George F. Handel was born on February 23, 1685, in Halle, Germany. He composed around 612 known works, including chamber orchestra, arias, organ concertos, cantatas, oratorios and operas. He composed about 46 operas, the most famous of which being Acis and Galatea. The work was just recomissioned and taken up by choreographer Mark Morris. By far his most famous music piece however, was Hallelujah, still around in todays world. He is one of the most influential composers, being tutored by one of the most renowned pianists in the realm. However, he didn't come from the most auspicious beginnings. Handel's parents forbid him to learn music, in pursuit of a different vocation. His father was a barber-surgeon, and when he saw that his child …show more content…
However, he seemed unsatisfied with law, and in a year he earned an appointment for a year as an organist at a cathedral, already a evangelical reformed church. He didn't seem to like this position, and in 1703 acceped a position as a violinist and harpsichordist in an orchestra, Oper am Gansemarkt to be precise. He met Johann Mattheson, Christoph Graupner, and Reinhard Keiser. His first 2 operas, Almira and Nero, were produced in 1705. He made 2 more, Daphne, and Florindo in 1708. No one knows if Handel directed these operas or not. Handel traveled to Italy in 1706, following the invitaiton of Gian Gastone de' Medici. He was very interested in opera. There in Italy he met the opera script writer, (otherwise known as a 'librettist') Antonio Salvii, who he later worked with. Handel went to Rome, and since opera was banned in Rome, he composed religious music for the Roman clergy. His famous song Dixit Dominus was from this time. He also made cantatas in pastoral style for musical gatherings in the home of cardinals Pietro Ottoboni, Benedetto Pamphili and Carlo Colonna. Two oratorios, La ressurezione and Il trionfo del tempo, were produced for Ruspoli and Ottoboni. A fun fact about Handel, he actually was born in the same year as Bach, and lived about 50 miles away from him, and somehow they never met. Weird isn't
Gustav Holst (1874-1934) was an English composer well known for his orchestral suite The Planets. Holst began his trip into the musical world as a young pianist. His father, Adolph Holst, was a skilled pianist who wanted Gustav to succeed at playing as he did. Gustav, however, was impaired by neuritis making it difficult to play for long hours. As Gustav aged he began trying to compose music instead. Gustav failed to gain scholarships to any colleges and his father, after hearing one of Gustav’s small town operettas, borrowed money to pay for his college. Gustav’s influences were pieces such as Wagner’s Götterdämmerung and Tristan and Isolode as well as Bach’s Mass in B Minor in his younger years. He began playing trombone when his neuritis became unbearable.
Boynick, Matt. "Georg Friedric Handel." Classical Music Pages. 1 Feb. 1996. 13 July 2005 .
Edward Benjamin Britten is an iconic figure of 20th-century British classical music. His works range from orchestral and chamber compositions, to full operas and other vocal music. Born November 22, 1913 in Suffolk, England, Britten displayed his musical gift at an early age. He was born on the feast day of Saint Cecilia, who, ironically, is the patron saint of music. He was born to Robert Victor Britten, who was a dentist, and his wife Edith Rhoda, her was a secretary and an amateur musician. Music inevitably helped the Britten family maintain their social status, as well as bring them closer together as a family. Edith Britten would often invite the community to the house for mini concerts.
Beethoven’s early life was one out of a sad story book. For being one of the most well-known musicians one would think that sometime during Beethovens childhood he was influenced and inspired to play music; This was not the case. His father was indeed a musician but he was more interested in drinking than he was playing music. When his father saw the smallest sliver of music interest in Beethoven he immediately put him into vigorous musical training in hopes he would be the next Mozart; his training included organ, viola, and piano. This tainted how young Beethoven saw music and the memories that music brought. Nevertheless Beethoven continued to do what he knew and by thirteen he was composing his own music and assisting his teacher, Christian Neefe. Connections began to form during this time with different aristocrats and families who stuck with him and became lifelong friends. At 17 Beethoven, with the help of his friends, traveled to Vienna, the music capitol of the world, to further his knowledge and connection...
Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most famous German composers of his time. All of his work was mostly during the baroque era. The baroque period was from 1600 to 1750 and it is known to be one of the most diverse musical periods as opposed to the other classical music eras. It was in this era that “included composer like Bach, Vivaldi and Handel, who pioneered new styles like the concerto and the sonata.”(Classic FM) Johann Sebastian was born in the midst of the Baroque era as he was born on March 31, 1685 in Thuringia, Germany. Johann came from a family of musicians, which is how he himself became one as well. It was his father who showed him how to play his first instrument, which was the violin. His father was also a well-known musician in his town as he “worked as the town musician in Eisenach.”(Johann Sebastian Bach) It is known that Johann Sebastian went to a school that taught him
George Frideric Handel was born February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany, being born the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach. His father was 73 years old at the time of his birth. George, at a young age, had a passion for music, but his father wanted him to pursue a career in civil law. George’s father believed that music would not provide a real source of income and he would not even allow his son to own an instrument. Although his father objected, George’s mother, Dorothy, supported his love for music and encouraged him to practice. With the help of his mother, he would practice secretly to develop his skill and talent. When George was seven, he had the opportunity to play the organ for a duke’s court and there was where he met Freidrich Zachow,
Gustav Mahler was born in 1860 in the small town of Kalischt, Bohemia. He was a late romantic-era composer. He was one of the leading conductors of his generation. Mahler was a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century. In 1897 he was the director of the Vienna Court Opera. He stayed in Vienna for 10 years, but during that time he got a lot of opposition from the Anti- Semitic Press. His awesome productions and high production standards gave him the name of Greatest of Opera Conductors. Composing was only his part time job as living as a conductor was his full time. Most of his pieces are for large orchestra forces, symphonic choruses, and operatic soloists.
Handel became a proficient composer of oratorio in part to his early success in composing opera. To elaborate on the histological influences on Handel, his career and education path must be noted. Born in Halle, Germany in 1685, Handel began his career in music as an organist, studying under Friedrich Zachow, one of the most renowned organists of his time. In 1702, he began attending the University of Halle while taking on the position as Organist at Calvinist church, Domkirche. After only a year, he tired of this and decided to travel to Hamburg to study opera. To support this endeavor, while in Hamburg, he played in orchestras as a harpsich...
In summary, Handel was one of the greatest composers to ever live. Although George Frederic Handel was mostly known for his oratorio The Messiah, he is also one of the paramount composers of the baroque era. Even though his father wanted him to become a lawyer, Handel never gave up his dream of becoming a world class musician. His creativeness and speed is unmatched even today. The operas and oratorios Handel created are still some of the greatest ever made. His contrasting textures and beautiful melodies make his music some of the most technical and beautiful music ever created.
Heinrich Schütz’s musical talents have been unveiled at a young age, and developed into an extensive musical career. Arbor (1990, par.2) states (Arbor 1990) that, “At the age of four his musical talent attracted the attention of Landgrave Moritz of Hessen-Kassel, who persuaded Schütz’s parents to send him to his court for further education in music and art.” After carrying on as a choirboy, he moved on to study law at the University of Madbury before his studies with Giovanni Gabrieli in Venice from 1609 to 1613. Two years later, after his brief duty as an organist at Kassel, he moved to Dresden to work as a composer at the electoral court of Saxony. There, his duty was to provide music for court ceremonies that were major, and supervise the choirboys’ musical education. Walker (1992, 1253) states that, “Everyone knew Schütz was a respected teacher whose students included such important musicians such as Christopher Bernhard, Matthias W...
George Frideric Handel was born musically inclined. As a child he was deprived of musical instruments because his father wanted him to pursue the law profession. However, George was allowed to take music lessons from a local organist, by the name of Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau, after Handel had impressed the Duke when he played the organ at the chapel. In his following years, Handel would travel to many places, accepting many different musical occupations. As Handel traveled, he was introduced to many of his musical influences. He wrote operas, oratorios, anthems, secular cantatas, and also wrote scarred music. Throughout his life, Handel would become famous for his compositions, particularly for his English Oratorios, however the most popular ones today include: “Messiah”, “The Water Music”, and “Royal Fireworks.”
German-English composer, George Frederick Handel, is one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period if not of all time. His work, Messiah, is one of the most famous and beloved works of music in the world. During his career in music, Handel composed Italian cantatas, oratorios (like Messiah), Latin Church Music, and several operas. Handel moved around from country to country writing, composing, and producing music for royalty such as Queen Anne and George of Hanover. In his life, Handel mastered several instruments including the violin and the harpsichord.
Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a family of musicians. It was only natural for him to pick up an instrument and excel in it. His father taught him how to play the violin and harpsichord at a very young age. All of Bach’s uncles were professional musicians, one of them; Johann Christoph Bach introduced him to the organ. Bach hit a turning point in his life when both of his parents died at the age of ten years old. Bach’s older brother Johann Christoph Bach took him in and immediately expanded his knowledge in the world of music. He taught him how to play the clavichord and exposed him to great composers at the time. At the age of fourteen, Bach and his good friend George Erdmann were awarded a choral scholarship to the prestigious musical school St. Michael’s in Luneburg. From then on, Bach began to build his career in the music industry. His first two years at the school he sang in the school’s a cappella choir. Historical evidence has shown that Bach at a young age would visit Johanniskirche and would listen to the works of organ player Jasper Johannsen. This was thought to have been the inspiration to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Studying at the prestigious musical school has help Bach network his way around and become acquaintances’ with some of the best organ players at the time such as Georg Böhm, and Johann Adam Reincken. Through his acquaintance with Böhm and Reincken Bach had access to some of the greatest and finest instruments.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a composer, a musician, teacher, and organist who later became a specialist in construction of organs. Bach learnt to play the violin, the orchestra, and the organ from his father and his famous uncle and twin brother to the father, Johann Christoph at a young age. The organ was his chosen instrument. He also achieved success in the art of Fugue, choral polyphone, instrumental music and dance forms. In Eisenach he attended Old Latin Grammar School, the same school that Martin Luther had attended. He sang in the schools choir. His parents died before Bach was 10 years old. His mother died when Bach was nine years old, his father’s death followed nine months later (Sherrane, 2011). After the parents death Bach was taken in by his older brother Johann Christoph who had already established himself as an organist in Ohrdruf. Johann Christoph had a great influence in Bach’s success in music as he taught him and encouraged him to study music composition. At the same time Bach was attending the Gymnasium grammar school in Ohrdruf where he studied theology, Latin...
Antonio Vivaldi was born march 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy, Vivaldi was ordained as a priest though he instead chose to follow his passion for music. He created hundreds of works, and became renowned for his concertos in baroque style, becoming a highly influence innovator in form and pattern. He was known for his operas, including Argippo and Bajazet. He died on July 18,1741.