Transcript Handelx

Hallelujah!
The Music of George
Frederic Handel
I. Some Surprising Facts About Handel
A. 1st composer whose music has been performed continuously.
Why? H. actively tried to write music with wide popular appeal.
B. Some works just rehash earlier compositions.
C. “Borrowed” melodies from other composers
D. Musical Values: write music that “sells”; don’t worry about
being original; cover, even steal other people’s work.
D. Musical Values: write music that “sells”; don’t worry about
being original; cover, even steal other people’s work.
Are My Values Universal?
II. Handel’s Biography and Its Influence
Bach’s Travels
Handel’s Travels
Handel = Cosmopolitan
II. Handel’s Cosmopolitan Biography
and Its Influence
A. Halle, Hamburg, and Handel’s German Legacy
1. Born: Halle, 1685
2. 17th, 18th cent. =
development of distinct
national styles
3. German Traits:
Counterpoint, Imitation
4. Dieterich Buxtehude, Organist at Lübeck
?
Buxtehude Fugue Theme
Handel Fugue Theme
II. Handel’s Biography and Its
Influence
A. Halle, Hamburg, and Handel’s German Legacy
B. Italy and the Allure of Opera
1. (1706) meets Corelli,
A. Scarlatti
2. Tuneful, singable melody:
3. Vocal virtuosity:
4. Forms: recitative and
da capo (ABA) aria
e.g. “He Shall Feed
His Flock”
II. Handel’s Biography and Its Influence
A. Halle, Hamburg, and Handel’s German Legacy
B. Italy and the Allure of Opera
C. England
1. French Influences: esp. French Overture (Lully)
operatic curtain raiser in 2 sections
slow or moderate tempo + “pickup note” rhythms
faster section beginning w/ fugue-like imitation
2. The English Choral Tradition
G. F. Handel
II. Handel’s Biography and Its Influence
A. Halle, Hamburg, and Handel’s German Legacy
B. Italy and the Allure of Opera
C. England
1. French Influences
2. The English Choral Tradition
3. From Opera to Oratorio
III. Oratorio
A. Defined: ≅ “unstaged drama on religious subject”
1.
2.
3.
4.
Plot, dialogue, characters, action (like opera)
Not Staged
Adds Choruses to Recitative and Aria
Plots usually Biblical (e.g., “Messaiah”)
B. Late Baroque Recitative and Aria
1. Recitativo secco (semplice)
2. Recitativo accompagnato
3. Aria
C. Why Oratorio?
1. No costumes; scenery
2. English = vernacular + no expensive Italian singers
3. Stories familiar (and not morally suspect)
IV. Bach
vs.
Handel
A. Bach = Learned Intellectual, extraordinary Craftsman
B. Handel = Populist, Showman
V. Handel, the Dramatist in Action:
“The Flocks Shall Leave Their Mountain”
from Acis and Galetea
7.
6.
7.
6.
The flocks shall leave their mountains,
The woods their turtle dove,
The nymphs forsake the fountains
'ere I forsake my love.
Techniques: Walking bass, Imitation Dialogue Duet
Love Duet in Counterpoint with Rage Aria
Torture! Fury! Rage! Despair, I cannot bear!
VI. (With Thanks to Handel)
Three Ways to Think About Music:
A. Wonderful Patterns in Sound
B. Something that Embeds Cultural Values
C. Something that Offers a Unique Experience