Getting a Handle on Handel

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One of, if not the greatest composer in history, George Frideric Handel, was born in Halle, Germany in 1685. His early life was one of a prodigy, performing in front of large crowds and receiving a magnitude of notice from royalty. Once he matured into the composer we know today, great masterpieces flowed forth from his creative brain. The greatest of his works, and one of the greatest in history was the Messiah. This, plus his many operas and oratorios, are what made him the infamous man we know about today.
Handel’s childhood started out like many great composers. Even though his father saw his skill in music, he was unwilling to let his child journey down the harsh, un-respected, frivolous road of a musician. Instead, he longed for the young Handel to become a businessman or lawyer, but that was soon to change. The Handel’s were very religious people, this quality of which was evidently passed down to George, and were very active in the church. Young George played the postlude in the church and it was during a service that he was discovered by the Duke of Weissenfels. The Duke passionately persuaded George’s father to advance his talent. Eventually, his father succumbed and at the age of 9, George was placed under the only teacher he had during his lifetime, Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow. By age 11, the prodigy Handel had completed his first composition and could play the organ well enough to substitute for his own teacher, when needed. Between the ages of 17 and 18, Handel moved to Hamburg, Germany to begin his “great search for ways to work out the ideas flooding his mind.” In 1708, he moved to Rome, which certainly catapulted his thinking to a level to create the oratorio, The Resurrection, and his second opera, Aggripina, w...

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...success. A testament to Handel’s generosity, all of the proceeds from every performance of, The Messiah, during his lifetime was given to his favorite charities.
In 1759, Handel delivered his final performance. A series of ten concerts that the almost-blind composer, conducted entirely through without fatigue, ended with, The Messiah, on April sixth. The tiring legends last wish was to die on Good Friday, the day of his Lord’s resurrection, and die on Good Friday he did. On April 14, 1759, he met his Lord, leaving a legacy that no one else in the history of music could match. From his humble beginnings in Germany to his grand life in England, the Lord was always first in his life. His Messiah, was a mighty testament to this devotion as it can move any listener. Handel shaped the lives and music of the Baroque period and history, in general.

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