George Friederic Handel – Majesty and Drama
It is April 1742 in Dublin. A crowd presses into the Music Hall on Fishamble Street, their anticipation electric. The hall is packed beyond capacity—ladies are asked not to wear hoops in their skirts, and gentlemen to leave their swords at home, so that more people might fit. On stage, musicians prepare for the premiere of a new oratorio by George Frideric Handel, a German-born composer who has made England his adopted home. He is already famous, but also embattled, his career threatened by rivals and financial troubles. The work about to be heard is called Messiah. As the first chorus rises, the audience leans forward. When the “Hallelujah” thunders forth, legend says that King George II stands, moved beyond protocol. Whether true or not, the gesture captures the reality: Handel has created something that will endure for centuries. And in that moment, his place among the giants of music is secure.
Handel’s story begins in 1685, in Halle, Germany—the same year that Johann Sebastian Bach was born, and only a month before Domenico Scarlatti. It was a remarkable year for music, producing three of the greatest composers of the Baroque age. Unlike Bach, who came from a long line of musicians, Handel’s father was a barber-surgeon who had no desire for his son to become a musician. The elder Handel wanted George to study law, to secure a respectable and prosperous career. But the boy’s passion for music could not be denied. He practiced in secret, sneaking a small clavichord into the attic, playing softly at night while the household slept.
Eventually his talent became undeniable, and his father relented enough to allow lessons. By the age of ten, Handel was already a skilled organist, astonishing listeners with his improvisations. He studied composition and organ in Halle, then in Hamburg, where he began to make his way as a theater musician. In Hamburg he composed his first operas, works that revealed his flair for drama and melody.
In 1706, at just twenty-one, Handel traveled to Italy, the center of the musical world. There he absorbed the styles of opera, cantata, and oratorio. He met Corelli, the great violinist, and studied the art of counterpoint and concerto. He wrote sacred music for the Catholic Church, despite being Lutheran, and his works were admired by cardinals and princes. Italy gave Handel the polish he needed, refining his gifts into a mature style.
By 1710, he was appointed Kapellmeister to the Elector of Hanover, a post that would prove fateful. He soon requested leave to travel to London, and there he found the city that would become his true home. England embraced him, and Handel sensed opportunity. Within a few years, he had moved permanently to London, where he would spend the rest of his life.
At first, Handel made his name with Italian opera. London was hungry for the exotic glamour of opera seria, with its virtuoso arias and elaborate plots. Handel provided it in abundance: Rinaldo in 1711 was a sensation, the first Italian opera written for the London stage. Its arias, like “Lascia ch’io pianga,” enchanted audiences with their beauty. For the next three decades, Handel dominated London’s operatic scene, writing works for star singers, often castrati, who dazzled with their vocal fireworks. Operas like Giulio Cesare, Tamerlano, and Alcina remain masterpieces of the form, filled with both dramatic intensity and lyrical grace.
But opera was expensive, and competition fierce. Rival companies sprang up, and public taste shifted. By the 1730s, Handel’s fortunes declined. He suffered health crises, including a stroke that temporarily paralyzed him. He faced bankruptcy as his operas failed to draw crowds. Many thought his career finished. Yet it was then that he reinvented himself.
Turning from Italian opera, Handel embraced the English oratorio, a form that combined elements of opera with choral grandeur and biblical subjects. Unlike opera, oratorio did not require expensive sets or costumes; it could be performed in concert halls or churches. And it resonated with English audiences, who loved the power of the chorus. Handel’s oratorios, from Esther to Israel in Egypt, from Samson to Solomon, electrified listeners. But none surpassed Messiah, composed in just twenty-four days in 1741.
Messiah is unique: not a narrative but a meditation on the life of Christ, from prophecy to resurrection. Its choruses are unforgettable: “And the glory of the Lord,” “For unto us a child is born,” and, above all, the “Hallelujah.” Handel himself, when asked how he wrote it, reportedly said, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself.” The work’s impact has never diminished. To this day, it is performed every Christmas and Easter across the world, a testament to Handel’s genius.
Handel’s life in London was full of contrasts. He was naturalized as a British citizen in 1727, the same year he composed the Coronation Anthems for King George II. These works, including “Zadok the Priest,” are still performed at every British coronation, even three centuries later. He was favored at court, admired by aristocrats, yet he lived simply, never marrying, devoting himself to music. He was known for his temper, his wit, and his generosity. Despite financial troubles, he gave freely to charities, especially hospitals and institutions for the poor.
As he aged, Handel’s health declined. He suffered from cataracts and eventually went blind, though he continued to compose and direct performances with the help of assistants. In his last years, he was revered in England, celebrated as a national treasure. He died in 1759, at the age of seventy-four, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, an honor rarely given to foreigners. Thousands attended his funeral.
What is Handel’s legacy? He left over forty operas, more than twenty oratorios, numerous concertos, suites, and sacred works. His music combines grandeur with humanity, formality with emotion. He was a cosmopolitan, blending German counterpoint, Italian melody, French dance rhythms, and English choral tradition into a style that was truly international. He gave the world melodies that remain instantly recognizable, from the Water Music to the Music for the Royal Fireworks, from arias sung in opera houses to choruses sung by choirs of thousands.
Handel’s influence is immense. Beethoven said of him, “Handel is the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head and kneel before his tomb.” Haydn was inspired by Handel’s oratorios to write The Creation and The Seasons. Mozart arranged and re-orchestrated Handel’s works, calling him a master of the grand effect. Mendelssohn revived Handel’s oratorios in the nineteenth century, helping to cement their place in the repertoire.
But perhaps Handel’s true legacy is how his music connects with people. Whether in the refined halls of London, the churches of Dublin, or the massed choirs of modern festivals, his works speak directly to the heart. The “Hallelujah” chorus, sung by thousands, unites listeners in joy. The tender arias of his operas move us with their humanity. His instrumental suites bring elegance and cheer. He was, above all, a communicator, a dramatist of sound.
As a man, Handel was both formidable and generous. He loved good food and was famously stout. He had a fiery temper but a warm heart. He lived simply, yet his music was rich. He was a bachelor, yet his music is filled with love. He was devout, yet never sanctimonious. He was cosmopolitan, yet always deeply human.
Listening to Handel today, we hear both majesty and intimacy. In Messiah we hear the sweep of faith and the tenderness of hope. In the operas we hear characters who breathe, suffer, and rejoice. In the Water Music we hear the sparkle of the Thames, in the Fireworks Music the grandeur of celebration. His music endures because it speaks to every condition of humanity, in every time.
George Frideric Handel, the barber-surgeon’s son who defied his father’s wishes, who traveled from Germany to Italy to England, who conquered opera, who reinvented himself with oratorio, who gave us the “Hallelujah,” remains one of the great giants of music. His life was not without struggle, but his art triumphed. He is the cosmopolitan of sound, the dramatist of melody, the prophet of joy.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Classical Giants. Produced by Selenius Media – Music by The Artificial Laboratory.