George Frideric Handel as One of the Influential Musicians of His Time - Essay Example

Biography of George Frideric Handel Handel is one of the musicians born to find the emerging music genre of the 1600s and 1700s. He rose to become one of the influential musicians of his time, exhibiting exemplary talent, and proved to be a pace setter in the music trends of his era. His music had impact in different countries in Europe, beginning from his home country Germany, and stretching to London and Italy. This paper will describe his biography highlighting his significant contribution to the music of the 1600s-1700s. Early Life Handel’s place of birth was Halle, a location in Germany. The boy who would later become a renowned musician was born on 23rd February 1685 (Schoelcher 2). He exhibited ardent interest in music from an early age, although his father objected to his determination to pursue music. Handel’s father conformed to the societal opinion during that time. The people of the 17th and 18th century viewed music as a hobby undeserving of been considering a career. People who exhibited too much passion in hobbies earned a negative reputation in the society. The majority of people sought to have a high profile career, explaining why Handel’s father wanted his son to pursue law, which had a higher societal regard. However, despite this resistance from his father, he strived to learn the organ and the clavichord. His mother helped him in discretion, offering him the clavichord. He learned these organs on his own and made good progress. On one occasion, a duke recognized that he had a talent in music after hearing him playing the organ, and took the initiative of pleading his father. The duke’s efforts bore fruit and Handel’s father allowed him to register for music classes. Handel encountered Zacchau as his first music teacher at the Lutheran church in his hometown when he was eight years old. Through the instruction of Zacchau, he registered fast progress in his musical career, such that at 11, he was excelling in playing the harpsichord, violin, and the organ. Moreover, he gained exemplary skills in composition, harmony, and the counterpoint. At this point, Handel’s father exhibited the conviction that his son had acquired sufficient skills in music, and wanted to bring the music classes to a halt. However, when he got home, his father died a factor that compelled him to pursue the wishes of his father and spend the years that followed studying in order to fulfill his father’s wishes. During this time, he also embarked on enhancing his music knowledge by working with the church by playing the organ and cantatas writing. On attaining the age of 18, he decided to pursue music as his career, with an ardent determination to advance his musical skills. After making that decision in his life, he relocated to Hamburg in Germany (Rockstro 65). Handel’s Musical Career When Handel moved to Hamburg, he had made his determination to nurture his talent, and impact the music industry in a diverse way. Hamburg had earned a name as a renowned center in opera music (Mainwaring 44). This attribute attracted the talented Handel to Hamburg. On arrival, he landed a job in an opera house that was very popular in the city to take the role of playing the violin. Handel proved aggressive by seizing every opportunity to exhibit his talent in the playing other instruments such as the harpsichord. For example, he seized the opportunity presented by the absence of a musician to exhibit his talent in playing the harpsichord. Moreover, he established an acquaintance with Johann Mattheson who was four years older. Johann Mattheson demonstrated exemplary talent in composition, singing, and defining music theories. Apparently, Handel was hot-tempered, and he was involved in an ugly argument with Mattheson concerning of the operas by Mattheson (Parker 66). That argument compromised their working relationship, and the two no longer worked together. After spending some time in Hamburg, he gained popularity that appealed the prince of Italy, who invited him to Italy. He accepted the invitation, bearing in mind that he would gain advanced experience in music because he had heard of certain talented opera composers from Italy. Evidently, his dreams became true because he registered immense growth in his musical career. History reveals that his experience in Italy was overwhelming, serving as a motivation for him to attain a new style. This resulted from his immense interaction with multiple composers and performers, some of them with a global recognition in composing operas, oratorios, and cantatas. Moreover, he interacted with musicians who played his favorite instruments used for both the sonata and the concerto (Mainwaring 43). After receiving such diverse experience, Handel worked towards redefining his talent. He exhibited growth in different sectors of music especially in composing, performing, and playing various music instruments. At the age of 26, Handel had developed a unique style that saw him begin working for a London opera house, and composing a dedication to London of an opera that received immense support through fifteen successive performances. These performances formed a platform for him to ascend higher in his music career success. Despite his success outside Germany, he was keen to ensure that he maintained a close link to his home and his employers. However, in 1713, he made a decision to settle in England, halting his ties with Germany. In 1720, he received a new responsibility of directing at the Royal Academy of music (Rockstro 98). His talent and expertise in music enabled him to run the academy for eight years with minimal challenges. During the eight years when he directed the academy, it received an exemplary recognition as an academy that nurtured talent with the help of qualified composers and performers. However, over time, the composers and the performers exaggerated their monetary expectations, a factor that caused the dwindling of the academy. In 1727, he founded his own New Academy, where he continued to compose and nurture talent. Handel’s debilitating condition The year 1737 changed different aspects of Handel’s life because he suffered a stroke that send him paralyzed for some time, and caused him to develop blindness. This compromised the stability of Handel, making it difficult to advance his musical career. However, he proved to be resilient, and was still able to compose other operas (Rockstro 67). It is worth noting that during this time, he focused on borrowing different scripts from other artists. Moreover, he concentrated in redoing his previous compositions, modifying them in different ways. He succumbed to the disease in 1759 (Ludwig and Schneider 90). Handel’s Famous Compositions In 1704, he released Almira, an opera that placed him on high standing in music that served as a debut into the successful career that followed. In 1701 and 1709, he composed Rodrigo and Aggrippina alongside other chamber works in Italy. In 1710, he composed Rinaldo that he managed to release in an extremely short time. Moreover, he spent many years composing and performing for the English royalty. He composed different music pieces during all the special occasions ranging from military success, weddings, and burials. The royal family exhibited an appreciation for his music and paid him royalties throughout his life. In 1727, he composed the Alessandro. When he formed his New Academy after quitting the Royal academy of music where he continued to compose and perform. In the later years, he composed the Messiah opera (Van 56). He faced multiple some challenges when he composed music for the religious groups that were unwilling to accept certain categories of music. However, he was able to handle such challenges by making changes to his music style and message to suit the religious people. Handel’s Unique Style He was born into the age of baroque, and throughout his music career served to advance it. He was an aggressive musician who exhibited passion in promoting the baroque style. However, he modified operas from other musicians, and repeated some of his older music, compromising the quality (Lang 23). From studying the musical career of Handel, future musicians the value of nurturing one’s talent from an early age and striving to remain relevant. He was able to adapt to varying audiences, so that his music made an impact. Moreover, he interacted with different composers and performers, earning a high level of expertise in different musical skills. He exhibited a unique style even when he used the composition of other musicians. Despite his debilitating health condition, he exhibited resilience and continued composing music. Moreover, he developed diverse music skills that helped to sustain his career for a long time. Conclusion Handel exhibited ardent interest in music from an early age, although his father objected to his determination to pursue music. He started his career by learning certain instruments on his own until he was eight years old, when a duke pleaded on behalf of him, convincing his father to allow him to pursue music. He was an epic musician of the baroque style that was popular in his age. He later explored the opportunities in different cities within Europe especially London and Italy. Although he faced debilitating health conditions at some point in his life, he exhibited resilience. Work Cited Lang, Paul H. George Frideric Handel. Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications, 1996. Print. Ludwig, Charles, and Arthur Schneider. George Frideric Handel: Composer of Messiah. Milford, Mich: Mott Media, 1987. Print. Mainwaring, John. Memoirs of the life of...George Frederic Handel. To which is added a catalogue of his works. Oxford: Oxford University Press,1760. Print. Parker, Mary Ann. G. F. Handel: A Guide to Research : Routledge Music Bibliographies. London, Routledge, 2013. Print. Rockstro, W S. The Life of George Frederick Handel. , 2013. Print. Schoelcher, Victor. The Life of Handel. New York: New York Public Library, 1857. Print. Van, Til M. George Frideric Handel: A Music Lover's Guide to His Life, His Faith & the Development of Messiah and His Other Oratorios. Youngstown, NY: WordPower Pub, 2007. Print. Read More