Georg Friedrich Hndel

(1685-1759)
A regreta daca nu a reui altceva
eu doresc s-i fac mai buni prin muzica mea. (Hndel)

dect

s-mi

distrez

auditorii;

Hndel este cel mai mare compozitor care a trit vreodat.

ntotdeauna mi voi scoate plria n faa muzicii lui i
voi ngenunchea cu umilin la mormntul su.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1824)
https://cpciasi.wordpress.com/lectii-de-istoria-muzicii/lectia-5-muzica-din-epocabarocului/georg-friedrich-handel/
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neun_Deutsche_Arien
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irdisches_Vergn%C3%BCgen_in_Gott
..and in 1735 he became a magistrate in Ritzebttel. Influenced by the 18th-century
British poets James Thomson and Alexander Pope, whose works he translated, he
wrote nature poetry, such as Irdisches Vergngen in Gott (172148; Earthly
Pleasure in God), in which natural phenomena are described minutely and seen as
aspects of Gods perfectly ordered universe....

1This is the first of a set of nine songs that Handel wrote to the German-language texts of
Barthold Heinrich Brockes from his collection Irdisches Vergnuegen in Gott (Contentment on
Earth through God). The tone of the text is religious in an easygoing manner. All of these songs
are in ABA form with vocal declamation that is lyrical, sometimes melismatic, and never
virtuosic. The instrumentation of the accompaniment is flexible, and the performers are allowed
to choose whichever instruments are appropriate and available for the continuo and instrumental
obbligato.
This song, whose title translates as "Idle Concerns for the Future, " moves forward in an easy
going triple meter with the obbligato instrument holding forth on its own and accompanying the
voice harmonically.
2This song, whose title translates as "The Shimmering Sparkle, " proceeds in a joyous, pleasantly
assertive duple meter. The obbligato instrument contrasts contrapuntally with the voice when the
two are heard together.
3This song, whose title translates as "Sweet Blooms of the Amber Tree, " features a light minormode setting and triple meter. The obbligato instrument answers and contrasts with the singer.

4This song, whose title translates as "Sweet Quiet, Gentle Source, " carries on in a
pleasant, contented triple meter. The obbligato instrument answers the voice and
occasionally harmonizes with it. There is no instrumental introduction, and there is
an extended instrumental interlude along the way.
5This song, whose title translates as "Sing, Soul, in Praise of God, " gives us an
intense, fervent minor-mode setting in triple meter. Tbe obbligato instrument,
whose line is saturated with dotted rhythms, contrasts with the voice throughout.
6. The vocal line in this song, whose title translates as "My Soul Hears through
Seeing, " holds forth in a pleasant duple meter over a "walking" bass line in the
continuo. The text deals with the synesthesia of hearing things usually thought of as
visual. The obbligato instrument sometimes answers the singer and sometimes
harmonizes with him. The dotted rhythms of the obbligato instrument sometimes
show up in the vocal part.
7. This song, whose title translates as "You from Dark Shafts, " flows in a smooth
duple meter. The obbligato sometimes contrasts with and sometimes harmonizes
with the vocalist.
8. This song, whose title translates as "In the Pleasant Grove, " is cast in an
easygoing minor-mode setting in a sprightly duple meter. The obbligato instrument
contrasts with the voice throughout.
9. This triple-meter song, whose title translates as "Flaming Roses, Adornment of
the Earth, " is marked by prominent sequences in the obbligato line that contrasts
with the voice throughout the main section. The middle section is a minor-key
excursion without obbligato.

Composed between 1724 and 1727, Neun Deutsche Arien are some of the only
works of the Saxon-born Handel featuring sung text in his native dialogue. The arias
were written from works of the 17th century German-born poet Barthold Heinrich
Brockes, namely his Irdisches Vergngen in Gott (Earthly Pleasure in God), in which
Brockes illustrates the theme of the abundant goodness of God as being evident in
the joy and beauty of His creation. These arias reflect the style of Handels operatic
arias and feature some of the composers most vibrant and joyous music for the
solo voice.

Handel seldom set texts in his native language but for the Nine German Arias he
took poems by Barthold Heinrich Brockes, called Earthly Pleasure in God, setting
them for soprano, violin and basso continuo. The texts inspired Handel to write

music of great intensity and melodic beauty, qualities augmented by an almost

operatic sense of declamation.