The work to which this chorus belongs is the oratorio Messiah, premiered in 1742 in Dublin, Ireland. Once again, though many musicians and music lovers alike know this complete composition well, and most singers in a community choir have sung it at least once, knowledge of its composer seldom goes beyond this one piece. My goal for this post is to provide a general intro to an artist which I have increasingly admired for the past four or five years, as well as to share some music that goes well beyond the celebrated Christmas chorus. As I am writing this blog entry, I just finished reading the third chapter of Händel's biography by Christopher Hogwood, so I am only equipped to provide a partial, yet apt summary of his music and life.
First matter to discuss:
Händel's Operas
Run-though of his operatic career:
1. He spent some years in Hamburg, Germany where he wrote a few operas. There was a very successful opera house in this city where another composer, Reinhard Keiser, composed and directed several operas. Some of Händel's operas from this period are unfortunately lost.
2. Then he was in Italy for some years (Rome, Florence, Venice). Aside from composing some sacred music, In Italy he saw the performance of two of his operas, Rodrigo (1708) and Agrippina (1709/1710), the latter a huge success with the Italian audiences!
3. Later on, he lived in London, England for many years. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Academy of Music, where he performed several operas. This is the time on which many historians focus given the complexity of the situation: a German guy writing music that was to be sung in Italian by Italian singers... but for an English audience. This is just too juicy a story - so we'll linger in this part of his life for now. After all, Händel actually lived in England for the rest of his life (1710-1759) and he became a British citizen as well.
After this concise outline of the composer's journey in opera, I would like to present you with some samples from the operas he produced in the third period mentioned above: England. I have selected a few of my favorite arias from Händel's operas. Just a note of caution: Do not be fear the background in some of the videos; they are such because some productions use very modern staging coupled with traditional, older music. Also, do not be puzzled by fact that in some arias a man is singing like a woman... The main reason could easily span another blog entry, but if you want to have a clue, you can learn about castrati singers in the meantime. [Ouch!]
Opera: Rinaldo (November, 1707)
Act I. Aria: Cara sposa (Dear wife)
A man longs for the return of his beloved wife.
Opera: Rinaldo
Act II. Aria: Lascia ch'io pianga mia cruda sorte (Let me cry my cruel fate)
A woman laments and weeps while being held captive.
Opera: Giulio Cesare (February 20, 1724)
Act I. Aria: Va tacito e nascosto ([He] goes quietly and stealthily)
Julius Caesar compares a lover to a hunter.
Opera: Giulio Cesare
Act II. Recitativo: Che sento? (What am I feeling?)
Aria: Se pietà di me non senti (If you do not have pity on me)
Giulio Cesare: Che sento? / Se pietà di me non senti
Cleopatra claims she will die if the heavens do not have pity on her.
Opera: Rodelinda (February 13, 1725)
Act II. Duet: Io t'abbraccio (I embrace you / I hug you)
Rodelinda: Io t'abbraccio
Two lovers embrace.
Opera: Rodelinda
Act III. Recitativo: O falso è Bertarido o fu mendace (Either Bertarido is false or he is fake)
Aria: Tra sospetti, affetti e timori (After suspiscions, emotions and fears)
Rodelinda: O falso è Bertarido / Tra sospetti, affetti e timori
Feeling betrayed, a main says his breast is filled with burden.
These selections illustrate the composer's command of lyricism in his vocal writing as well as his craftiness in dramatic expression. Much of the music of the Baroque period was dominated by a philosophy called the doctrine of affections, which basically states that each piece of music should strongly convey an emotion and effectively transmit an emotion. Ingenious musical decisions such as the fast triple meter in Tra sospetti, affetti e timori, or the slow and languishing speed of Se pietà di me non senti help us, as listeners, to feel the emotions the characters are experiencing.
Second matter to discuss:
Some Important Compositions Other than Opera.
I will provide this (by no means complete) outline in order to spark more interest on the German master:
1. Water Music
premiered on July 17, 1717. (Cool date, huh?)Water Music is a series of suites (i.e. collections of dances) which were originally performed on the King's ships as they sailed on the River Thames in England. They embody many moods, some joyous, others pensive, and so forth.
2. Four Coronation Anthems
premiered on October 11, 1727.The four anthems are, well, a bit self-explanatory given their title. Before the premiere, people were more excited about the rehearsals than the performance itself - there were over 200 musicians involved in this concert - so the authorities had to request that no one disturbed during rehearsals.
3. Keyboard Suites
premiered and played at various dates.Händel composed lots of music for the harpsichord. Most serious composers of the time produced and published volumes of keyboard music.
4. Oratorios
premiered and played at various dates.
After some years, English audiences were not pleased with Italian opera anymore, so Händel turned his attention to writing oratorios, which are similar to operas, but they mostly employ sacred (religious) stories rather than secular ones. His oratorios are sung in English, a fact that extended the composer's success in his new home country. Messiah clearly belongs to this category, as do other compositions such as Israel in Egypt, Joshua and many others.
Link: Händel's Biography on Wikipedia
~ Thank you for reading ~
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