Great Composers in Words & Music: George Frideric Handel
℗ 2024
36 Tracks, 1:17:46
- 00:101. Introduction
- 01:102. Music for the Royal Fireworks HWV 351: Overture (Excerpt)
- 07:583. "Tho' no man ever introduced such a number of instruments, yet in his Orchestra not one is found idle or insignificant."
- 00:244. Concerto for Organ and Orchestra in G minor op. 4/1 HWV 289: IV. Andante (Excerpt)
- 04:145. "George Frideric Handel was born on 23rd February 1685 in the central German town of Halle, on the river Saale, roughly 100 miles southwest of Berlin."
- 01:016. Trio Sonata for 2 Violins and Basso continuo in G minor op. 2/2 HWV 387: I. Andante (Excerpt)
- 04:457. "Handel's university education came to an abrupt end when, in July 1703, he moved from Halle to Hamburg…"
- 01:408. Almira, Königin von Castillien HWV 1: 'Geloso tormento' (Act I) (Excerpt)
- 03:219. "As well as Almira, Handel composed three additional operas while resident in Hamburg: the unsuccessful Nero, also based on a Feustking libretto, its music now lost; Florindo and Daphne…"
- 00:5410. Cantata 'Nò se emenderá jamás' HWV 140: No. 1 Aria 'No se emenderá jamás' (Excerpt)
- 02:2011. "While in Rome Handel had produced music for the highest-ranking nobility, cultivated international visitors and the most important churchmen…"
- 01:1412. Agrippina HWV 6: 'Otton, Otton, quai portentoso' (Ottone, Act II)
- 03:4013. "Renowned Handel expert Winton Dean has suggested that Agrippina represents an early pinnacle in the composer's operatic career…"
- 01:0714. Rinaldo HWV 7: 'Lascia ch'io pianga' (Almirena, Act II (Excerpt)
- 02:2715. "At this point in his career, it is likely that Handel was aware of the real guarantors of his fame and fortune: his London audience."
- 01:3616. Water Music: Suite No. 2 in D major HWV 349: IV. Lentement
- 01:3317. "One of the most beloved pieces that Handel composed during these relatively early years in London was his Water Music."
- 01:0918. Water Music: Suite No. 2 in D major HWV 349: II. Alla Hornpipe (Excerpt)
- 01:2719. "One month after the now-infamous barge excursion, Handel became composer-in-residence to James Brydes, Earl of Carnarvon."
- 01:5520. Esther HWV 50a (Version 1720): 'He comes, he comes to end our woes' (Excerpt)
- 01:1021. "Handel's Eight Keyboard Suites, bits and pieces of which are also thought to date from Cannons…"
- 01:2122. Suite for Keyboard No. 1 in A major HWV 426: I. Prelude (Excerpt)
- 02:2823. "It has been said that Handel's mixture of styles within the Eight Keyboard Suites – also known as the Suites de pièce – was likely commercially motivated…"
- 01:4024. Suite for Keyboard No. 2 in F major HWV 427: III. Adagio
- 02:5925. "Despite the popular reception of the Eight Suites, which were reprinted on several occasions during Handel's lifetime not only in England but across northern Europe…"
- 01:0626. Giulio Cesare in Egitto HWV 17: 'Va tacito e nascosto' (Cesare, Act I) (Excerpt)
- 03:5927. "The late 1720s witnessed the dissolution of the Royal Academy of Music, largely owing to disputes between directors and subscribers…"
- 01:5428. Zadok the Priest HWV 258
- 03:5829. "At this point in his career, oratorio was still secondary to opera in Handel's musical ambition."
- 01:4330. Messiah HWV 56: 'Hallelujah' (Part II) (Excerpt)
- 01:0931. "With Messiah, and, shortly after, with Samson, Handel seems to have realised that the genre of English oratorio was key to his continued success as England's leading composer."
- 01:4932. Concerto for Organ and Orchestra in B flat major op. 7/3 HWV 308: III. Spiritoso (Excerpt)
- 02:5633. "Despite these benefits, the composer nonetheless seems to have liked making things difficult for himself…"
- 01:0334. Judas Maccabaeus HWV 63: 'See, the conqu'ring hero comes!' (Act III) (Arr. P. Breiner for Orchestra)(Excerpt)
- 03:0835. "Now a composer of considerable status and national pride, Handel continued his regular composition and performance of oratorios…"
- 01:1836. Sonata for Recorder and Basso continuo in F major op. 1/11 HWV 369: III. Siciliana (Excerpt)