Georg Friedrich Handel - Notable Biographies

(1685/02/23 - 1759/04/14)

Georg Friedrich Händel
German composer

He was born February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany, in the in the bosom of a family without musical tradition.
It was a cosmopolitan German strong Italian imprint in his style. At age 10 he began receiving classes of an organist. When he was 17 he worked as organist of the Church in Halle. In 1703 he moved to Hamburg, operatic Center of Germany at the time, where he composed his first opera, Almira, which achieved great success in 1705.
Some time later he left for Italy. His first stop was in Florence and in 1707 travelled to Rome where he lived an intense musical life centered in the oratory - not scenic religious vocal music sung in latin-. The motet Dixit Dominus (1707) is considered his first masterpiece; the cantata Laudate pueri (1706) is based on a Psalm from the book of David. His stay in Italy ended with the success of his fifth opera, Agrippina (1709), which was premiered in Venice. He traveled to Hanover and works as a composer and conductor of the Court Orchestra. He then moved to London, where he premiered Rinaldo (1711) with great success. In 1714 he was appointed guardian of the children of the King.
The Saxon eventually conquered the English public by writing the most beautiful and perfect Italian operas of his time and under the patronage of the Duke of Chandos, he composed his oratorio Esther and the 11 Chandos anthems for choir, soloists and Orchestra (1717-1720). In 1719 he was granted a subsidy to found the Royal Academy of Music (Centre of which he was President), destined to operatic performances, where is estrenarían some of the great operas: Radamisto (1720), Giulio Cesare (1724), Tamerlano (1724) and Rodelinda (1725).
In 1727 he got the British citizenship. A year later the Royal Academy came to bass and founded a new company. In 1734, was forced to move to a new Theater by the pressures of the Opera of the Nobility, rival company, and continued composing opera until 1737, year in which the two companies stopped.
In 1737, an attack of paralysis forced him to stay one season inactive, and he retired to Aachen. In 1738 he returned to composing, and in 1741 he composed his last opera, Deidamia. During the 1930s was devoted to the composition of oratorios dramatic in English, Athalia (1733) and Saul (1739), and instrumental works performed with oratorios, among which must be concerts: lI concertos for soloists of the opus 4 (1736, five for organ and one for harp), and the 12 concerti grossi opus 6 (1739). The oratorio Messiah, his most famous work premiered in Dublin in 1742. The oratory is not only a masterpiece of Baroque choral, but also one of the most popular compositions of classical music. In fact, many consider it a work of spiritual communion with humanity.
Handel, who died childless, joined the condition of successful composer of entrepreneur and philanthropist (established a fund to support musicians in decline and their families), became a Governor of the hospital for foundlings, who benefited economically from the interpretation at its facilities in some of his most famous works. He managed to raise the sum, enormous for the hospital for you time of almost 7,000 pounds thanks to the concerts there from 1749, when he gave the first character charity in order to complete its Chapel. In his will, which is preserved in the Museum as gold cloth, the musician bequeathed to the hospital the score's famous oratorio Messiah who many times had interpreted and that so much money had been for the charity.
Georg Friedrich Händel died in London April 14, 1759, absolutely blind. He was buried in Westminster Abbey in April 20, 1759.