posted 4 July 2008

Handel's Inheritance
   Available February-March 2009

Iconic composers are not born great; they are the synthesis of everything they have heard, learned, and experienced and their music is a reflection of their world as they knew it. Thus it was for George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), a composer best known for the Italian Operas (Giulio Cesare, Rodelinda, Rinaldo, Alcina, etc…) and English Oratorios (Messiah, Hercules, Solomon, Judas Maccabaeus, Semele, etc…) that comprised the bulk of his mature output. But what about young Handel? What music would have been playing in the courts and chapels of his youth? What about the music of his teachers? What innovations did Handel borrow, and what new musical ideas did he unleash upon the world?

Join us for Handel's Inheritance, a musical journey through the formative years of this giant of the Baroque period. Starting in Halle, Germany, we trace his travels through Italy and into England, savoring the cosmopolitan blending of French, Italian, and Germanic styles so popular in Europe at the time. Hear the music of Handel’s youth, from chapel, chamber, and stage, as these influences blend into the unmistakable sound of the mature master. Through the compositions of Corelli, Keiser, Schelle, J.P. Krieger, Zachow, Steffani, Handel himself, and others, experience the sonic tapestry of the world in which this young composer became the man we now celebrate.

Concert offerings:

Handel's Inheritance is available in two lengths to suit a variety of settings: as a sixty minute long concert with no intermission, or as a ninety minute long concert with one intermission.

This program features a variety of musical styles and textures, including:

Corelli’s virtuosic violin sonata in C Major, Op. 5 #3

Florid solo vocal works by Stradella and Handel

J.P. Krieger’s gorgeous song An die Einsamkeit and Handel’s achingly beautiful Lascia ch’io pianga from Rinaldo

Instrumental music from Keiser’s opera Claudius

Mattheson’s harpsichord suite in Bb Major

Vocal duets by Schelle and Handel, including the Italian cantatas on which Handel modeled some of Messiah’s most popular choruses