Top 10 Sensational Facts about George Frideric Handel

Top 10 Sensational Facts about George Frideric Handel

George Fredric Handel was a famous German-British composer of Baroque music, well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos.

His music forms one of the peaks of the “high baroque” style, bringing Italian opera to its highest development, creating the genres of English oratorio and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into English church music.

Handel was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. He composed more than forty opere serie over a period of more than thirty years, and below are additional top 10 sensational facts about George Frideric Handel; 

1. Who do we have to thank for the great composer George Frideric Handel?

Georg Hände, George Frideric Handel’s father – Wikipedia

Handel was born in 1685 to Georg Händel, an eminent barber-surgeon who served the court of Saxe-Weissenfels and the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Dorothea Taus. His father forbade him to play the clavichord because he wanted a legal future for his son.

Apparently, as a child, Handel had to sneak into the attic of his home to practice the clavichord his mother had smuggled into the home.

After beautifully playing the organ at Weissenfels, he came under the notice of the Duke Johann Adolf I. The duke was able to convince Handel’s father that Handel should receive lessons, and he was subsequently harmony, counterpoint and musical analysis by the court composer, Freidrich Wilhelm Zachow.

He was also taught to play violin, oboe, organ and harpsichord.

2. What was Handel’s greatest secret?

Flag gay background – Unsplash

Little is known about George Frideric Handel’s personal life, which was kept very private, however it is rumored that he might have been gay. This is because he was commissioned by a number of gays, rich benefactors.

It is also important to also note that there is no evidence Handel ever had a romantic attachment with a woman, but this can be attributed to the fierceness with which he guarded his privacy.

3. A man who understood how to make money

Georg Friedrich Händel – Wikipedia

Unlike many musicians of the time, Handel amassed a huge wealth, with Queen Anne paying him a generous £200 when he moved to London in 1712.

Handel also invested in the London stock market. According to a 2012 article in the Wall Street Journal, “Like many other intellectuals living in London at the time, including Alexander Pope and Isaac Newton, Handel bought into the South Sea Co., the investment that was at the center of one of the world’s earliest and most devastating financial manias. Unlike most of his peers, however, Handel got in early — and got out early as well. And once Handel got out, he stayed out; he didn’t re-enter the stock market until 1728, long after the mania had faded.”

At the time of his death, he was worth around £20,000 which made him a millionaire by modern standards.

4.  Handel had a Big Heart

The Foundling Hospital, Holborn 1753 – Wikipedia

A testament to Handel’s generosity, are the Fund for Decay’d Musicians (now the Royal Society of Musicians) and the Foundling Hospital, which both benefited from his charitable activities and from bequests in his will.

In 1749 Handel approached Foundling Hospital, to offer a benefit concert to fund the completion of the building of the Chapel. The concert took place three weeks later, attracted a full house and raised over £350.

His involvement with the Foundling Hospital is today commemorated with a permanent exhibition in London’s Foundling Museum. He assigned the rights of Messiah to the institution upon his death.

In 1739 Handel gave his first benefit concert for Decay’d Musicians at the King’s Theatre, providing both the theatre and his direction of the performance free of charge. Tickets were free, but many people donated to the charity.

5. A gem that Great Britain could not loose

King George I by Sir Godfrey Kneller – Wikipedia

Most of Handel’s adult life was spent in London, where he became a naturalized British subject in 1727.

In 1723, Handel was appointed as Composer of Music for King George I of Great Britain’s Chapel Royal. With this new title, he was expected to teach the princesses of the Royal Family; however, the Schism Act 1714 prohibited foreigners officially teaching without a license.

On 13 February 1727, a petition was presented to the House of Lords to grant Handel the status of a British subject, as this was the only method by which he could fully perform all of his duties.  The bill was passed by Parliament and was granted Royal Assent by the King a few days later.

6. Doing what it takes to survive

The Chandos portrait of Georg Friedrich Handel by James Thornhill, 1720 – Wikipedia

During the process of becoming a British subject, Handel was obliged to provide evidence that he had taken the Oath of Supremacy and the Oath of Allegiance, as well as entering into communion with the Church of England.

Handel took the oaths in the presence of the House of Lords, though it was suggested that he accepted just to conform with the law and maintained elements of his Lutheranism while praising the Church of England for affording him protection under which he would not “suffer any molestation or inconvenience on account of his religious principles.”

7. Handel had a short fuse

Francesca Cuzzoni – Wikimedia Commons

Handel was a perfectionist with a terrible temper. He was notorious among other musicians for being demanding and overly strict. Handel threatened to withhold a performer’s wages when he said Verdi Prati in Alcina was not suitable for him to sing.

When the notoriously capricious soprano Francesca Cuzzoni refused to sing the aria “Falsa immagine” from Handel’s Ottone during rehearsal, Handel grabbed her by the waist and swore he would throw her out the window if she didn’t follow his orders.

He even went to the extremes by chastising the Prince and Princess of Wales when they arrived late to a preview of oratorios at Carlton House.

8. To all football lovers,

Champions League – Unsplash

Did you know the Champions League Anthem played at every opportunity during Champions League broadcasts is an adaptation of Handel’s famous works, the anthem, Zadok the Priest?

However, the Champions League Anthem composer, Tony Britten, argues it’s his own original creation the theme is instantly recognizable as Zadok.

9. Handel’s brush with death

Johann Mattheson by Haid – Wikipedia

In 1704 Handel and Johann Mattheson got into a fight during a performance at the Hamburg Opera. The incident occurred, allegedly, because Handel refused to relinquish the conductor’s seat during the premiere of one of Mattheson’s operas, Cleopatra.

During the heated argument, Mattheson suggested that the two take their quarrel outside. And so, right outside the theater, the hot-headed young composers drew their swords and conducted, instead, a duel.

A large metal button on his coat saved Handel from almost certain death at the hands of Mattheson.

10. Music perfectionist, but neglected his health

Antique Lithograph Plate with the portrait of Georg Friedrich Händel – Unsplash

Although Handel lived to 74 he was known to eat and drink too much resulting in him battling health issues throughout his life.

In 1737, at the age of 52, Handel suffered a stroke, which caused both temporary paralysis in his right arm and some loss of his mental capabilities, preventing him from performing. Fortunately, he recovered and was able to perform again.

He also suffered from cataracts and was blinded during a botched surgery to remove them in 1751.