The Influence of George Frideric Handel on Music

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German organist, composer, and musical scholar of the Baroque period, and is almost universally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. His works, noted for their intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty, have provided inspiration to nearly every musician after him, from Mozart to Schoenberg.

George Frideric Handel was born in Halle, Germany on February 23, 1685. He expressed an interest in music at an early age. While his mother encouraged this love of music, his father, George Handel, was not supportive of him pursuing music as a career, and pushed him towards a career in law. However, when Handel was 9, a duke heard him playing the organ and persuaded his father to let Handel study under Friedrich Zachow (the organist at the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle) who instructed him in the organ as well as composing. Handels’ father died when he was 12, leaving him as the only son of that marriage. This put more responsibility on Handel to maintain his family, but it also relieved most of the objection of his music studies. In

Many musical scholars believe that J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel are the two most important, influential composers of the Baroque period. Both of these men were born in Germany in 1685, and since they came into existence around the same time, they share some similarities. As an introductory statement, Bach and Handel were born into two very different families. Handel did not come from a musical family; his father wanted him to study law. By age nine, his talent was too obvious for his father to ignore and Handel began to study with a local organist and composer. On the contrary, Bach came from a long line of musicians. Bach also had four sons which became gifted composers, in their own right. Bach, like Handel, also started as an organist

His career includes 42 operas, 29 oratorios, 16 organ concerti, over 120 cantatas, trios and duets, chamber music, odes, and many ecumenical pieces, his most famous work being the Oratorio “Messiah.” Composed in 1741, the oratorio was preformed first in Dublin in 1742. It had a scriptural text from the King James Bible and was written for modest vocal and instrumental forces. The work, although very much in the style of Handel, is a series of thoughts on the Christian idea of redemption and utilizes a mixture of traditions. After Handel’s death in 1759, the Oratorio began to gain popularity even further and was adapted to larger scale choirs and orchestras. Handel has very much influenced the world of music, especially through his operas, and has grown in popularity throughout the years. As the inventor of English Oratorios and being so well known for his Italian operas his style and influence is felt around the world even still in the music of today.

George Frideric Handel is generally considered the second most important Baroque composer after Bach. Unlike Bach's nearly complete focus on church music in Germany, Handel more openly embraced the French, Italian, and English secular music. Also unlike Bach, Handel did not come from a long line of musicians. When he was born on February 23, 1685, Handel's family had no idea that he would rise to a legendary status in music. Handel's father began to see his son's desire to compose at an early age and violently objected. His mother was responsible for nurturing and continuing his musical education. At the age of seven, Handel was asked to give an organ recital for the Duke of Sachse-Weissenfels. The Duke was very impressed and awarded the family with a generous amount of money. This event persuaded his father to allow Handel to pursue his musical career. When his father died in1697, Handel was freed from his father's will. He studied with numerous organists and gained minor fame.

This piece is based upon the scriptural text from the King James Bible it was first performed in Dublin in 1742; Handel makes use of the renaissance technique of word painting and multi-part polyphony. It uses fascinating word painting and is repeated throughout the piece. This piece comes from the oratorio called Messiah; it is the third piece of Messiah. It is the combination of homophony and polyphony with the addition of two trumpets. There are also two oboes, two violins, a viola, and a basso continuo. The use of basso continuo (instrumental accompaniment) requires a chordal instrument and a thoroughbass.

S. Bach, G. F. Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti. Antonio Vivaldi, Claudio Monteverdi, Couperin, Jean-Phillippe Rameau and Jean-Baptiste Lully are other popular names in the Baroque era. Each composer specialises in different instrument compositions and techniques. Out of all the names mentioned, J. S. Bach remains to this day, one the greatest composers of both the Baroque era and all-time. Each of these composers specialise in different areas or compositions and instruments. Working extensively with keyboard instruments such as the organ and harpsichord, a few of J. S. Bach’s well-known compositions include his Brandenburg Concertos, Goldberg Variations, and St. Matthew’s Passion. G. F. Handel himself composed Italian operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. His most popular work of all-time is the “Hallelujah” chorus from the oratorio Messiah, which went on to become the most popular Baroque work and considered as a choice of piece often performed in Christmas time. Domenico Scarlatti on the other hand composed in a number of musical forms, but is best known for composing 555 keyboard sonatas.

Many people compare the musical works of Ludwig Van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart because of the styles of music that they produced. They were also similar because of their age and the music period in which they created in. Throughout their lives these two composers had vastly different customs and behaviors. Each composer contributed to their own unique styles of music, however they continue to be a musical inspiration in today’s world. Many people of the early classical music period reacted differently to both of the musician’s works because of the unique way they chose to create and present their music. These musician’s created a lasting effect on the musical world that we see today.

Henry Purcell is seen as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period and one of the greatest of all English composers. His earliest surviving works date from 1680 and show a complete command of musical composition. They include some fantasias for viols, masterpieces of contrapuntal writing, and more contemporary sonatas for violins, which reveal some acquaintance with Italian models. Purcell, in his time, became increasingly in demand as a composer, and his theatre music in particular made his name familiar to many who knew nothing of his church music or the odes and welcome songs he wrote for the court of three different kings over twenty-five years.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognized as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Handel and Bach are considered two of the greatest composers of all time. However, when comparing the output of these two musicians, the diversity manifest in music in the era when they wrote immediately becomes apparent. Handel, although he used religious subject matter, is usually characterized as fundamentally a 'secular' composer. He composed for the concert hall, not the church, and primarily as a result of royal commissions. His music is strident, powerful, and large in scope. It is designed to entertain, rather than to spur contemplation (The pure power of Handel's 'Hallelujah Chorus', NPR, 2008). Bach, in contrast, often created music designed to be performed in sacred spaces. His music is more fluid and nuanced in style and designed more to spur contemplation and devotion rather than excite people's interest as a piece of entertainment.

Handel's discovery of oratorio was quite accidental and came in the form of a commission from Dublin. His appreciation of its possibilites was immediate, and the die was cast that he would devote the rest of his creative life to composing in the genre.

In the spring of 1737, Handel had a stroke that impaired the movement of his right hand. His fans worried that he would never compose again. But after only six weeks of recuperation in Aix-la-Chapelle, Handel was fully recovered. He went back to London and not only returned to composing, but made a comeback at playing the organ as

George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a baroque era composer, with an impressive repertoire of compositions. Handel didn’t grow up in a music rich environment, but in fact, he was forbidden by his father to touch any musical instrument, but found time when everyone else was asleep to play a clavichord he had smuggled to an upstairs room in the house. He grew up in Halle, Germany and at the age of 18, he traveled to Hamburg, and took a job as a violinist in the Hamburg Opera House. He supported himself by giving private lessons, and eventually published his first opera, Almira.

Ludwig van Beethoven was, and remains today, an influential figure in the history of classical music. Perhaps no other composer in history wrote music of such inspiring power and expressiveness. His influence on the last 150 years of music is unequalled.