George Frideric
Handel
1685-1759
Period of Music: Baroque
Instruments he played: Harpsichord, Oboe, Organ, Violin
Major compositions: The Harmonious
Blacksmith (piano), Water
Music (orchestra), Fireworks Music (orchestra), Messiah (oratorio)
Interesting Facts:
-Handel had composed 6
sonatas by the time he was 11 years old.
-Handel’s employer in
Germany became King George I of England.
-Handel composed the
Messiah in less than one month.
-Handel was born in
Germany the same year as J.S. Bach, but later
became a British citizen.
-He entered the
University of Halle to study law in 1702, but his
heart was in music.
-Handel said when
composing the “Hallelujah” chorus, that it was “as if
I saw the great God on his throne, and all his angels around
him.”
-He began composing
oratorios after he was 53 years old. (An oratorio
is a musical play based on a Bible story or scripture using
solos,
ensembles, and choruses to tell the story.)
