Handel

By: Jonathan
Connolly

My all district piece this year, Sonata, was written by two really great
composers and writers. One very famous composer is George Fredric
Handel, and the other music arranger Thomas McMillan. Handel is
obviously the main composer in this musical piece since he wrote it.
However, the way that McMillian arranges these pieces is interesting and
helpful to other marimba players like me.
George Fredric Handel was born in Halle, Germany on February 23,
1685. He expressed an interest in music at an early age. While his mother
encouraged this love of music, his father, George Handel, was not
supportive of him pursuing music as a career, and pushed him towards a
career in law. However, when Handel was 9, a Duke heard him playing the
organ and persuaded his father to let Handel study under Friedrich Zachow
(the organist at the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle) who instructed him in the
organ as well as composing. Handels father died when he was 12, leaving
him as the only son of that marriage. This put more responsibility on
Handel to maintain his family, but it also relieved most of the objection of
his music studies. Later he was appointed the organist at the Calvinist
Domkirche Cathedral Church. He only stayed there a year though, leaving
to travel and expand his musical horizons. Handel was appointed
Kapellmeister to the elector of Hanover. On December 28, 1713, Handel
started to work for Queen Anne. When King George I became king on
August 1, 1714, Handel became a part of his court. He performed Te
Deum for the first time on the 26th of September in the presence of the
king. Also during this time spent with King George I, he wrote and
performed one of his most famous works, the Water Music. Handel
became the director of music to the Duke of Chandos in 1718. Handel
became a British subject in 1726, which allowed him to become the
composer of the Chapel Royal. He also composed much of the music for
the Royal Academy of Music. Handel died April 14, 1759, and was buried

in Poets corner in Westminster Abbey. This was a huge honor that

demonstrated how much respect England had for Handel.
Handel is also known for introducing the clarinet into his orchestra,
something that wouldnt be standard until the 19th century. Composers in
the Baroque era were not always certain what instruments were going to
be available to them during the time of the performance, so they had to
write several parts to be prepared for any instrument. Orchestras in the
baroque period were not very large due to the uncertainty of not knowing
what and who was going to be available to them during the performance.
Orchestras today often have about 100 performers and can include strings,
woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
In addition, Handel wrote many famous pieces. One of his most
famous pieces was the Oratorio Messiah. Handel had started to
experiment with oratorios in 1732, after the success of a ballad opera
called the Beggars Opera; his operas had declined in popularity. This is
because operas were expensive and difficult to produce. Handel
composed the Messiah (one of his most famous oratorios) from August 22
to September 14, 1741, a space of only 3 weeks. After finishing the
oratorio, he put it away and started to work on another oratorio, Saul.
However Handel did not work on it for months until a later time.
The first performance of Messiah took place at Neals Music Hall on
April 23, 1742. This performance was mostly for Charity. However Handel
actually made some money for himself on the June performances of
Messiah. Messiah was a clear success in Dublin, and Handel was feeling
much better about himself by the time he was ready to go back to London
in August of 1742. The first performance of Messiah was on March 23,
1743 at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. Although Handel was
concerned that London would not approve of a religiously based Messiah
he disguised its name as A Sacred Oratorio (Messiah) being performed in
a theater proved to be worth his time. However because the press made
such a big fuss there was no Messiah performance. Another performance

was held later on and it was called Messiah, like it or not. This was a huge
success in the early phase of Oratorios. After that, Handel hosted an
annual performance of Messiah to support charity. After his visit to Dublin,
Handel lived for 17 more years. During these 17 years, Messiah was
performed 56 times. Out of the 56 performances, only 12 were actually
held in sacred places. Handel loved the theater. The Hallelujah chorus
is the most famous movement of Messiah, and to this day, audiences stand
during this part of the performance.
Handel did not stop there though. He wrote many other pieces
including the Royal Fireworks (made for a peace treaty ending the war of
Austrian succession. This included the song How Beautiful are the Feet
and fireworks following the performance right after. He played it many
other times for charity and other causes.
Handel also wrote a piece that I am familiar with since I got it as an
all district solo this year. This piece is called Sonata. Although Handel
wrote all of the pieces in the book, Thomas McMillan arranged the book
itself. This book contains examples of well know baroque and early
classical pieces arranged for all mallet players. Although all of these
pieces were originally arranged for the violin, flute, and piano, they can just
as easily be played on mallets. In fact Thomas McMillan arranged this
book strategically so that the easier to play pieces would be in the front and
the harder to play pieces would be in the back of the book. The pieces can
also be played on a marimba because the instrument ranges are almost
exactly the same.
Georg Handel was a great witty man, and his influence on operas,
oratorios, and orchestras is still seen today. Though much of his works are
still being played and performed, Messiah is still the most performed piece.
His compositions include 46 operas, 32 oratorios, 28 Italian solo cantatas,
and over 92 other chamber duets, bass performances, church, and
instrumental music. Handel was not afraid to try new things with his music,
which set him apart from a lot of other composers of his time. He also

helped to introduce the clarinet into the orchestra, which was nowhere near
standard among any musicians in his time. Although Handel is only known
for a few of his works such as: Messiah, and Water Music, Handels labors
deserve to be remembered because of the matchless musical genius he
put into his works.

Sources:
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/George_Frideric_Handel
http://www.circlegame.com/live/handel.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_sonata
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40
060pg2
http://www.aam.co.uk/index.htm
http://search.eb.com/eb/article-64589
http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9057295