340 years ago today, on February 23, 1685 (January 21, 1685 lunar calendar), the British-German composer George Friedrich Handel was born. George Friedrich Handel (1685-1759) - also translated as Handel - is a famous British-German composer. Born in Halle, Germany, he studied composition under the organist Chahau, and later worked as an organist and artistic director in the church. Due to his love of secular music, he moved to Hamburg in 1703, the only German city with national opera at the time, and began to write operas. After 1706, he composed in Hamburg and London, and soon became a musical authority in England. He settled in England in 1717 and became a British citizen in 1726. In his lifetime, he created forty-six operas such as "Arsina" and "Orlando", all but five of which were written in London. Later, due to opposition persecution, the works were banned and the theatre was forced to close down. From the late 1930s, he was engaged in the creation of oratorios without stage performances. He wrote thirty-two oratorios, most of which were composed in England, which had a profound impact on British music. His masterpieces include the orchestral "Royal Water Music", "Royal Fireworks Music", the oratorio "Messiah", etc. The most widely circulated "Hallelujah" in "Messiah". Unfortunately, he lost his sight in 1751 and died in London in 1759.