Handel's work summary. G

Handel's oratorio Messiah is among the world's favorite and most popular works, but Messiah is only one of the many masterpieces of this extraordinarily gifted and prolific musician.

Early years.

George Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685 in Halle (Saxony). The father, already an elderly surgeon, was at first against his son’s musical studies, but when the boy was eight years old, he allowed him to study playing 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 of his native city, but a month later he was appointed organist at the 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 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 leading Italian composers, surprising them with his virtuoso playing of the different 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 Music Academy went bankrupt, unable to compete with the original, sharply satirical Opera of the Beggar Gay and Pepusha, 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 given. Handel's enterprise had a strong rival in the person of 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.

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 laudatory ode to the savior of England, the “butcher” Cumberland (William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland), slightly covered with a biblical story. Judas Maccabee is Handel's best oratorio; at the very first performance, the work turned out to be so consistent with the general mood that Handel immediately became a 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 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.

Life story
George Frideric Handel was born in Halle on February 23, 1685. He received his primary education in secondary school, the so-called classical school. In addition to such a thorough education, young Handel adopted some musical concepts from his mentor Johannes Praetorius, a music connoisseur and composer of several school operas. In addition to his school studies, he was also helped to “have a good sense of music” by the court conductor 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. In the Handel house there could be no talk of real music education. Only thanks to a chance meeting young talent with a fan musical art Duke Johann Adolf's fate changed dramatically. The Duke, having heard the wonderful improvisation played by the child, immediately convinces his father to give him a systematic musical education. Handel became a student of the famous organist and composer Friedrich Zachau in Halle. Handel studied with Zachau for about three years. During this time, he learned not only to compose, but also to play the violin, oboe, and harpsichord fluently.
In February 1697, George's father died. Fulfilling the wishes of the deceased, Georg graduated from high school and five years after his father’s death he entered the law faculty of the University of 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. The following spring, after the expiration of his contract, Handel left Halle and headed for Hamburg.
The center of the city's musical life was the opera house. When Handel arrived in Hamburg, the opera was headed by composer, musician and vocalist Reinhard Keyser. Handel had a lot to learn from Keyser. He carefully studied the style of the famous Hamburger's opera compositions and his art of orchestra management.
Handel gets a job at the opera house as a second violinist (he soon became the first violinist). This modest fact turned out to be decisive in the composer’s eventful life. From this 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 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. It was Handel's exam. The success of the opera was lasting, and it was performed about twenty times.
On February 25 of the same year, the second opera was staged - “Love acquired by blood and villainy, or Nero.” This opera ran for three performances.
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 Bed.
It soon became clear to Handel that he had nothing more to do in Hamburg. He grew up, and Hamburg became too small for him. Having saved some money through lessons and writing, Handel unexpectedly left for everyone.
Handel owes the birth of his style to Hamburg. Here the time of apprenticeship ended, and here the young composer tried his hand at opera and oratorio - the leading genres of his mature work.
Handel went to Italy. From the end of 1706 until April 1707 he lived in Florence, and then went to 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 playing on the harpsichord is called diabolical - a very 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 a charming serenade “Acis, Galatea and Polyphemus,” and several other works in the same spirit, but smaller in size.
Handel's main work in Naples was the opera Agrippina, written in the summer of 1709 and staged the same year in Venice, where the composer returned again. The premiere took place on December 26. The Italians, with their characteristic ardor and enthusiasm, paid tribute to the young German composer. “They were thunderstruck by the grandeur and grandeur of his style; they had never known before the full power of harmony,” wrote one of those 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 Hanoverian Elector as court bandmaster. But he didn’t stay there long either. The rude morals of the small German court, its absurd vanity and submissive imitation of the large capitals after Italy could only cause disgust in Handel.
Towards the end of 1710, having received official leave from the Elector, Handel went to London.
He immediately entered theater world British capital, received an order from Aaron Hill, the tenant of the Tidemarket Theater, and soon wrote the opera Rinaldo.
His debut in the very popular genre of ceremonial music in England had a decisive influence on Handel’s fate. In January 1713, Handel wrote the monumental Te Deum and Ode for the Queen's Birthday. The ode was performed on February 6. Queen Anne was pleased with the music and personally signed permission to perform the Te Deum. On July 7, on the occasion of the signing of the Peace of Utrecht in the presence of the Queen and Parliament, the solemn and majestic sounds of Handel’s Te Deum filled the vaults of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
After the success of Te Deum, the composer finally 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.
Two masks, two performances in the spirit of antiquity were English in style. Handel later revised both works. One of them became an English opera (“Acis, Galatea and Polyphemus”), the other became the first English oratorio (“Esther”). If the anthemas are heroic epic, then “Esther” - heroic drama 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” (composed in 1733). And yet the main genre of the 1720s and 1730s remained opera. She consumes almost all of Handel's time, strength, health and fortune.
In 1720, a theatrical and commercial enterprise was opened in London with a capital of 20,000 pounds sterling. It was called the Royal Academy of Music. Handel was instructed to recruit the academy's troupe best singers Europe, mainly of 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.
The new fatherland did not indulge Handel with favor. For a long time the general public did not recognize him at all. He was known to a limited circle. The British liked Italian opera and its author Signor Bononcini more. “Easy and pleasant” is Bononcini’s motto, the meaning of his life and art.
On January 12, 1723, Handel staged “The Distillation.” This time he uses the enemy's techniques, he writes easily, melodically pleasant, it was the most popular opera in England in those days. After this witty counterattack, Handel went on the offensive. In May 1723 - “Flavio”, in 1724 two 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 fate was not fair. Tastes changed, and now the British laughed at Italian opera, at Handel, the composer of Italian operas, at Handel, who defeated the Italians.
Handel fell on hard times - everything was against him. 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. The public did not go to Handel's operas.
In such an environment, Handel did not stop writing and staging operas - his persistence resembled madness. Every year he suffered defeat, every year he observed approximately the same picture: a silent, inattentive, empty hall.
Was in vogue in London in 1734 and 1735 french ballet. 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.
In the end, Handel went broke. 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. Health returned to Handel.
In December 1737, he completed Faramondo and took up new opera"Xerxes". 1738 was a good year for Handel. The sun of success showered him with warmth.
At the beginning of the year, the public willingly went to see Faramondo. In February, Handel staged the pasticcio "Alessandro Severe", and in April - "Xerxes". In March, friends organized a concert in his honor. He improved his affairs and paid off his most urgent debts. The need has receded.
Next year is another disappointment. Again things are neglected, the theater is empty, again there is neglect of its music.
And at this time he writes unusually well: the imagination was unusually rich, the beautiful material obediently obeyed the will, the orchestra sounded expressive and picturesque, the forms were polished.
He composes one of his best “philosophical” oratorios - “Cheerful, thoughtful and moderate” based on the beautiful youthful poems of Milton, and a little earlier - “Ode to St. Cecilia" to Dryden's text. The famous twelve concerti grossi were written by him in those years.
And it was at this time that Handel parted with opera. In January 1741, the last one, Deidamia, was staged.
Handel's twenty-year struggle ended. He became convinced that the exalted kind of opera seria had no meaning in a country like England. For twenty years Handel persisted. In 1740, he stopped contradicting English taste - and the British recognized his genius. Handel no longer resisted the expression of the spirit of the nation - he became national composer 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.
Handel needed opera. She raised him and determined the secular nature of his art. Handel polished his style in it, improved the orchestra, aria, recitative, form, and voice. In opera he acquired the language of a dramatic artist. And yet, in the opera he failed to express his main ideas. The highest meaning, the highest purposefulness of his work were oratorios.
The many years spent in England helped Handel to rethink his time in epic and philosophical terms. Now he was worried about the history of the existence of an entire people. He imagined English modernity as a heroic state of the nation, an era of rise, the flourishing of the best, most perfect strength, intelligence and talent of the people.
Handel felt the need to express a new system of thoughts and feelings. And he also turns to the Bible, the most popular book of the Puritan nation.
The composer succeeded in embodying the optimism of a victorious people, a joyful sense of freedom, and the selflessness of the heroes in his grandiose biblical epics and oratorios.
The choice of such subjects and the choice of oratorio style turned out to be significant in Handel’s life. The composer was moving towards a new stage from the very early period of your creativity.
A new era began for Handel on August 22, 1741. On this memorable day he began the oratorio “Messiah”. Later writers would reward Handel with the sublime epithet - “creator of the Messiah.” For many generations, "Messiah" 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 at first glance.
Handel completed 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 and he repeated it. In August Handel returned to London. And already on February 18, 1743, the first performance of “Samson,” a heroic oratorio based on Milton’s text, took place.
Milton's "Samson" is one of the best European tragedies of the second half XVII century. Handel's "Samson" is one of the best musical and dramatic works of the first half of the XVIII century.
Milton's "Samson" - a synthesis of biblical plot and genre ancient Greek tragedy. Handel has a synthesis of musical drama and choral traditions of oratorio.
In 1743, Handel showed signs of a serious illness. True, he recovered quite quickly.
Over the next two years, Handel's stock fell again. The war in Europe dragged on. English people showed dissatisfaction, the “patriots” were indignant, battles took place in parliament more than military ones, finally, Prime Minister Carteret resigned, and in 1745 the “romantic” Prince Edward, the last of the Stuart family, landed in Scotland. London had no time for Handel.
And the composer wrote and wrote oratorios. On February 10, 1744 he staged Semele, on March 2 - Joseph, in August he finished Hercules, in October - Belshazzar. In the autumn he again rents Covent Garden for the season. In the winter of 1745 he staged Belshazzar and Hercules. His rivals are making every effort to prevent the success of the concerts, but they succeed - Handel is again on the verge of ruin. In March he fell ill and lay ill, but his spirit was not broken.
On August 11, 1746, Handel completed the oratorio Judas Maccabee, one of his best oratorios on a biblical theme. In all of Handel’s heroic-biblical oratorios (and the composer has a whole series of them: “Saul”, “Israel in Egypt”, “Samson”, “Joseph”, “Belshazzar”, “Judas Maccabee”, “Joshua” and others) in 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. The people as a character in the form of a choir are Handel's heritage. Nowhere in music before him had the people performed in such a guise.
In 1747, Handel once again rented Covent Garden. He gives a series of subscription concerts. On April 1st he staged “Judas Maccabee” and was a success. The new oratorio is performed five more times. Handel triumphs again, he is again at his best.
The end of the 1740s was successful for Handel. England appreciated his merits and paid tribute to him. In 1747, Handel wrote the oratorios Alexander Balus and Joshua. In the spring of next year he staged new oratorios, and in the summer he wrote two more - “Solomon” and “Susanna”. He was 63 years old.
In 1751, the composer's health deteriorated. On May 3, 1752, he underwent surgery on his eyes. Unsuccessfully. The disease is progressing.
In 1753, complete blindness sets in. Handel distracts himself with concerts, playing from memory or improvising. Occasionally writes music. On Saturday, April 14, 1759, he passed away.

G. F. Handel is one of the biggest names in the history of musical art. A great composer of the Enlightenment, he opened new perspectives in the development of the genre of opera and oratorio, and anticipated many musical ideas of subsequent centuries - the operatic drama of K. V. Gluck, the civic pathos of L. Beethoven, the psychological depth of romanticism. This is a unique person inner strength and conviction. “You can despise anyone and anything,” said B. Shaw, “but you are powerless to contradict Handel.” “...When his music sounds on the words “seated on his eternal throne,” the atheist is speechless.”

Handel's nationality is disputed by Germany and England. Handel was born in Germany, and it was on German soil that the composer’s creative personality, his artistic interests, and mastery developed. Most of Handel’s life and work are connected with England, the formation aesthetic position in musical art, consonant with the educational classicism of A. Shaftesbury and A. Paul, an intense struggle for its approval, crisis defeats and triumphant successes.

Handel was born in Halle, in the family of a court barber. Early manifested musical abilities were noticed by the Elector of Halle, the Duke of Saxony, under whose influence the father (who intended to make his son a lawyer and did not attach serious importance to music as a future profession) sent the boy to study with the best musician of the city, F. Tsakhov. A good composer, an erudite musician, familiar with the best works of his time (German, Italian), Tsakhov revealed to Handel a wealth of different musical styles, instilled artistic taste, helped to develop composing techniques. The works of Tsakhov himself largely inspired Handel to imitate. Formed early as a person and as a composer, Handel was already known in Germany by the age of 11. While studying law at the University of Halle (where he entered in 1702, fulfilling the will of his father, who had already died by that time), Handel simultaneously served as an organist in the church, composed, and taught singing. He always worked hard and enthusiastically. In 1703, driven by the desire to improve and expand his sphere of activity, Handel left for Hamburg - one of the cultural centers of Germany in the 18th century, a city with the country's first public opera house, competing with theaters in France and Italy. It was opera that attracted Handel. The desire to feel the atmosphere of the musical theater, to practically get acquainted with opera music, forces him to take the modest position of second violinist and harpsichordist in the orchestra. The rich artistic life of the city, collaboration with outstanding musical figures of that time - R. Kaiser, an opera composer, who was then the director of the opera house, I. Matteson - a critic, writer, singer, composer - had a huge impact on Handel. Kaiser's influence is found in many of Handel's operas, and not only the early ones.

The success of the first opera productions in Hamburg (“Almira” - 1705, “Nero” - 1705) inspired the composer. However, his stay in Hamburg is short-lived: the bankruptcy of the Kaiser leads to the closure of the opera house. Handel heads to Italy. Visiting Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, the composer studies again, absorbing a wide variety of artistic impressions, primarily operatic ones. Handel's ability to perceive multinational musical art was exceptional. Literally a few months pass, and he masters the style of Italian opera, and with such perfection that he surpasses many recognized authorities in Italy. In 1707, Florence staged Handel's first Italian opera "Rodrigo", and 2 years later Venice staged the next one, "Agrippina". The operas receive enthusiastic recognition from the Italians, very demanding and spoiled listeners. Handel becomes famous - he enters the famous Arcadian Academy (along with A. Corelli, A. Scarlatti. B. Marcello), receives orders to compose music for the courts of Italian aristocrats.

However, Handel had to say the main word in art in England, where he was first invited in 1710 and where he finally settled in 1716 (in 1726, accepting English citizenship). From this time on, a new stage began in the life and work of the great master. England, with its early educational ideas, examples of high literature (J. Milton, J. Dryden, J. Swift) turned out to be the fruitful environment where the powerful creative powers of the composer were revealed. But for England itself, Handel’s role was equal to an entire era. English music, which lost its national genius G. Purcell in 1695 and stopped developing, again rose to world heights only with the name of Handel. His path in England, however, was not easy. The British hailed Handel at first as a master of Italian style opera. Here he quickly defeated all his rivals, both English and Italian. Already in 1713, his Te Deum was performed at festivities dedicated to the conclusion of the Peace of Utrecht, an honor that no foreigner had previously received. In 1720, Handel took over the leadership of the Academy of Italian Opera in London and thus became the head of the national opera house. His operatic masterpieces were born - "Radamist" - 1720, "Ottone" - 1723, "Julius Caesar" - 1724, "Tamerlane" - 1724, "Rodelinda" - 1725, "Admetus" - 1726. In these works, Handel goes beyond the framework of contemporary Italian opera seria and creates (its own type of musical performance with clearly defined characters, psychological depth and dramatic tension of conflicts. Noble beauty lyrical images Handel's operas, the tragic power of the climaxes had no equal in the Italian operatic art of their time. His operas stood at the threshold of the brewing operatic reform, which Handel not only sensed, but also largely implemented (much earlier than Gluck and Rameau). At the same time, the social situation in the country, the growth of national self-awareness, stimulated by the ideas of the Enlightenment, and the reaction to the obsessive predominance of Italian opera and Italian singers give rise to a negative attitude towards opera in general. Pamphlets are written about Italian operas, ridiculing the type of opera itself, its characters, and capricious performers. The English satirical comedy “The Beggar's Opera” by J. Gay and J. Pepusch appeared as a parody in 1728. And although Handel's London operas are spread throughout Europe as masterpieces of the genre, the decline in the prestige of Italian opera as a whole is reflected in Handel. The theater is being boycotted; the successes of individual productions do not change the overall picture.

In June 1728, the Academy ceased to exist, but Handel’s authority as a composer did not fall with this. On the occasion of his coronation, the English King George II commissioned him to perform anthemas, which were performed in October 1727 in Westminster Abbey. At the same time, with his characteristic tenacity, Handel continues to fight for opera. He goes to Italy, dials new troupe and in December 1729, the opera “Lothario” opens the season of the second Opera Academy. The time for new quests is coming in the composer’s work. “Poros” (“Por”) - 1731, “Orlando” - 1732, “Partenope” - 1730. “Ariodante” - 1734, “Alcina” - 1734 - in each of these operas the composer updates the interpretation of the opera seria genre in different ways - introduces ballet (“Ariodante”, “Alcina”), saturates the “magic” plot with deeply dramatic, psychological content (“Orlando”, “Alcina”), in musical language reaches the highest perfection - simplicity and depth of expressiveness. There is also a turn from a serious opera to a lyric-comic one in “Partenope” with its soft irony, lightness, grace, in “Faramondo” (1737), “Xerxes” (1737). Handel himself called one of his last operas, Imeneo (Hymen, 1738), an operetta. Handel's exhausting, not without political overtones, struggle for the opera house ends in defeat. The Second Opera Academy closes in 1737. Just as before, in the Beggar's Opera, the parody was not without the involvement of Handel's well-known music, and now, in 1736, a new parody of the opera (“The Vantley Dragon”) indirectly affects the name of Handel. The composer takes the collapse of the Academy hard, falls ill and does not work for almost 8 months. However, the amazing vital forces hidden in him again take their toll. Handel returns to activity with new energy. He creates his last opera masterpieces- “Imeneo”, “Deidamia” - and with them he completes work on the operatic genre, to which he devoted more than 30 years of his life. The composer's attention is focused on the oratorio. While still in Italy, Handel began composing cantatas and choral sacred music. Later, in England, Handel wrote choral anthems and festive cantatas. Final choruses in operas and ensembles also played a role in the process of honing the composer’s choral writing. And Handel’s opera itself is, in relation to his oratorio, the foundation, the source of dramatic ideas, musical images, style.

In 1738, one after another, 2 brilliant oratorios were born - “Saul” (September - 1738) and “Israel in Egypt" (October - 1738) - gigantic compositions filled with victorious power, majestic hymns in honor of strength human spirit and feat. 1740s - a brilliant period in Handel's work. Masterpiece follows masterpiece. “Messiah”, “Samson”, “Belshazzar”, “Hercules” - now world famous oratorios - were created in an unprecedented tension of creative forces, in a very short period time (1741-43). However, success does not come immediately. Hostility on the part of the English aristocracy, sabotaging the performance of oratorios, financial difficulties, and overextended work again lead to illness. From March to October 1745, Handel was severely depressed. And again the titanic energy of the composer wins. The political situation in the country is also changing sharply - in the face of the threat of an attack on London by the Scottish Army, a sense of national patriotism is mobilized. The heroic grandeur of Handel's oratorios turns out to be in tune with the mood of the British. Inspired by national liberation ideas, Handel wrote 2 grandiose oratorios - “Oratorio on Chance” (1746), calling for the fight against invasion, and “Judas Maccabee” (1747) - a powerful hymn in honor of heroes defeating enemies.

Handel becomes the idol of England. At this time, biblical subjects and images of oratorios acquired a special meaning as a generalized expression of high ethical principles, heroism, and national unity. The language of Handel's oratorios is simple and majestic, it attracts people - it hurts the heart and heals it, it does not leave anyone indifferent. Handel's last oratorios - "Theodora", "The Choice of Hercules" (both 1750) and "Jeuthae" (1751) - reveal such depths of psychological drama that were not available to any other genres of music of Handel's time.

In 1751 the composer went blind. Suffering, hopelessly ill, Handel remains at the organ while performing his oratorios. He was buried as he wished at Westminster.

All composers, both the 18th and 19th centuries, had admiration for Handel. Handel was idolized by Beethoven. In our time, Handel's music, which has enormous power artistic influence, receives new meaning and meaning. Its powerful pathos is in tune with our time; it appeals to the strength of the human spirit, to the triumph of reason and beauty. Annual celebrations in honor of Handel are held in England and Germany, attracting performers and listeners from all over the world.

Yu. Evdokimova

Characteristics of creativity

Handel's creative activity was as long as it was fruitful. She brought a huge number of works of various genres. Here there is opera with its varieties (seria, pastoral), choral music - secular and sacred, numerous oratorios, chamber vocal music and, finally, collections of instrumental pieces: harpsichord, organ, orchestral.

Handel devoted more than thirty years of his life to opera. It was always at the center of the composer’s interests and attracted him more than all other types of music. A figure of great scale, Handel perfectly understood the power of opera as a dramatic musical and theatrical genre; 40 operas - this is the creative result of his work in this area.

Handel was not a reformer of opera seria. What he sought was a search for a direction that would later lead, in the second half of the 18th century, to the operas of Gluck. Nevertheless, in a genre that in many ways no longer meets modern needs, Handel managed to embody lofty ideals. Before revealing the ethical idea in the folk epics of biblical oratorios, he showed the beauty of human feelings and actions in operas.

To make his art accessible and understandable, the artist needed to find other, democratic forms and language. In specific historical conditions, these properties were more inherent in the oratorio than in the opera seria.

Working on the oratorio meant for Handel a way out of a creative impasse and an ideological and artistic crisis. At the same time, the oratorio, closely related to opera in type, provided maximum opportunities for the use of all forms and techniques of operatic writing. It was in the oratorio genre that Handel created works worthy of his genius, truly great works.

The oratorio that Handel turned to in the 30s and 40s was not a new genre for him. His first oratorio works date back to his stay in Hamburg and Italy; the next thirty were composed throughout his entire creative life. True, until the end of the 30s, Handel paid relatively little attention to the oratorio; Only after abandoning opera seria did he begin to develop this genre deeply and comprehensively. Thus, the oratorio works of the last period can be considered as the artistic completion of Handel’s creative path. Everything that has been matured and nurtured in the depths of consciousness for decades, that was partially implemented and improved in the process of working on the opera and instrumental music, received the most complete and perfect expression in the oratorio.

Italian opera brought Handel mastery of vocal style and various types of solo singing: expressive recitative, arias and song forms, brilliant pathetic and virtuosic arias. Passions and English anthems helped develop the technique of choral writing; instrumental, and in particular orchestral, works contributed to the ability to use the colorful and expressive means of the orchestra. Thus, a wealth of experience preceded the creation of oratorios - Handel's best creations.

Once, in a conversation with one of his admirers, the composer said: “I would be annoyed, my lord, if I only gave people pleasure. My goal is to make them the best."

The selection of topics in the oratorios occurred in full accordance with humane ethical and aesthetic convictions, with the responsible tasks that Handel assigned to art.

Handel drew plots for his oratorios from a variety of sources: historical, ancient, biblical. The greatest popularity during his lifetime and the highest appreciation after Handel’s death were received by his later works on subjects taken from the Bible: “Saul”, “Israel in Egypt”, “Samson”, “Messiah”, “Judas Maccabee”.

One should not think that, having become fascinated by the oratorio genre, Handel became a religious or church composer. With the exception of a few works written for special occasions, Handel does not write church music. He wrote oratorios in musical and dramatic terms, intending them for the theater and performance in stage settings. Only under strong pressure from the clergy did Handel abandon the original project. Wanting to emphasize the secular nature of his oratorios, he began to perform them on concert stage and thereby created new tradition variety and concert performances of biblical oratorios.

Turning to the Bible and stories from the Old Testament was also not dictated by religious motives. It is known that in the Middle Ages, mass social movements often took on a religious guise and marched under the sign of the struggle for church truths. The classics of Marxism give this phenomenon a comprehensive explanation: in the Middle Ages, “the feelings of the masses were nourished exclusively by religious food; therefore, in order to cause a violent movement, it was necessary to present the own interests of these masses to them in religious clothing” (Marx K., Engels F. Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 21, p. 314.).

Since the Reformation, and then the English revolution of the 17th century, which took place under religious banners, the Bible has become almost the most popular book, revered in any English family. Biblical legends and tales about the heroes of ancient Jewish history were habitually associated with events from the history of their own country and people, and “religious clothing” did not hide the very real interests, needs and desires of the people.

Usage biblical stories as subjects for secular music not only expanded the range of these subjects, but also made new demands, incomparably more serious and responsible, and gave the subject a new social meaning. In the oratorio it was possible to go beyond the boundaries of love-lyrical intrigue and conventional love vicissitudes generally accepted in modern opera seria. Biblical themes did not allow for frivolity, entertainment and distortion in the interpretation, to which ancient myths or episodes were subjected in the operas seria ancient history; finally, legends and images that have long been familiar to everyone, used as plot material, made it possible to bring the content of the works closer to the understanding of a wide audience and to emphasize the democratic nature of the genre itself.

The direction in which biblical subjects were selected is indicative of Handel’s civic consciousness.

Handel's attention is focused not on the individual fate of the hero, as in the opera, not on his lyrical experiences or love adventures, but on the life of the people, on a life filled with the pathos of struggle and patriotic feat. In essence, biblical legends served as a conventional form in which it was possible to glorify in majestic images the wonderful sense of freedom, the desire for independence, and glorify the selfless actions of national heroes. It is these ideas that constitute the actual content of Handel's oratorios; This is how they were perceived by the composer’s contemporaries, and this is how they were understood by the most advanced musicians of other generations.

V.V. Stasov writes in one of his reviews: “The concert concluded with Handel’s choir. Which of us didn’t dream about it later, as some kind of colossal, boundless triumph of an entire people? What a titanic nature this Handel was! And let us remember that there are dozens of choirs like this one.”

The epic-heroic nature of the images predetermined the forms and means of their musical embodiment. Handel was highly skilled opera composer, and all the conquests opera music he made the oratorio public. But unlike opera seria, with its reliance on solo singing and the dominant position of the aria, the core of the oratorio turned out to be the choir as a form of conveying the thoughts and feelings of the people. It is the choirs that give Handel’s oratorios a majestic, monumental appearance and contribute, as Tchaikovsky wrote, to “the overwhelming effect of strength and power.”

Possessing a virtuoso technique of choral writing, Handel achieves a wide variety of sound effects. He freely and flexibly uses choruses in the most contrasting positions: when expressing sorrow and joy, heroic uplift, anger and indignation, when depicting a bright pastoral, rural idyll. Either he brings the sound of the choir to grandiose power, or he reduces it to transparent pianissimo; sometimes Handel writes choirs in a rich chordal-harmonic structure, combining voices into a compact, dense mass; the rich possibilities of polyphony serve as a means of enhancing movement and effectiveness. Polyphonic and chordal episodes follow alternately, or both principles - polyphonic and chordal - are combined.

According to P. I. Tchaikovsky, “Handel was an inimitable master regarding the ability to manage voices. Without at all forcing the choral vocal means, never leaving the natural limits of the vocal registers, he extracted from the choir such excellent mass effects that other composers had never achieved...”

Choirs in Handel's oratorios are always an active force that directs musical and dramatic development. Therefore, the compositional and dramatic tasks of the choir are extremely important and varied. In oratorios where the main character is the people, the importance of the choir especially increases. This can be seen in the example of the choral epic “Israel in Egypt.” In Samson, the parts of individual heroes and people, that is, arias, duets and choruses, are evenly distributed and complement one another. If in the oratorio “Samson” the choir conveys only the feelings or states of warring peoples, then in “Judas Maccabee” the choir plays a more active role, taking direct part in dramatic events.

Drama and its unfolding in an oratorio are learned only through musical means. As Romain Rolland says, in an oratorio “the music serves as its own decoration.” As if making up for the lack of decorative decoration and theatrical performance of the action, the orchestra is given new functions: to depict with sounds what is happening, the environment in which events take place.

The works of George Frideric Handel are rightly considered to be theirs by two national schools - German and English. The composer was born in Germany, received his education and developed as a person. And in England he lived most of his life (50 years), wrote his best works, experiencing through them both great fame and difficult trials.

George Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685 in the city of Halle, near Leipzig. Handel is a contemporary of Bach. It is curious that two great German composers - Handel and Bach - were born in the same year, 80 miles from each other, but never met, although they heard a lot about each other. Perhaps because they were too different people.

What Bach took for granted - the unhurried, measured rhythm of life, painstaking daily work in the temple or with a small court orchestra - irritated and constrained Handel. To this temperamental and ambitious man, Germany seemed like a province in which he had nowhere to “turn around.” The brilliant composer and organist, who was also endowed with considerable organizational skills, wanted to travel and see different national traditions and gain recognition from a large audience.

The father of the future composer was a hairdresser and part-time surgeon (previously, barbers performed simple surgical operations). He wanted his son to become a lawyer, and was very unhappy that he chose music. But Handel played the clavichord all night long in the street courtyard. The Duke of Saxe-Weissenfeld heard Georg play and was captivated by his musical talent.

While a law student, Handel also served as a church organist. The composer's mother was a match for her husband: she was not inferior to him either in courageous energy or in mental and physical health. These were people of strong burgher origin and passed on to their son physical health, mental balance, practical intelligence, and fatigue-free performance. After the death of his father, eighteen-year-old Handel returned to Hamburg, where he began to serve as a musician in an orchestra - he played the violin and continued to study. In Hamburg he wrote four operas, one of which, Almira, enjoyed great success.

One of Handel's favorite genres is opera. In the 18th century, this type of music, combining singing, the sound of an orchestra and stage action, enjoyed enormous popularity and provided the talented musician with a quick path to success. Handel was invited to Italy to thoroughly study the Italian operatic style. He arrived there young and unknown to anyone, although he had already written many works in his homeland and received a good education at the Faculty of Law at the University of his hometown of Halle. In 4 years, he managed not only to thoroughly study the laws of Italian opera, but also to achieve major success - this was very difficult for a foreign composer. In Italy, Handel worked a lot, wrote two operas, two oratorios and many cantatas. In total, the composer created about 15 cantatas, of which more than 100 have survived to this day. At that time, Italian opera was very popular in England, and Handel was invited to London to stage his opera Rinaldo and soon became a star of the first magnitude there, heading the best opera troupe, the Royal Academy of Music, for almost 20 years.

Handel's operas are staged very rarely in our time, although individual fragments from them (especially arias) are constantly heard at concerts and in recordings. Most of them are written on Italian texts according to the type of so-called opera seria (translated from Italian as “serious” opera). It was a type of operatic genre based on several rules: the plot was taken from the field of history or ancient mythology. There certainly had to be a happy ending in the finale. Much attention was paid to stage design: costumes, scenery, special effects. In the music of such an opera, the main characters were virtuoso singers, called upon to amaze the audience with the beauty of their voices and the perfection of their technique. The thoughts and experiences of the character receded into the background - the composer was obliged, first of all, to provide the performers of the main roles with the opportunity to show their voices.

In the tradition of opera, Handel's seria 40 operas, at first glance, did not introduce anything new. But banal plots filled with his music take on a serious meaning, and virtuoso singing techniques are only a means of showing the character’s particularly strong feelings. The lyrical melodies of his arias are especially striking in their beauty - sometimes flexible and excited, sometimes strict and courageous. They do not require the singer to sing quickly or sing exorbitantly. high notes. Something more difficult is needed - to find unusual timbre colors in your voice that can convey complex experiences, subtle inner sensations that are sometimes difficult to express in words.

Working in London brings Handel great success. In 1726, he received English citizenship, his troupe was supported by the royal court and leading politicians, which greatly flattered his pride. However, his attachment to the Italian style does not always please the creative bohemia; many, not without reason, believe that this hinders development national forms music on the English stage.

Gradually, discontent grew, and in 1728 a terrible blow fell on the composer. An unusual musical performance was staged in a small theater on the outskirts of London - "The Beggar's Opera" by composer Christopher Pepusch and poet John Gay. The plot (prompted by the famous author of Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift) and individual musical numbers were surprisingly reminiscent of Handel's opera Rinaldo. Only the heroes, instead of medieval knights and their beautiful lovers, were... beggars, criminals and girls prostitute, and was set in a modern-day London slum. Modern music historians argue that "The Beggar's Opera" ridiculed not so much Handel's music as the political life of England. But the hidden image of the composer was still present in the performance; it was the image of an obsequious stranger, writing only what would bring him easy success with the aristocracy. All performances of the Beggar's Opera were a triumph, and it gained popularity outside of England. And even the royal ban on its production did not save Handel from ridicule and condemnation, and in 1731, despite the composer’s enormous efforts, his opera troupe, the Royal Academy of Music, suffered financial collapse.

Having experienced these events hard, Handel still finds the strength to learn a lesson from them and continue to work. Moreover, 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.

He composes one of his best “philosophical” oratorios - “Cheerful, thoughtful and temperate” based on the beautiful youthful poems of Milton, and a little earlier - “Ode to St. Cecilia” based on the text by Drydeia. The famous twelve concerti grossi were written precisely in those years. And it was during these years that Handel parted with opera. In January 1741, the last one, Deidamia, was staged.

Handel's twenty-year struggle ended. He became convinced that the exalted kind of opera seria had no meaning in a country like England. For twenty years Handel persisted. In 1740, he stopped contradicting English taste - and the British recognized his genius. Handel no longer resisted the expression of the spirit of the nation - he became the national composer of England.

Handel needed opera. She raised him and determined the secular nature of his art. Handel polished his style in it, improved the orchestra, aria, recitative, form, and voice. In opera he acquired the language of a dramatic artist. And yet, in the opera he failed to express his main ideas. The highest meaning, the highest purposefulness of his work were oratorios.

The many years spent in England helped Handel to rethink his time in epic and philosophical terms. Now he was worried about the history of the existence of an entire people. He imagined English modernity as a heroic state of the nation, an era of rise, the flourishing of the best, most perfect strength, intelligence and talent of the people.

Handel felt the need to express a new system of thoughts and feelings. And he also turns to the Bible, the most popular book of the Puritan nation.

The composer succeeded in embodying the optimism of a victorious people, a joyful sense of freedom, and the selflessness of the heroes in his grandiose biblical epics and oratorios.

Without abandoning opera, he now devotes his main attention to oratorios - large works for choir, solo singers and orchestra. Handel, as a rule, took plots for his oratorios from texts Old Testament, and this is far from accidental. In England they love and know how to read the Old Testament (and not only theologians, but also ordinary people); Handel plunged into the depths of the English Christian tradition. In the plots of many oratorios, the focus is on a hero who experiences tragic trials, often makes mistakes, but is determined to carry out the work to which God has called him. This is Samson, betrayed into the hands of his enemies, but not resigned to his fate (oratorio "Samson"). Or Jephthah, forced to sacrifice his daughter (oratorio "Jephthah"). Or King Saul, ascended to the heights of power, but powerless in the face of his own passions ( oratorio "Saul"). The fates of these people were clearly close to the composer, who knew suffering and loneliness after success and praise.

A new era began for Handel on August 22, 1741. On this memorable day he began the oratorio "Messiah". He wrote it with feverish speed and finished it in incredible short term- already September 14th. The oratorio was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742. The success was huge. Later writers would reward Handel with the sublime epithet - “creator of the Messiah.” For many generations, "Messiah" will be synonymous with Handel. In “Messiah,” Handel, like Bach, turns to the image of Christ (the word “Messiah” translated from Greek means “Savior”). The main character in the music is the choir. Unlike Bach, who constantly thought about the suffering Christ, Handel is closer to Christmas and Easter themes. The music of the choir “A Child Was Born for Our Sake” is filled with light and awe; and plunging into its delicate beauty, you do not immediately notice how complex the choral parts are, intertwined in a polyphonic fabric. When we're talking about about the Resurrection or Second Coming of Christ in glory, the sound of the choir and orchestra is stunning with its colorfulness and solemn power. Music contains enormous energy and truly great joy that can spiritually unite many people.

It is interesting that to this day the love that the British have for Handel’s oratorios can be called nationwide. People can easily recognize many fragments by ear, such as the famous chorus “Hallelujah” (translated from the Hebrew “Praise the Lord”) from the oratorio “Messiah,” which is perceived by the British almost as a national anthem.

The oratorio “Messiah” was written based on the texts of biblical prophets who herald the imminent appearance of Christ. Everything that oppresses and frightens a person - suffering, deprivation, grief - is only a hint, a background, and everything that pleases and gives hope - a feeling of unity, unshakable faith and the consciousness of one’s own limitless possibilities - is shown in large, diverse and unusually convincing ways. Biblical oratorios became the second birth of Handel the composer. In them, he was able to penetrate the depths of not only the spiritual, but also the musical thinking of the people and rely on the centuries-old national traditions of choral singing. These traditions are very dear to the British: even in small provincial towns you can still find excellent choirs, professional and amateur, singing in churches or choir clubs.

Of course, Messiah is the most famous of all Handel's oratorio works. Moreover, fate would have it be the last one in which the great Handel participated publicly as an organist in 1759, shortly before his death.

40 operas and 32 oratorios - a solid list that any composer would envy. But Handel also has brilliant vocal and instrumental works, concertos and suites for orchestra, and sacred works. Let's add to this the many years of work of the director of an opera troupe - staging performances, rehearsals, constant contacts with many people. This man had a tremendous will, powerful creative energy, and most importantly, a great love for music. This love helped him to withstand moments of loneliness and hardship, it made him courageously admit his mistakes and actually start creative life again at 46 years old.

At the end of his life, the composer achieved lasting fame, but he still remains a tireless creator and musical figure, creates many works covered with light festive mood. Among those written in recent years, “Music for Fireworks,” intended for national holidays and outdoor performances.

In 1750, Handel made his last trip to his homeland, Halle. Upon returning to London, he began composing a new oratorio, “Jeuthai.” But here he is again struck by misfortune, perhaps the most severe of all that befell him: Handel, like Bach, became blind towards the end of his life. Handel courageously fights the tragic blows of fate. Convinced that the disease is incurable, he resigns himself to the inevitable and returns to his previous activities. The blind man, Handel finishes the oratorio “Jeuthai” he began, leads the performance of his works, gives concerts and continues to amaze listeners with the greatness of his improvisations.

A few days before his death, on April 6, 1759, Handel conducted the oratorio Messiah; During the performance, his strength left him, and a short time later - on April 14 - he died and was buried in Westminster Abbey as the great composer of Britain. On grave monument he is depicted against the background of organ pipes and a robe similar to a royal one.

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, dad still had the last word, and in 1702, seventeen-year-old George 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 at the opera house. The world of opera absorbed Handel. In 1705, his first two works were staged in Hamburg. opera works, 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 after the start of his service, Handel, taking advantage of a loophole in his contract, rushes to cosmopolitan and 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 was a shift in the tastes of the audience, and not for the better for Handel - the public was tired of listening to operas in 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 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 - religious choral works - were similar in format 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 asylums. 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. The last years of Handel's life were 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 it truly English musician without being embarrassed German origin composer. 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 hype, 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, not a single 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, flipping through sheet music pages. 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 certainly in that way. 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 suffered from gout, and he rose to his feet to get rid of discomfort) and simply funny (the king dozed off at the 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 football fans- jump up when a goal is scored on the field. And if you don’t want people to look at you askance in the concert hall, you better stand up.

GEORG VON KÜCHLER (1881–1969) Born into an old Prussian Junker family. During World War I he fought at the Somme, near Verdun and in Champagne. He continued his service in the Reichswehr, served in the War Ministry, and in 1937 assumed the post of commander of the 1st Military District and was