Handel organ concertos Op.4
Encyclopedia
Organ concerto
An organ concerto is a piece of music, an instrumental concerto for a pipe organ soloist with an orchestra. The form first evolves in the 18th century, when composers including George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach wrote organ concertos with small orchestras, and with...
s for chamber organ and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
composed by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
between 1735 and 1736 and published in 1738 by the printing company of John Walsh
John Walsh (printer)
John Walsh was an English music publisher of Irish descent, established off the Strand, London, by c. 1690. He was appointed musical instrument-maker-in-ordinary to the king in 1692....
. Written as interludes in performances of oratorios in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, they were the first works of their kind for this combination of instruments and served as a model for later composers.
Origins
John Walsh (printer)
John Walsh was an English music publisher of Irish descent, established off the Strand, London, by c. 1690. He was appointed musical instrument-maker-in-ordinary to the king in 1692....
as the composer's Opus 4. The four concertos HWV 290-293
had been written to be played in the intervals of performances of his oratorios Esther, Deborah and Athalia in March and April 1735 in the newly opened theatre
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
of John Rich
John Rich (producer)
John Rich was an important director and theatre manager in 18th century London. He opened the New Theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields and then the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden and began putting on ever more lavish productions...
in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
; the other two concertos HWV 289 and 294 served the same purpose in February and March of the following year for performances at the same venue of Alexander's Feast
Alexander's Feast (Handel)
Alexander's Feast is an ode with music by George Frideric Handel set to a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton. Hamilton adapted his libretto from John Dryden's ode Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music which had been written to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day...
HWV 75, Handel's setting of Dryden
Dryden
-People:* Dave Dryden, retired Canadian ice hockey goaltender* David Owen Dryden, renowned San Diego builder-architect*Erasmus Dryden * Helen Dryden, American artist and designer* Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Director...
's ode.
The performances of Esther and Deborah were revivals, while Athalia was a reworking for its first London performance of a work first heard in Oxford in the summer of 1733. The violinist Festing
Michael Christian Festing
Michael Christian Festing was an English violinist and composer. His reputation lies mostly on his work as a violin virtuoso.-Biography:...
and the composer Arne
Thomas Augustine Arne
Thomas Augustine Arne was a British composer, best known for the patriotic song Rule, Britannia!. He also wrote a version of God Save the King, which was to become the British national anthem, and the song A-Hunting We Will Go...
reported to the musicologist Charles Burney
Charles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
that Handel had included organ solos in the Oxford performances: he had "opened the organ in such a manner as astonished every hearer" and "neither themselves, nor any one of their acquaintance, had ever before heard such extempore, or such premeditated playing, on that or any other instrument."
Handel's prowess as an organist had already been demonstrated in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1707 in a contest with the composer Domenico Scarlatti
Domenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
, when his playing on the organ was rated higher than Scarlatti's playing on the harpsichord; his reputation as a great organist had already been established during his one year position as cathedral organist in Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
in 1702. Handel's organ concertos thus have a special place in his oeuvre. They paved the way for Mozart and Beethoven, who like Handel achieved fame in their lifetimes as composers and performers of their own concertos.
In the sinfonia
Sinfonia
Sinfonia is the Italian word for symphony. In English it most commonly refers to a 17th- or 18th-century orchestral piece used as an introduction, interlude, or postlude to an opera, oratorio, cantata, or suite...
s of some of his cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s, Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
had already introduced concerto movements for organ and orchestra. However, Bach's organs in both Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
and Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
were large organs with double keyboards and pedals, powerful instruments that could only dominate a baroque orchestra. Bach's organ writing in the sinfonia
Sinfonia
Sinfonia is the Italian word for symphony. In English it most commonly refers to a 17th- or 18th-century orchestral piece used as an introduction, interlude, or postlude to an opera, oratorio, cantata, or suite...
s lacks the complexity of his writing for solo organ; it is in two parts, as if for harpsichord, with the bass line doubling the continuo
Figured bass
Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones, in relation to a bass note...
. The small English chamber organs at Handel's disposal, with a single keyboard and no pedals, produced a softer sound that could be properly integrated with a small orchestra, making possible a unique form of concerto close to chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
.
The precise reasons why Handel introduced this new musical form, the concerto for chamber organ and orchestra, have been discussed in detail by . He concludes that Handel, faced by financial difficulties in mounting Italian opera, exacerbated by a newly established opera company in fierce competition for an audience, decided to showcase himself as a virtuoso composer-performer, thus providing a rival attraction to the celebrated castrato
Castrato
A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...
Farinelli
Farinelli
Farinelli , was the stage name of Carlo Maria Broschi, celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera.- Early years :...
, the glittering star of his competitors.
Handel's chamber organs
The oratorios Esther and Deborah
Deborah (Handel)
Deborah is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. It was one of Handel's very early oratorios and was based on a libretto by Samuel Humphreys. It received its premiere performance at the King's Theatre in London on 17 March 1733....
include elaborate choruses drawn from his earlier Coronation Anthems
Coronation Anthems
The Coronation Anthems are four anthems composed by George Frideric Handel using texts from the King James Bible, to be played at the coronation of the British monarch. They are Zadok the Priest , My Heart Is Inditing , The King Shall Rejoice and Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened...
HWV 258-261. Deborah is scored for two harpsichords and two organs, one for each choir in the double chorus. Two solo arias in Deborah in which the organ doubles a solo transverse flute
Transverse flute
A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows "across" the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length....
suggest organ-stops which could produce a soft timbre. Handel's instruments he used were most likely the single keyboard portable chamber organs with four stops constructed by John Snetzler
John Snetzler
John Snetzler was an organ builder of Swiss origin who worked mostly in England.He was born in Schaffhausen, in 1710 and died in Schaffhausen, 28 September 1785...
, the leading organbuilder in London.
When Handel moved his company from the King's Theatre to the newly built theatre in Covent Garden, in autumn 1734, organs appeared explicitly for the first time in his operas. The danced prologue Terpischore HWV 8b performed there contains sumptuous scoring for alto recorders, violins, violas and pizzicato cellos with the bass and treble lines doubled by organs; Handel marked the score, "Les orgues doucement, e la Teorbe".
In March 1735 the London Daily Post and General Advertiser announced that Handel had decided to incorporate in later performances of Deborah "a large new Organ, which is remarkable for the Variety of Curious Stops, being a new Invention, and a great Improvement of that Instrument." Although the maker of that instrument or its successors remains unknown, the dynamic markings in the detailed organ parts for Alexander's Feast
Alexander's Feast (Handel)
Alexander's Feast is an ode with music by George Frideric Handel set to a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton. Hamilton adapted his libretto from John Dryden's ode Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music which had been written to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day...
suggest a single manual organ with six stops rather than four. Whoever the organbuilder, Handel added a codicil to his will in 1757 bequeathing to John Rich his "Great Organ which stands at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden."
Rivalry between companies
Virtuosity
Virtuosity is a 1995 techno-thriller film directed by Brett Leonard. The movie tells the story of a virtual villain's successful attempt to escape into the "real world". SID 6.7, the villain program portrayed by Russell Crowe, is eventually transplanted into an android body and escapes...
on the musical stage. Handel's Italian opera company had to compete with the full range of spoken drama as well as popular musical entertainment, including English ballad opera
Ballad opera
The term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century and later. There are many types of ballad opera...
s such as the highly successful Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
and the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
s and burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
s produced by John Rich. Between 1732 and 1733 the composer Thomas Arne with his son and John Frederick Lampe
John Frederick Lampe
John Frederick Lampe was a musician.He was born in Saxony, but came to England in 1724 and played the bassoon in opera houses. His wife, Isabella Lampe, was sister-in-law to the composer Thomas Arne with whom Lampe collaborated on a number of concert seasons...
briefly ran an English opera company devoted to full-length operas in the english language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Of these entertainments, Italian opera demanded the highest expenditure and posed the highest risks.
Between 1733 and 1737 these financial difficulties were brought to a head by the establishment of a new rival Italian opera company, the Opera of the Nobility
Opera of the Nobility
The Opera of the Nobility was an opera company set up and funded in 1733 by a group of nobles opposed to George II of England, in order to rival the Second Royal Academy of Music company under Handel .Nicola Porpora was invited to be its musical director and Owen Swiny considered as its talent scout...
, set up ruthlessly to court Handel's potential audience. Formed by members of the disbanded Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, to which Handel had previously belonged, it succeeded in poaching almost all of his principal singers, including the celebrated castrato
Castrato
A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...
Senesino
Senesino
Senesino was a celebrated Italian contralto castrato, particularly remembered today for his long collaboration with the composer George Frideric Handel.-Early life and career:...
and the bass singer Antonio Montagnana
Antonio Montagnana
Antonio Montagnana was an Italian bass of the 18th-century who is best remembered for his association with the composer George Frideric Handel, whose operas Montagnana sang in....
. Whereas Handel's company was supported by the king George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
and his wife, the Opera of the Nobility had the patronage of their son Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
, an open sign of deep-seated disagreements within the royal family.
It was during the second season of rivalry in 1734-1735, when competition between the two companies had become fiercest, that Handel first introduced his organ concertos. By that stage the Opera of the Nobility had assembled a star-studded cast which now additionally included the castrato Farinelli
Farinelli
Farinelli , was the stage name of Carlo Maria Broschi, celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera.- Early years :...
and the soprano Francesca Cuzzoni
Francesca Cuzzoni
Francesca Cuzzoni was an Italian operatic soprano of the Baroque era.-Early career:Cuzzoni was born in Parma. Her father, Angelo, was a professional violinist, and her singing teacher was Francesco Lanzi. She made her debut in her home city in 1714, singing in La virtù coronata, o Il Fernando by...
. Performances of Hasse
Johann Adolph Hasse
Johann Adolph Hasse was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a considerable quantity of sacred music...
's Venetian opera Artaserse
Artaserse
Artaserse is the name of a number of Italian operas, all based on a text by Metastasio. Artaserse is the Italian form of the name of a Persian king, Artaxerxes....
played to packed houses and Farinelli became the toast of the town. Later in the season they even revived one of Handel's own operas Ottone
Ottone
Ottone, re di Germania is an opera by George Frideric Handel, to an Italian–language libretto adapted by Nicola Francesco Haym from the libretto by Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino for Antonio Lotti's opera Teofane. It was the first new opera written for the Royal Academy of Music 's fourth season...
, albeit in a heavily bowdlerised
Thomas Bowdler
Thomas Bowdler was an English physician who published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's work, edited by his sister Harriet, intended to be more appropriate for 19th century women and children than the original....
form, again with Farinelli as a guaranteed audience drawer. Artaserse and other operas including Porpora's new opera Polifemo, a precursor of Handel's pastoral masque Acis and Galatea, vied for the audience of Handel's three new works – the operas Ariodante
Ariodante
Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso...
and Alcina
Alcina
Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy...
, part of the trilogy based on Ariosto's romantic epic Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...
, and the oratorio Athalia.
Residency at Covent Garden
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
after the 1733-1734 season, because of a lack of support from former directors of the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. In July 1734 his company took up residency in the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, opened two years previously by John Rich
John Rich (producer)
John Rich was an important director and theatre manager in 18th century London. He opened the New Theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields and then the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden and began putting on ever more lavish productions...
. Handel was engaged to give two performances every week, usually on Wednesday and Saturday, during the season. During the first season 1734-1735 there were three important features of the company's artistic activities:
- a commitment to perform only music by Handel to satisfy his supporters rather than the fickle public who demanded pasticciPasticcioIn music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the...
of the latest Italian composers; - full use of the resident chorus and dance company in Covent Garden, including the dancer Marie SalléMarie SalléMarie Sallé was a French dancer and choreographer known for her expressive, dramatic performances rather than a series of "leaps and frolics" typical of ballet of her time...
from the Paris OperaParis OperaThe Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
; - an extended 6 week season of biblical oratorios building on the success of previous seasons.
All performances of the first season were advertised in the local newspapers as "By His Majesty's Command" or "By Her Majesty's Command" when the King was absent. The King and Queen attended a large number of performances, essentially snubbing the Opera of the Nobility supported by their son. In November and December 1734, Handel presented various opera revivals and a newly composed opera-ballet
Terpsichore. However the combination of dance and opera seria
Opera seria
Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...
was not sufficient to attract the opera going public. In January 1735 Ariodante
Ariodante
Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso...
opened, but, despite the quality of the music and a visible royal presence, was no more successful. It was in March that Handel started his first oratorio season, featuring the organ concertos HWV 290-293. The timing of the performances avoided conflicts with events in other London theatres and the local papers advertised the "new Concertos on the Organ." In spite of this his general popularity at that particular time was in such a state of decline, that even his organ concertos were "far from bringing him crowded audiences: tho' there were no publick Entertainments on those Evenings."
Handel fared better with his new opera Alcina
Alcina
Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy...
which had an extended run, again with royal approval and attendance. There was, however, public disapproval of Marie Sallé's performance en travesti
En travesti
Travesti is a theatrical term referring to the portrayal of a character in an opera, play, or ballet by a performer of the opposite sex. Some sources regard 'travesti' as an Italian term, some as French. Depending on sources, the term may be given as travesty, travesti, or en travesti...
as Cupid
Cupid
In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is the son of the goddess Venus and the god Mars. His Greek counterpart is Eros...
in the ballet sections.
The Farinelli phenomenon
Handel had unsuccessfully attempted to hire Farinelli for his own company during a visit to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1729, so impressed was he by his brilliant castrato voice. In London Farinelli continued to pull the crowds to the Opera of the Nobility, despite Handel's insertions in his operas of dance interludes by Marie Sallé
Marie Sallé
Marie Sallé was a French dancer and choreographer known for her expressive, dramatic performances rather than a series of "leaps and frolics" typical of ballet of her time...
, the leader of the resident dance troupe at Covent Garden.
In early 1735 the first performances of Ariodante
Ariodante
Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso...
took place. The sequel Alcina
Alcina
Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy...
was completed soon afterwards. At the same time Handel was preparing revised versions of his oratorios Esther and Athalia. During this period Handel prepared the 16 movements of the four organ concertos HWV 290-293, of which 10 are reworkings of previous compositions with the remaining 6 largely newly composed. HWV 292, completed in March 1735, contains the most new material, although even there the ritornello
Ritornello
A ritornello is a recurring passage in Baroque music for orchestra or chorus. The first or final movement of a solo concerto or aria may be in "ritornello form", in which the ritornello is the opening theme, always played by tutti, which returns in whole or in part and in different keys throughout...
of the first movement is a borrowing from Act 1 of Alcina. It featured in the April performances of Athalia at Covent Garden. The other concertos were first heard in March, HWV 290 and 291 in Esther and HWV 293 in Deborah
Deborah (Handel)
Deborah is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. It was one of Handel's very early oratorios and was based on a libretto by Samuel Humphreys. It received its premiere performance at the King's Theatre in London on 17 March 1733....
.
Alexander's Feast
Alexander's Feast (Handel)
Alexander's Feast is an ode with music by George Frideric Handel set to a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton. Hamilton adapted his libretto from John Dryden's ode Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music which had been written to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day...
in January 1736. A choral work in two parts, it was a setting of the ode
Ode
Ode is a type of lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Different forms such as the homostrophic ode and the irregular ode also exist...
Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Musick
Alexander's Feast (Dryden)
Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music is an ode by John Dryden. It was written to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day. Jeremiah Clarke set the original ode to music, however the score is now lost....
by John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
. It was first performed at Covent Garden on 19 February 1736 as a celebration of Saint Cecilia
Saint Cecilia
Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians and Church music because as she was dying she sang to God. It is also written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord". St. Cecilia was an only child. Her feast day is celebrated in the Roman Catholic, Anglican,...
, the patron saint of Music. In its original form it contained three concertos: a concerto in B flat major in 3 movements for "Harp, Lute, Lyrichord and other Instruments" HWV 294 for performance after the recitative Timotheus, plac'd on high in Part I; a concerto grosso in C major in 4 movements for oboes, bassoon and strings, now known as the "Concerto in Alexander's Feast" HWV 318, performed between Parts I and II; and an organ concerto HWV 289 in G minor and major in 4 movements for chamber organ, oboes, bassoon and strings performed after the chorus Let old Timotheus yield the prize in Part II. There were 11 performances of the work in its first form: five in February and March 1736; and in 1737, 3 in March, 1 in early April and 2 in June. In April Handel suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, or rheumatic palsy, resulting in temporary paralysis in his right hand and arm. After brief signs of a recovery, he had a relapse in May, with an accompanying deterioration in his mental capacities. In Autumn 1737 the fatigued Handel reluctantly followed the advice of his physicians and went to take the cure in the spa town
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
of Aix-la-Chapelle. All the symptoms of his "disorder" soon vanished, although there were to be recurrences of the condition in 1743 and 1745.
Alexander's Feast was performed 25 times in Handel's lifetime and was printed in 1738 by John Walsh
John Walsh (printer)
John Walsh was an English music publisher of Irish descent, established off the Strand, London, by c. 1690. He was appointed musical instrument-maker-in-ordinary to the king in 1692....
. It was subsequently revised in 1739, 1742 and 1751, with the suppression of the two concertos Op.4. For the final performances in 1753, Handel could not himself perform because of his failing eyesight
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
. The Countess of Shaftesbury relates that she saw "the great though unhappy Handel, dejected, wan and dark, sitting by, not playing the harpsichord."
Movements
| HWV | Number | Key | Composed | Premiere | Published | Movements | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 289 | Op.4 No.1 | G minor / G major | 1735-36 | 19 February 1736 | 1738 | Larghetto, e staccato - Allegro -Adagio - Andante | First performed with "Alexander's Feast" (HWV 75) |
| 290 | Op.4 No.2 | B flat major | 1735 | 5 March 1735 | 1738 | A tempo ordinario, e staccato - Allegro - Adagio, e staccato - Allegro, ma non presto | First performed with the oratorio "Esther" (HWV 50b) |
| 291 | Op.4 No.3 | G minor | 1735 | 5 March 1735 | 1738 | Adagio - Allegro - Adagio -Allegro | Variant versions of last movement. First performed with the oratorio "Esther" (HWV 50b) |
| 292 | Op.4 No.4 | F major | 25 March 1735 | 1 April 1735 | 1738 | Allegro - Andante - Adagio - Allegro | Originally concluded with 'Alleluja' chorus (HG 20, p. 161), short instrumental ending probably written by Handel for Walsh publication. First performed with "Athalia" (HWV 52) |
| 293 | Op.4 No.5 | F major | 1735 | 26 March 1735 | 1738 | Larghetto - Allegro - Alla Siciliana - Presto | Performed with revival of "Deborah" (HWV 51). |
| 294 | Op.4 No.6 | B flat major | 1736 | 19 February 1736 | 1738 | Andante allegro - Larghetto -Allegro moderato | First performed with "Alexander's Feast" (HWV 35). Originally composed for the harp, but later arranged for the organ |
Self-borrowings
- HWV 289: The last movement is a minuet and variations expanded from the Trio Sonata in F, Op.5, No.6
- HWV 290: The first movement is an expanded version of the symphonia from the Motet Silete Venti for soprano. The first allegro uses material from the Trio Sonata Op.2, No.4.
- HWV 291: This uses material from the Trio Sonata Op.2, No.6, the Recorder Sonata Op.1, No.2 and an early oboe concerto. The introductory bars of the first movement use material from the Concerto Grosso Op.3, No.3.
- HWV 292: A large part of the first movement is derived from the introduction to the second version of the chorus Questo è in cielo from Act I of AlcinaAlcinaAlcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy...
- HWV 293: This is a close transcription of the Recorder Sonata Op.1, No.1
- HWV 294: This has no borrowings.
Characteristics
Concertos for biblical oratorios (1735)
- HWV 290 This concerto in B flat recalls the style of Handel's first compositions in England. However, despite the seemingly conventional semiquaver figurations for organ, Handel's maturity and inventiveness are apparent in the unexpected rhythmic subtleties and suspensions of the ritornellos. As Basil Lam has commented, these are the musical counterpart of the unexpected overrunning of the beat in the couplets of the poet John DrydenJohn DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
, Handel's contemporary. Similarities did not end there: both reacted similarly to criticism. Handel is quoted as saying at Vauxhall GardensVauxhall GardensVauxhall Gardens was a pleasure garden, one of the leading venues for public entertainment in London, England from the mid 17th century to the mid 19th century. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, the site was believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660 with the first mention being...
, "You are right sir, it is very poor stuff; I thought so when I wrote it"; while Dryden remarked of some of his lines from a play, "I knew they were bad enough to please, even when I wrote them." - HWV 291 The solo violin and violoncello parts in the first movement are partly adaptations of the solo parts in the original trio sonata on which this concerto in G minor is based.
- HWV 292 This concerto in F is essentially in three movements, like Bach's concertos for solo instruments: the short adagio in D minor serves as a link between the second movement and the fugal finale. The andante is delicately scored for pianissimo strings senza cembalo (without harpsichord) with three stops on the organ – open diapason, stopped diapason and flute – another indication that these concertos were intimate chamber works.
- HWV 293 This is a faithful transcription of the recorder sonata, Op. 1, No. 11, very reminiscent of the style of Arcangelo CorelliArcangelo CorelliArcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer of Baroque music.-Biography:Corelli was born at Fusignano, in the current-day province of Ravenna, although at the time it was in the province of Ferrara. Little is known about his early life...
.
Concertos for 'Alexander's Feast' (1736)
- HWV 289 This concerto in G minor and major is a chamber work of "flawless lucidity and grace". The opening stately larghetto in G minor has two different ritornello themes for organ and strings marked forteForteForte/Forté may refer to:*Forte, but often ;. A person's strong point e.g. Preparing gourmet cuisine is his forte. The term is derived from the French fort meaning strength, which does not include an acute accent. The latter pronunciation is likely due to a confusion as a false cognate with the...
, with ornamented pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
responses from the organ, like the solo voice in an operatic aria. Its unconventional free form and solemn mood are forward looking, with elements that prefigure the slow movements of Beethoven's piano concertos. The following allegro in G major has brilliant virtuosic semiquaver passages for the organ, punctuated by orchestral tuttis, each reprise of the three part imitative ritornello offering an unexpected surprise. A short adagio in E minor leads into a delicately scored minuetMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
in G major with two variations. The echo responses of the upper strings are marked piano or pianissimo and the organ is sometimes accompanied only by a continuo.
- HWV 294 This concerto in B flat major was originally written for the Welsh harpist William Powell for performance in Alexander's FeastAlexander's Feast (Handel)Alexander's Feast is an ode with music by George Frideric Handel set to a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton. Hamilton adapted his libretto from John Dryden's ode Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music which had been written to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day...
. In three movements, it reflects Handel's early style. It is scored for harp and/or organ, strings and two alto recorders.
Editions
The concertos were first published in 1738 by John WalshJohn Walsh (printer)
John Walsh was an English music publisher of Irish descent, established off the Strand, London, by c. 1690. He was appointed musical instrument-maker-in-ordinary to the king in 1692....
for solo keyboard, the solo part combined with a simplified reduction of the orchestral accompaniment. In the nineteenth century, W.T. Best, the Victorian Handelian champion and frequent performer at Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
, popularized a version for large solo two manual organ with pedals, with his own lengthy romantic candenzas. Subsequent scholarship and performance practice, however, has favoured the original intimate scoring for chamber organ and small baroque orchestra. In the 1940s the blind organist Helmut Walcha
Helmut Walcha
Helmut Walcha was a blind German organist who specialized in the works of the Dutch and German baroque masters and is known for his recordings of the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Biography :Born in Leipzig, Walcha was blinded at age 19 after vaccination for smallpox...
prepared a version for organ and second keyboard giving one possible ornamentation and extemporisitation of the organ part in the slow movements. Modern performing editions of Walsh's 1738 solo keyboard version and the original scoring for organ and orchestra have been prepared by the musicologists William Gudger and Terence Best.
Discography
- Handel Organ Concertos Op.4, Academy of Ancient MusicAcademy of Ancient MusicThe Academy of Ancient Music is a period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after a previous organisation of the same name of the 18th century. The musicians play on either original instruments or modern copies of...
, Richard EgarrRichard EgarrRichard Egarr is a British keyboard performer and conductor. He received his musical training as a choirboy at York Minster, at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, and as organ scholar at Clare College, Cambridge...
(organ), Harmonia MundiHarmonia MundiHarmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
, HMU 807446, 2008. (MidemMidem-MIDEM:Short for Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale, MIDEM is the world's largest music industry trade fair, which has been held annually at and around the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, since 1967...
awards winner, concerto section, 2008.)
External links
- Reconstruction of Handel's chamber organ, now housed in St George's, Hanover Square, the church attended by Handel
- Official website of Handel House MuseumHandel House MuseumThe Handel House Museum is a museum in Mayfair, London dedicated to the life and works of the German born baroque composer George Frideric Handel, who made his home in London in 1712 and eventually became a British citizen in 1727. Handel was the first occupant of 25 Brook Street, which he rented...
on Brook StreetBrook StreetBrook Street is one of the principal streets on the Grosvenor Estate in the exclusive central London district of Mayfair. It was developed in the first half of the 18th century and runs from Hanover Square to Grosvenor Square. The continuation from Grosvenor Square to Park Lane is called Upper...
in MayfairMayfairMayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - Open source scores at IMSLP
- Audio recordings with Matthew Halls (organ), Ensemble Sonnerie, dir. Monica HuggettMonica HuggettMonica Huggett is a British conductor and leading baroque violinist.-Biography:At the age of 16, Huggett started studying at the Royal Academy of Music, London, with Manoug Parikian and Kato Havas, baroque violin with Sigiswald Kuijken.She co-founded and served as leader of the Amsterdam Baroque...
: HWV 289/1, HWV 289/2-4, HWV 290, HWV 291, HWV 292/1-2, HWV 292/3-4, HWV 293, HWV 294/1, HWV 294/2-3 - Audio recordings with Richard EgarrRichard EgarrRichard Egarr is a British keyboard performer and conductor. He received his musical training as a choirboy at York Minster, at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, and as organ scholar at Clare College, Cambridge...
and the Academy of Ancient MusicAcademy of Ancient MusicThe Academy of Ancient Music is a period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after a previous organisation of the same name of the 18th century. The musicians play on either original instruments or modern copies of...
: HWV 289/1, HWV 289/2, HWV 289/3, HWV 289/4 - Illustrated talk on performance practice in Handel organ concertos Opp.4 and 7 by Richard EgarrRichard EgarrRichard Egarr is a British keyboard performer and conductor. He received his musical training as a choirboy at York Minster, at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, and as organ scholar at Clare College, Cambridge...
, English Reformed Church, AmsterdamEnglish Reformed Church, AmsterdamThe English Reformed Church is one of the oldest buildings in Amsterdam, situated in the centre of the city. It is home to an English-speaking congregation which is affiliated to the Church of Scotland and to the Protestant Church in the Netherlands...