George Frideric Handel - Baroque Composer

George Frideric Haendel was born in Halle, Saxony (now, Germany) and was the son of a 63-year-old barber-surgeon. His father wanted him to study Law, but Hawwel longed to explore the music - so much so that he even hid a small clavichord in the attic. On a visit to the court of Saxony-Weissenfels, where the father of the court, the duke casually heard Haunted to play organ and managed to convince the reluctant father of the musical talent of the boy. Handndel then studied law and music, mastering the organ, violin and harpsichord, composing in different musical forms and spending hours copying notes from the teacher’s manuscript collection, organist and composer Friedrich Zachau.

He entered the University of Halle in 1702 and, at the end of a month, was hired as a trainee organist at the Calvinist Cathedral in Halle. For a year, he enjoyed free accommodation and later moved to Hamburg, the only German city except for the courts, which had an opera house. He was employed as a violinist at the opera, then as a performer, and at the end of three years, two of his operas were staged. In 1706, he met the heir of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who invited him to Florence - the beginning of three years of formation and creation in Italy. There he met many composers, including Corelli, the Scarlatti and Vivaldi, whose influences can be seen in music. He was inspired to write operas, notably Agrippina, which was performed 27 times, as well as oratory and over 150 cantatas. He achieved some fame, particularly in Venice, before leaving for Innsbruck in order to meet the governor of Tyrol. From there he traveled to Hanover to occupy the place of master of the elector’s chapel, the man destined to ascend to the throne of England.

In 1710, Besnell visited London in order to produce his opera Rinaldo, and the success obtained led him to settle there permanently. Queen Anne gave her a pension of £ 200 a year, but the position of the underworld became difficult after her death, and the reader of Hanover, from whom he had withdrawn, had ascended the throne of England. The story goes that there was a reconciliation when King George climbed the Thames on a boat trip, the royal boat being followed by a second barge with 50 musicians under the direction of Haunts who played the now famous Aquatic Music. The king was so captivated that he requested three replays of the hour-long concert, pardoning the composer and raising his pension for 600 pounds.

Composed of having suites divided into 20 small movements, the score of the Aquatic Music was composed for trumpets, horns, oboes, bassoons, flutes of bevel, transverse flutes and strings. This piece notably displays the talent of the orchestration, and the trumpets and horns are especially effective in an open air, in this particular case, in a river walk.

Between 1718 and 17290, Havel served as the musical director of the Duke of Chandos, and during this period wrote the Chandos Anthems and the dramatic oratory Acis and Galatea. He was usually easy to find patrons; in the winter of 1718-19, the nobility combined their resources to create and found the Royal Academy of Music in order to promote the Italian opera in London, with the band as a musical director. For eight years, one of the centers of operatic activity in Europe was in London, and Handndel obtained many triumphs, including Giulio Cesare in 1724. He was named composer of the Chapel, moved to a house in Grosvenor Square and applied for English naturalization.