George Frideric Handel

German-British Baroque composer of operas, oratorios, and anthems

He settled in London in 1712 and became a naturalised British subject in 1727.^[1] Handel's music is consistently viewed as being among the finest produced in his era.^[2]

Quick Facts

Born: 5 March 1685
Birthplace: Halle, Brandenburg–Prussia, Holy Roman Empire
Died: 14 April 1759
Place of death: Westminster, London, England
Burial place: Westminster Abbey

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Handel was born in 1685 in Halle, the same year as Bach and Scarlatti.^[3] He became Kapellmeister to the Elector of Hanover in June 1710 but left at the end of that year.^[3] In 1719 the Duke of Chandos became a primary subscriber to Handel's new opera company, the Royal Academy of Music.^[4] The year 1705 saw the production of Handel's initial operas, Almira and Nero.^[3]

Mainwaring states that Handel journeyed to Italy in 1706 because Ferdinando de' Medici had invited him.^[5] Handel purchased shares in the South Sea Company during 1716 and disposed of them prior to the 1720 crash.^[6][4] Following the triumph of Messiah in 1742, Handel ceased composing any further Italian operas.^[7]

What the cited sources add

A BBC News article notes that Handel may have been a smart financial operator, with a chance discovery of his Bank of England ledgers.^[8] The same source states that Handel seems among the first modern musicians not to rely on court or cathedral patronage for his main income.^[8] A BBC Radio 3 program reports that Handel speculated in the newly formed London stock market throughout his life.^[6] Hunter's research uncovered that Handel invested in the slave-trading Royal African Company in 1720.^[4][9]

A source on Zadok the Priest states that Handel wrote it for the coronation of King George II in 1727.^[10]

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), which cites: ; (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: Deutsch 1955, p. 6; "18th Century Season – Liquid Assets: Tracing Handel's Thousands", BBC Radio 3, 12 April 2009 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "George Frideric Handel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harris 2001, p. 37 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"18th Century Season – Liquid Assets: Tracing Handel's Thousands", BBC Radio 3, 12 April 2009. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
Wikipedia, "George Frideric Handel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Buelow 2004, p. 476 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Day, "How Handel played the markets", BBC News, 12 April 2009. facts only, no text reused. news.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.