Full Description
Of all the biggest-name composers Handel probably wrote the most truly great music that no one knows about. This book takes the curious listener through his entire output from his earliest works in Italy through his more than 40 operas and including the famous English oratorios on which his reputation largely rests. Along the way it examines his orchestral music the pieces he wrote for England's lavish royal ceremonies and his surprisingly limited production of sacred music. Just as important the book surveys and recommends recordings of all of the music discussed so that listeners can acquire a music collection of whatever depth suits them best while the included CD features top-notch recordings from the Harmonia Mundi label of a wide range of Handel's music in all of the major media in which he worked both vocal and instrumental. Few composers cared more than Handel about pleasing his listeners and creating a body of work that was both entertaining and fun. It's time to blow away the Victorian cobwebs that have dogged his reputation and discover just how much there is to enjoy.
Contents
Introduction: Listening to the Mysterious Mr. Handel
Chapter 1: The Curse of The Harmonious Blacksmith: (Too?) Popular Favorites
The Harmonious Blacksmith (1720)
Largo from Xerxes (Serse) (1738)
Water Music (1717) and Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749)
Zadok the Priest (1727)
Messiah (1741)
Chapter 2: It's Saul Good: Exploring the English Oratorios and Associated Instrumental Works
Blood and Guts
The Waratorios
Pastoral Fantasies
Choral Characterization
Two English Operas
The New Testament
What To Do During Intermission (Concertos and Orchestral Music)
Chapter 3: A Pair of Acis: Same Story, Different Music
Aci, Galatea e Polifemo (Serenata or Dramatic Cantata) 1708
Acis and Galatea (Variously called a Masque, Serenata, Oratorio, Pastoral Opera, Little Opera, etc) 1718
Chapter 4: Sex and Drugs and Da Capo Arias: The Operas
The Handel Opera Revival: How It Really Happened
Ariodante: Handel's Operatic Paradigm
A Dozen Great Handel Operas (excluding Ariodante)
Aria Recitals and Collections
Chapter 5: Channeling Cleopatra: Musical Characterization
Chapter 6: A Lotta Cantatas and Serenatas: Early Italian Pieces, Sacred Music, and English Ceremonial Works
Early Italian Instrumental Cantatas and Serenatas
Sacred Music
Ceremonial Music
Chapter 7: Secondhand Handel: Borrowing and Musical Morality
Track 1. "Eternal source of light divine" (Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne)
Track 2. "Dominus a dextris tuis" (Dixit Dominus)
Track 3. "Disserratevi, o porte d'Averno" (La Resurrezione)
Track 4. "Ogni vento" (Agrippina)
Track 5. "Ombra mai fù" (Serse)
Track 6. "Se tanto piace al cor" (Ariodante)
Track 7. Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 1
Track 8. "Fammi combattere" (Orlando)
Track 10. "Lascia ch'io pianga" (Rinaldo)
Track 11. "Sibilar l'angui d'Aletto" (Aci, Galatea e Polifemo)
Track 14. "Rejoice, O Judah! Hallelujah! Amen" (Judas Maccabaeus)
