George Friedrich Handel (1685.2.23~1759.4.6)

Handel was born on February 23, 1685 in the town of Halle in central Germany. Unlike his great contemporary Bach, his family did not have much music: his father was a barber and surgeon who regarded music as a humble profession (indeed, under the patron system of the time, musicians could only be regarded as skilled servants). But young Handel, who was naturally fond of music, secretly practiced playing the clavichord despite his father's opposition (it is hard to imagine that Handel, who later competed with Bach in the field of keyboard instrument playing, received his enlightenment in this way!) Handel spent his childhood amidst such contradictory adversity.

Later, the local Grand Duke of Saxony-Weissensfeld stumbled upon little Handel practicing the piano and was deeply moved by his perseverance and talent, so he persuaded old Handel to agree to his gifted son's serious study of music. In the following years, Handel learned keyboard instruments and composition with the composer and organist Jahau, as well as playing the oboe and violin. With exceptional talent and the guidance of famous teachers, little Handel made rapid progress.

When the elder Handel died in 1697, he was obsessed with making his son a lawyer rather than a musician. Handel did not give up his artistic pursuits because of this. In 1702, he first entered Halle University to study law, which was against his father's orders, and at the same time worked as a part-time organist in the local church.

Eighteen is the age to start a family - in 1703, Handel officially started his musical career, traveling to Hamburg alone to become a violinist in the opera house (Bach also started his career as an organist in this year). Handel's talent soon attracted the attention of some artistic patrons, some of whom planned to pay for the young Handel to go to Italy to study opera and composition (of course not for free, and would return to serve them when he finished). The ambitious Handel politely declined these sponsorships: he had to earn enough tuition to study abroad by his own efforts, and could not sell his future to others.

In 1705, the success of Handel's opera "Almira" allowed him to embark on a journey to study abroad. At that time, Italy was the mecca of opera art in all Europe. Handel crossed the Alps and studied in Naples, Rome, Florence and Venice for three years. He interacted with masters such as Scarlatti and Corelli, and learned the art of Italian opera.

Returning from his studies, Handel was welcomed everywhere in Germany. In 1710, the 25-year-old was appointed court musician of the Elector of Hanover. He was not satisfied with this good job, but looked overseas. England was much richer at the time than Germany, and the art of opera was more popular there. But since Purcell's death in 1695, the art of opera in England has stagnated and needs fresh blood. Handel saw this opportunity, asked his master for a year's leave, crossed the sea to England, and after a few years Handel traveled between England and Germany. His arrival brought a breeze to the dreary English opera world. His opera "Rinaldo" was a great success in London, and in 1713 he won the appreciation of Queen Anne with an "Ode to the Queen's Birthday", so Handel simply did not return to Hanover.

Fate played a trick on the court musician: in 1714, Queen Anne, who had no children, died, and George, the Elector of Hanover, inherited the British throne as a relative of the king. Handel was afraid of suffering. But he calmly welcomed the new king George with a carefully composed "Music on the Water". The king was amazed by the grandeur and elegance of the music and asked who had made it. When he learned that the author was an old subordinate Handel, he not only forgave his old mistakes, but also immediately increased his annual salary.

Over the next ten years, Handel created a large number of vocal and instrumental works, especially operas, which won him a huge reputation throughout Europe; he was also a world-recognized master of pipe organs, and at that time, only Bach could match him. But from the late 1820s, the originally popular Italian-language opera began to decline in Britain.

In 1729 a comic opera composed by Popesh called The Beggar's Opera was performed in London. The play is written in English and is based on the everyday life of ordinary citizens. The play was well received, and the traditional Italian opera showed serious shortcomings in comparison: singing in Italian limited the understanding of English audiences; mythical stories, aristocratic conflicts, etc. did not attract the interest of the emerging civic class. Through this play, the author makes a ruthless satire on Handel and his Italian opera. When a group of thieves came on stage, the music that sounded turned out to be "March of the Crusaders" in Handel's famous work "Rinaldo" in Britain!

Handel's status, who started his career in Italian opera, has been hit as never before. Several performances of his operas failed one after another, and the opera house he operated was eventually forced to close. His political opponents who were jealous of him took the opportunity to create all kinds of rumors... In 1737, Handel suffered a stroke and hemiplegia, and people thought his music career was over.

Oratorio is a form of music developed since the 17th century. It often takes religious or semi-religious stories as its theme and focuses on musical expression without complex stage plots. Since the plot is based on Bible stories that are familiar to the British and is sung in English, it will have a good market in the UK. In 1742, driven by an incredible enthusiasm, he completed the creation of the oratorio "Messiah" in just 24 days. In the same year, the work was staged low-key in Dublin, the capital of Ireland. To the surprise of many people, this work hit a hit in Dublin. Handel is back in the British music life!

The news reached London, and people demanded to see it. The following year, when King George II of England attended the theatre in London, when the final movement "Hallelujah" was played, the king could not hold back his excitement and stood up to listen to the whole piece ("Hallelujah" should be listened to standing as an unwritten rule has continued to this day). In order to maintain the status of "Messiah" from being damaged by too much performance, the king decreed that it would be played only once a year in the spring, and only Handel himself was qualified to conduct.

Handel's oratorios are simple and moving, incorporating a high degree of artistry and pious religious faith into each music note. From Saul, The Israelites in Egypt, to Samson are equally excellent. In 1750 (the year Bach died), the elderly Handel was injured in a car accident, and the next year his vision began to decline, and soon he was completely blind. He still dragged the sick body to participate in various social activities, including conducting the performance of "Messiah" every spring.

On April 6, 1759, the 74-year-old master Handel, who was blind, conducted "Messiah" for the last time at the British Theatre Royal. To tempestuous applause, the old man fell. A few days later, the music star died. Handel enjoyed the treatment of a state funeral and was buried in the Westminster Abbey cemetery where the kings and sages of the past, where a memorial to Handel stands today.

Looking back on Handel's life, he is indeed an evergreen and all-rounder in the music world: during his nearly 60-year musical career, he has gained great fame in Germany, Britain, Italy and even all of Europe; his works have fused the rigorous counterpoint of Germany, the solo art of Italy and the choral tradition of England into one furnace, becoming a treasure in the history of world music. Together with Bach and Vivaldi, he drew a successful conclusion to the glorious Baroque era.