Music for the Royal Fireworks
Handel's wind-band suite for a royal fireworks celebration.
The Music for the Royal Fireworks (HWV 351) is a suite in D major for wind instruments composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 under contract of George II of Great Britain. It was written for the fireworks in London's Green Park on 27 April 1749 (Old Style; 8 May 1749 New Style), celebrating the end of the War of the Austrian Succession and the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) in 1748. The work was very popular when first performed and following Handel's death.
Quick Facts
- Composer
- George Frideric Handel
- Catalogue
- HWV 351
- Movements
- Five
Facts from the source article.
Rehearsal and final production
During preparations, Handel and John Montagu, Duke of Montagu, the Master-General of the Ordnance and officer responsible for the Royal Fireworks, argued about adding violins. The duke informed Handel that King George wanted only martial instruments (winds and percussion) and hoped there would be "no fiddles"; Handel omitted the string instruments against his will. Also against Handel's will, a full rehearsal of the music took place in Vauxhall Gardens rather than Green Park. On 21 April 1749 (Old Style; 2 May 1749 New Style), an audience claimed to be over twelve thousand people, each paying two shillings and six pence (half a crown), rushed to attend, causing a three-hour traffic jam of carriages on London Bridge, the only vehicular route to the area south of the river. Six days later, on 27 April, the musicians performed in a specially constructed building designed by Servandoni, a theatre designer, assisted by four Italians. Andrea Casali and Andrea Soldi designed the decorations. The fireworks were devised and controlled by Gaetano Ruggieri and Giuseppe Sarti, both from Bologna. Charles Frederick was the controller, and captain Thomas Desaguliers was the chief fire master. The display was less successful than the music: rainy weather caused many misfires, and in the middle of the show the right pavilion caught fire. A woman's clothes were set on fire by a stray rocket, and other fireworks burned two soldiers and blinded a third. Another soldier had his hand blown off during an earlier rehearsal for the 101 cannon used during the event.
Music and instrumentation
The piece begins with a French overture and contains a bourrée and two minuets, totaling five movements. Handel originally wrote it for a large wind band: 24 oboes, 12 bassoons, a contrabassoon (the part first called for a serpent, later crossed out), nine natural trumpets, nine natural horns, three pairs of timpani, and side drums that were simply told to play ad libitum—Handel never wrote specific parts for them. He was precise about how many instruments played each line: in the overture, three musicians on each of the three trumpet parts; the 24 oboes split into groups of 12, 8, and 4; the 12 bassoons divided into 8 and 4. The side drums got instructions to play in La Réjouissance and the second minuet, and probably also played in the overture. Later, Handel rearranged the suite for a full orchestra for a performance on May 27 at the Foundling Hospital. In this version, violins take the oboe parts, cellos and double basses take the bassoon part, and violas play either a lower wind or bass part. The bourrée and first minuet are played only by oboes, bassoons, and strings, while the other movements use the original wind instruments as well.
Recordings
Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks has been recorded many times, and it is often paired with his earlier Water Music because both pieces were composed for outdoor events. Older recordings, like those by Hamilton Harty in 1923 and Leopold Stokowski, used arrangements for a modern orchestra. A 1959 recording by Charles Mackerras for Pye Records brought back Handel's original orchestration. More recent recordings typically use historically informed performance practices and period instruments. The work has also been arranged for pipe organ, either alone or with brass. In 1970, guitarist José Feliciano included his own classical guitar transcription of part of the piece on his album Fireworks. On 1 June 2002, Andrew Davis conducted the music in the Buckingham Palace gardens for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, complete with fireworks.
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