Beethoven said of Handel, "Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means." Throughout the Baroque period, many names came to fame, particularly in the musical spectrum, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Antonio Corelli, François Couperin, Girolamo Frescobaldi, and George Frideric Handel, a German composer most noted for his operas, oratorios, and cantatas.
Handel was born in Halle, Germany on February 23, 1685. Ironically, his father was very much against him pursuing his passion for music and instead strongly insisted he go into law. However, with the help of his mother, he stayed devoted, practicing and writing in secrecy. While still a child, he received a request to play for the duke’s
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It was there he began two operas, Rodrigo and Agrippina, many Italian solo cantatas, an oratorio, Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, the serenata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, as well as some religious music. His most widely known works are Messiah, Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks. During Lent in 1735, Handel completed more than 14 concerts made up primarily of oratorios. Because oratorios did not have the costume and stage aspect as operas did, they were in high demand. The oratorios did not require a large budget to produce, and Handel even translated them into English for his London audience. There, they sparked a wildfire and quickly became a new craze. Though the majority of his compositions were vocal, Handel did not neglect the instrumental side of things. His series of overtures, which were mostly in the French style, his double concertos, and organ concertos all give him the credit of a orchestral …show more content…
Because of his strenuous career, by this time he had developed some major health issues. Handel suffered a stroke in the spring of 1737, resulting in the impairment of his right hand. However, six weeks of rest quickly healed him, and he went back to composing and playing the organ as zealously as before. Again, six years later, he had another one, and this time his recovery was followed by a plethora of new oratorios. By 1750, he had completely lost his vision in his right eye while in the middle of Jephtha, which he finished just in time, for shortly afterward he went completely blind. The Baroque musician lived to be 74 years