George Frideric Handel
German-British Baroque composer known for operas, oratorios, and anthems.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: George Frideric Handel · see source
He spent most of his career in London after settling there in 1712.[1]
Life and work
Handel was born in 1685 in Halle, the same year as Bach and Scarlatti.[2] In 1710 Handel became Kapellmeister to George, the Elector of Hanover, but left at the end of the year.[2] He settled permanently in England in 1712.[3] He never composed another Italian opera after the success of Messiah in 1742.[4]
For the 1727 coronation of King George II, Handel was asked to compose four anthems.[5]
What the cited sources add
A BBC News article reports that Handel may have been a smart financial operator, with a chance discovery of ledgers at the Bank of England.[6] The same source notes that Handel was among the first modern musicians not to rely on patronage for his main income.[6] A BBC Radio 3 programme states that Handel speculated in the newly formed London stock market throughout his life.[7] Musicologist David Hunter uncovered research about Handel's investment in the transatlantic slave trade, as reported in a 2020 article.[8]
A source on Zadok the Priest states that Handel wrote the piece hoping the sound would fill the huge space of Westminster Abbey.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "George Frideric Handel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "British Citizen by Act of Parliament: George Frideric Handel", Parliament.uk, 14 April 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Frideric Handel" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Frideric Handel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Maitland Squire 1890, p. 277; Burrows, "George Frideric Handel: Volume 1, 1609–1725: Collected Documents", Cambridge University Press, 20 February 2014; ; Day, "How Handel played the markets", BBC News, 12 April 2009 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Frideric Handel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Buelow 2004, p. 476 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "George Frideric Handel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Imogen Levy, "Guide to the Coronation Service", Westminster Abbey, 2 June 1953; "George Frideric Handel – Zadok the Priest"; "Stage Beauty", www.stagebeauty.net (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Day, "How Handel played the markets", BBC News, 12 April 2009. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
- "18th Century Season – Liquid Assets: Tracing Handel's Thousands", BBC Radio 3, 12 April 2009. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
- Hunter, "Artists respond to Handel's investment in the transatlantic slave trade", Notes, 11 December 2020, p. 27ff. facts only, no text reused. thespco.org
- "George Frideric Handel – Zadok the Priest". facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article George Frideric Handel (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: George Frideric Handel (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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