of the rehearsal it was deemed "the finest Composition of Musick that ever was heard." The official premiere, on April 13 (a Tuesday) at noon, sustained its lofty reputation. (Because of the anticipated crowds, women were advised not to wear hoops to the performance.) Charles Jennens' libretto for the work was sold in Dublin for sixpence. When Messiah had its final Dublin performance, on June 3, there were some changes of cast and organ concertos were performed with it. Other concerts filled the intervening weeks. Among them were a benefit for the Dublin music publishers William and Bartholomew Mainwaring, and Handel's oratorio Saul. Its Dead March became an instant favorite.

Messiah came into being as a response to the request of Dublin's Charitable Infirmary to compose a work to encourage contributions to the "Dublin sick." At the time hospitals were used more to separate the sick from the rest of society than to treat their maladies.

The Structure of Messiah

Because of the immediate popularity of individual choral and vocal numbers in Messiah the work was rapidly circulated and adapted to varying circumstances. Each adaptation created the possibility of slight changes to the music, although on the whole the work's integrity was largely preserved in the eighteenth century. The kinds of features that tended to change were the voicing in specific numbers. There was much vacillation between Tenor and Soprano, for example.

Two of the most durable milestones of eighteenth-century dissemination were the Foundling Hospital parts (xx) and the Samuel Arnold edition (178xx).

London's Foundling Hospital, established on Bloomsbury Fields in 1739, was its answer to the continental analogues such as the famous Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. Such institutions fostered strong musical allegiances because the noble families who contributed to their establishment cherished music made well by children and also believed it contributed to their betterment. The Foundling Hospital's benefactors include outstanding painters, such as Sir Joshua Reynolds and xx Gainsborough. Handel donated an organ as well as benefit performances to the Hospital. A valuable set of performance parts fell into its possession when Handel died. Today "Coram's Fields" park mark the spot where the original Hospital stood.

Samson (HWV 57)

Composed autumn 1741. Performed 1743-1759.

Semele (HWV 58)

Composed summer 1743. Performed 1744.

Belshazzar (HWV 61)

Composed autumn 1743. Performed 1745-1758.

Judas Maccabaeus (HWV 63)

Composed summer 1746. Revised many times. Performed 1747-1759.

Joshua (HWV 64)

Composed summer 1747. Performed 1748-54.

Alexander Balus (HWV 65)

Composed summer 1947. Performed 1748, 1754.

Susanna (HWV 66)

Composed summer 1748. Performed 1749, 1759.

Solomon (HWV 67)

Composed spring 1748. Performed 1749, 1759.

Theodora (HWV 68)

Composed summer 1749. Performed 1750, 1755.

Jephtha (HWV 70)

Composed Jan-August 1751. Performed 1752-1758.

Odes and Serenatas

Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne (HWV 74)

Composed 1713, revised 1714, but not performed.

Acis and Galatea (HWV 49)

composed 1718. Revised 1732.

Alexander's Feast (HWV 75)

Composed 1736. Many copies and performances (1737-1755).

Ode for St. Cecilia's Day (HWV 76)

Composed 1739, on Dryden's "From harmony, from heav'nly harmony." Performances through 1755.

L'Allegro, Il Penseroso ed il Moderato (HWV 55)

Composed 1740 on text adapted from Milton by J. Harris and Charles Jennens (part III). Performed through 1755.

Instrumental Music

References

William H. Grattan Flood. A History of Irish Music.