George Frideric Handel (Dover Books on Music)

George Frideric Handel (Dover Books on Music)

<div><div><P>"I was so impressed by what Dr. Lang has done in his new and very fresh approach to Handel, his life and works, that I can find only one word to express my feeling about it: Monumental!" — Eugene Ormandy.<BR>Universally known and admired for his great oratorio <I>Messiah,</I> George Frideric Handel (1695–1759) ranks among the greatest composers of all time. Over a career of more than 50 years, most of it spent in England, the German-born master composed numerous other oratorios, operas, concertos, chamber music, orchestral suites, cantatas, and more. But until now, far less has been known about the man "possessed of a central calm" but whose "driving force was incalculable."<BR>In this immensely thorough and readable biography — considered by many scholars the definitive work on Handel — renowned musicologist Paul Henry Lang penetrates the mystery of Handel's life to paint a vivid portrait of the great composer, while offering expert analysis of Handel's music — its sources, nature, forms, and influence.<BR>Detailed, meticulously researched discussions cover Handel's birth and childhood in Halle; his early musical training and years at university; sojourns in Italy and meetings with Corelli, Scarlatti, and other major composers; Handel's adoption of England as his home; his business dealings in London; his somewhat puzzling relations with women; the onset of blindness in 1751 and the end of his artistic career; his death in 1759 and burial in Westminster Abbey; and many other aspects of his long and complex life.<BR>In addition to the breadth of biographical material, Dr. Lang offers detailed discussions of Handel's music, of both its general characteristics and the specific features of such masterworks as the oratorios <I>Messiah, Israel in Egypt, Solomon </I>and<I> Judas Maccabaeus</I>; the operas <I>Giulio Cesare </I>and<I> Rinaldo</I>; the orchestral suites <I>Royal Fireworks Music </I>and<I> Water Music</I>;<I></I>the pastoral <I>Acis and Galatea</I>; the odes <I>Alexander's Feast </I>and<I> Ode for St. Cecilia's Day</I>; and many other compositions. Perceptive, extremely thorough and obviously a labor of love, this masterly biography belongs in the library of every musician, music lover, and student of music and music history.<BR><BR></P></div></div><P></P>