"Handel received important training in Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712. Born the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, with works such as Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks remaining steadfastly popular. " Wikipedia
Handel's "Water Music" is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, which premiered on 17 July 1717, in response to King George I's request for a concert on the River Thames. It is frequently played at garden parties in "high society" to this day, and would in my view by a wonderful accompaniment to any "Stay at Home" garden parties planned for this Friday as we celebrate VE day. VE Day is not, as the jingoistic press would have us believe, "Victory OVER Europe", but Victory IN Europe, by a massive combined effort from the Allies against the tyranny of Nazism. VE Day should celebrate - and represent - the success of partnership and working together for the common good, something not only worth celebrating from an historical perspective but extremely relevant today as we battle together to fight COVID-19. Born a German and naturalised as an Englishman, Handel epitomises the fluidity of nationality, the need to adapt and the focus on end results rather than isolation and protectionism.
Messiah - originally written to be performed at Easter
On Easter Sunday our choir would have sung the "Hallelujah Chorus" as our eucharist anthem.
The Hallelujah Chorus appears in the baroque oratorio “Messiah” composed in 1741.
