Handel and his Hidden Life Behind Music
It is clear that George Frideric Handel and his notorious “Hallelujah” melody live on today as some of the most recognizable aspects of what we view as the original era of classical music, with baroque classical styles and compositions. Yet, ironically, it seems that Handel and many other composers whose names stand out today don’t have much record of how they were outside of their memorable scores.
Still, there is an attempt from biographers across the globe to grasp onto any personality or portrayal of these composers that we love so dearly. In a 1995 article from the New York Times, the author talks about the success of Daniel Burrows in bringing Handel to life, at least more so than any other biographer to date. Within this article, it reveals that Handel was a rather “secretive” person who had “uncontrollable humor towards music” and loved to show off on a harpsichord at any chance he got. This very small snippet of Burrow’s book is part of what makes up the very few details we can collect of what Handel was like as a person outside of his iconic, historic compositions.
This idea of grasping onto the little information we know of composers to try and piece together some sort of personality, is something incredibly interesting when it comes to analyzing their works. In other words, when we look at sources we’ve gathered surrounding a composer’s piece of music, we can begin to build an image of the kind of person they were, since more often than not, we are not supplied with physical explanations of it.
In Kelly’s “First Nights” concerning the premieres of famous classical pieces, he states that “Handel was a great deal more independent, but he still relied on the nobility to support his operatic efforts, to invite him to Ireland, and to provide continuing patronage,” (Kelly, pg. 337). Here, we can see that Kelly was able to grasp this idea of independence from our knowledge of Handel’s reliance on the support of his pieces and of him as a composer.
In addition to that, we can see in a review of Handel’s Messiah in the Dublin Journal in 1742, it was mentioned that Handel “generously gave the money arising from [a] grand performance, to be equally shared by the Society for relieving Prisoners, the Charitable Infirmary, and Mercer’s Hospital,” (Handel Documents, pg. 104). After reading that, it is easy to assume that Handel was very selfless and giving as a person. Yet, then again, we might lack information on the motivation behind it, once again, forcing us to rely on other physical evidence we have of actions in their lives.
This lack of information might alter how we look at pieces like Handel’s Messiah. When looking at the multitude of movements surrounding aspects of Christianity, would it be easier to understand why he composed a somewhat religious oratorio if we understood what his thinking and motivations were? Would it change how we viewed the success and beauty of his piece if we knew he was cruel and mean compared to the idea we get that he was kind and humble?
Going back to the source from the New York Times, we can see that even the author of the article acknowledges that it would be “gratifying” to finally have someone bring a passed composer to life completely. Yet, with that being practically impossible with the significant amount of time that has passed, it leaves us wondering what Handel was really like.
Was he a frantic, anxious person just because he wrote one of the most well-known pieces in just 24 days? Was he very simple-minded because of his repeated melodies and patterns? Or rather, did that make him incredibly complex and intelligent because of his intricate compositions that have perfectly placed melodies that repeat throughout the piece? All of these questions allow for us to continue to analyze his work for years to come, which is what some could argue, is what makes those composers just that more interesting.
Sources:
- Oestreich, James R. “Behind all that Music, Who was the Musician?” New York Times (1923-Current file) May 12 1995: 1. ProQuest. 16 Mar. 2021 .
- Kelly, Thomas Forrest. First Nights: Five Musical Premieres. Yale University Press, 2000. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt32bvpq. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.
- George Frideric Handel Documents
