90. Classical Music: 5. George Frideric Handel, ACJ Music Academy

 

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This week's lecture is “George Frideric Handel”, the 5th topic of “Classical Music”, which is a summary of the contents of “90. Classical Music: 5. George Frideric Handel” introduced on June 3rd, 2017.

George Frideric Handel was a German-born composer who was born on February 23, 1685 and died on April 14, 1759. Along with Johann Sebastian Bach, he is a composer representing the Baroque era. 

Handel, Balthasar Denner (1733)

Educated in music in his hometown Halle, Handel worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy, and then settled in London in 1712, where he spent most of his career and naturalized to England in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. 

Having achieved success with the oratorio “Messiah”, Handel no longer composed Italian operas. His works, "Water Music" and "Music for the Royal Fireworks" are steadfastly gaining popularity. 

The Great Music Hall in Fishamble Street,
Dublin, where Messiah was first performed

The “Water Music” is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites. It was composed at the request of King George I of England for a concert on the River Thames and premiered on July 17, 1717. 

Handel (left) and King George I on the River Thames,
17 July 1717, Edouard Hamman

“Music for the Royal Fireworks” is a suite for wind instruments composed by Handel at the request of George II of England for the fireworks scheduled to be held at Green Park in London on April 27, 1749. 

Green Park, London

Unlike other musicians, Handel, who is optimistic and free-minded, has accumulated a lot of wealth because of his entrepreneurial skills, but he has lived a life of twists and turns, with repeated failures. Almost blind, he died in 1759, and his funeral was held at Westminster Abbey.

Handel's monument, Westminster Abbey

Handel composed more than forty operas for over thirty years. Since the late 1960s, interest in Handel's music has grown, and his music exerted a strong influence on Classical-era composers, including Mozart and Beethoven.

A carved marble statue of Handel,
Louis-François Roubiliac,
Victoria and Albert Museum, London (1738)

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The Stories about Music Films: 15. Farinelli (1994)

Basic Info

Title: Farinelli

Genre: Drama

Country: Italy, Belgium, France

Language: Italian, French

Running time: 111 minutes

Release date: 7 December 1994 (France), 16 March 1995 (Italy)

Staff

Director: Gérard Corbiau

Producer: Véra Belmont

Written by: Marcel Beaulieu, Andrée Corbiau, Gérard Corbiau

Music: Johann Adolf Hasse, Nicola Porpora

Cinematography: Walther van den Ende

Edited by: Joëlle Hache

Cast

Stefano Dionisi as Carlo Maria Broschi

Enrico Lo Verso as Riccardo Broschi

Elsa Zylberstein as Alexandra

Jeroen Krabbé as George Frideric Handel

Caroline Cellier as Margaret Hunter

Renaud du Peloux de Saint Romain as Benedict

Omero Antonutti as Nicola Porpora

Marianne Basler as Comtesse Mauer

Pier Paolo Capponi as Broschi (Father)

Graham Valentine as Prince of Wales

Jacques Boudet as Philip V

Summary

Farinelli is a 1994 biographical drama film directed by Gérard Corbiau and starred by Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, Elsa Zylberstein and Jeroen Krabbé. The film focuses on the life and musical career of the 18th-century Italian opera singer Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli, who is considered the greatest castrato singer of all time, as well as his relationship with his brother and composer Riccardo Broschi.

Plot

The film begins with a recollection of the childhood of the famous castrato Farinelli, Carlo Broschi, as a singer in the church choir. A newly castrated boy runs and warns Carlo that his voice will lead to death, and then commits suicide. Carlo is hurt and refuses to sing a song written by his older brother Riccardo for his voice teacher, Nicola Porpora. 

After that, Carlo becomes famous and receives a letter from Handel saying he wants to hear Carlo sing in Dresden. A long time ago, while Handel was riding in his carriage, he accidentally heard Farinelli sing, and he asked Carlo to come to England to perform, but his older brother, Riccardo, asked Handel to accompany himself. Handel laughed at Ricardo and left after insulting Carlo.

In Dresden, Handel meets Carlo shortly before the stage's curtain rises and tells him that the King of England wants to hear his song. Unnerved by Handel's request, Carlo faints on stage and waits for him in vain after Handel leaves.

Carlo is soon invited to London by the young Alexandra Lerris. Handel's Covent Garden opera house was run by Carlo's old vocal teacher Porpora, and is bankrupting the nearby Opera of the Nobility. 

Carlo begins to realize that Riccardo's highly decorative compositions lack true artistry. He covets Handel's operas and tries to impress him. Alexandra, who is in love with Carlo, steals some of Handel's music for Carlo's performance. The relationship between the two brothers deteriorates. 

Handel visits Riccardo's house to find his stolen music and confronts him and hinders the relationship between the two brothers. Beguiled by Handel, Riccardo reveals that Carlo was a great singer as a child and when his father died, he illegally castrated him after taking drugs to Carlo, fearing that he lose his brother's voice.

That evening, Handel meets Farinelli in the backstage. He tells Farinelli the secret of his castration and allows him to sing the stolen music. Shocked and heartbroken, Carlo sings Handel's Aria “Lascia ch'io pianga” very beautifully, and Handel faints.

Movie Review

“The Greatest Singer Of All Time: A Haunting Romantic Film”

“A truly excellent historical reconstruction, and a brilliant film!”

“Beautiful”

“Very well done and worth watching”

“A wonderful rendition of 18th century European art life”

“A piece of Art”

Interesting stories about the film

1. Farinelli's singing voice in the film was made by mixing the voices of male and female singers. The male voice was an American countertenor Derek Lee Ragin, and the female voice was from a Polish coloratura soprano Ewa Malas-Godlewska.

2. This film was the official entry of Belgium to the Best Foreign Language category for the 67th Academy Awards.

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COMPOSER OF THE WEEK: 9. George Frideric Handel

Born: February 23, 1685; Halle, Germany

Died: April 14, 1759; London, England

Burial place: Westminster Abbey

George Frideric Handel is a German, later British, Baroque composer, born on February 23, 1685 and died on April 14, 1759. Handel spent most of his musical career in London, England, becoming famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi and organ concertos. 

Handel House, birthplace of Handel

He studied music in Halle, where he was born, worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy, settled in London in 1712 and then became a naturalized British subject in 1727. Handel was greatly influenced by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the traditional polyphonic choral style of medieval Germany.

Portrait of Handel, by Balthasar Denner (c.  1726–1728)

Gaining a good response by composing the oratorio “Alexander's Feast” in 1736, Handel composed “Messiah” in 1742 and succeeded with it. Handel, who lived in England for nearly 50 years, died in 1759, his funeral was held as a national honours, and his body was buried in the Westminster Abbey in London.

Handel (centre) and King George I on the River Thames, 17 July 1717

Born in the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era. His works such as Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks still remain steady popularity. 

A carved marble statue of Handel at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (1738)

Handel composed more than 40 opera serias during his career, and since the late 1960s, interest in his operas has increased with the revival of Baroque music.

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