MusiLLection

George Frideric Handel ’s  Water Music , one of the composer’s most celebrated and enduring works, was first performed on the evening of Wednesday, July 17, 1717. Fifty musicians sailed alongside King George I and his entourage as the royal yacht led a grand flotilla along the Thames from Lambeth to Chelsea. Captivated by Handel’s compositions, the King famously ordered the orchestra to repeat the performance  three times , with the musicians finally allowed to stop at 2 a.m. Suite I in F major (HWV 348) A page from the score of Handel's Water Music written in 1717. This work is the most popular and most beloved of all his numerous compositions. Overture (Largo – Allegro) Adagio e staccato Allegro – Andante – Allegro da capo Passepied Air Minuet Bourrée Hornpipe Andante Allegro Hornpipe Handel’s masterful use of the French horn in this suite reflects the grandeur of the royal Thames procession. The Overture (Largo – Allegro) opens with a s...

A richly detailed Baroque-era painting capturing the musical atmosphere of Handel ’s time, reflecting the grandeur of his festive works and operas. Orchestral: Water Music: Suite No.1, Suite No.2, Suite No3 Music for the Royal Fireworks Oratorios: Esther Athalia Alexander Balus Saul Israel in Egypt Messiah Samson Semele Belshazzar Judas Maccabaeus Solomon Jephtha Concertos: Organ Concerto No. 13 in F Major, HWV 295, ("The Cuckoo and the Nightingale" ) Organ Concerto No. 14 in A Major Oboe Concerto No. 3 in G minor Chamber music: Two oboe sonatas Twelve flute sonatas Six Concerti Grossi for strings, woodwinds and continuo, Opus 3 Six organ sonatas, Opus 4 Seven Trio Sonatas, Opus 5 Operas: Almira Rodrigo Rinaldo Giulio Cesare Rodelinda Orlando Ariodante Alcina Serse (Xerxes)

In this Organ Concerto, Handel famously imitates birdsong, a rare and charming example of musical pictorialism in his instrumental output. The characteristic calls of the cuckoo and the nightingale give the work its enduring subtitle and contribute to its immediate appeal. Like Handel’s other organ concertos, Concerto No. 13 was composed to be performed during the intervals of his oratorios. It was first presented on April 4, 1739, at the Royal Theatre in London, just two days after its completion, alongside the oratorio Israel in Egypt . Many of these concertos—including this one—contain extensive ad libitum passages. During these sections, the organist was expected to improvise freely, using the written material merely as a framework. Handel himself was a superb organist and astonished audiences with the brilliance and inventiveness of his improvisations. Movements: - Larghetto The concerto opens with a brief orchestral introduction presenting a gentle, expressive theme. The orga...

Although Messiah remains George Frideric Handel ’s most celebrated oratorio, Israel in Egypt stands among his most vivid and dramatically charged creations. Composed in 1739, the work recounts the biblical journey of a people from suffering and oppression to deliverance and victory, drawing primarily on texts from the Book of Exodus and the Psalms. Handel was a deeply religious composer, yet his spiritual outlook differed markedly from that of his contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach . Rather than addressing theological abstraction or inward devotion, Handel spoke directly to the emotions of ordinary listeners. His sacred music seeks immediacy and impact, appealing to shared human experience through clarity, gesture, and dramatic force. From its premiere, Israel in Egypt proved controversial. On one hand, it drew criticism for Handel’s well-known practice of reworking material by other composers—most famously the chorus Egypt was glad , adapted from an organ piece by Johann Kaspar K...

George Frideric Handel was, by temperament, a theatrical composer. He preferred the passionate acclaim of a full opera house to the restrained applause of aristocratic salons. Chamber music, with its intimacy and balance, never occupied a central place in his creative output—yet when he turned to it, the results were anything but secondary. The Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 , published in 1734, consist of six concertos , of which the first four are presented here. These works were not conceived as a unified cycle in the modern sense, but rather assembled from earlier compositions written between 1711 and 1734 . Their publication coincided with the wedding celebrations of Princess Anne , daughter of King George II , Handel’s royal patron. At the time, Handel was experiencing a difficult period as an opera impresario. Public interest in Italian opera was declining, competition was fierce, and several profitable contracts had collapsed. It is very likely that the publication of the Op. 3 conc...