George Handel, born Georg Friederich Händel, was born in 1685 in Halle-upon-Saale, Duchy of Magdeburg (then part of Brandenburg-Prussia), to Georg Händel and Dorothea Taust. His father, aged sixty-three when George Frideric was born, was an eminent barber-surgeon who served the court of Saxe-Weissenfels and the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
He was a German, later British, Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel received important training in Halle-upon-Saale and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.
Within fifteen years, Handel had started three commercial opera companies to supply the English nobility with Italian opera. Musicologist Winton Dean writes that his operas show that “Handel was not only a great composer; he was a dramatic genius of the first order.” As Alexander’s Feast (1736) was well received, Handel made a transition to English choral works. After his success with Messiah (1742) he never composed an Italian opera again. Almost blind, and having lived in England for nearly fifty years, he died in 1759, a respected and rich man. His funeral was given full state honours, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey in London. Reference: Wikipedia
Engraved portrait of George Frideric Handel Harry Beard Collection
EARLY AMERICAN MUSICAL MANUSCRIPTS. 2 Holograph Musical Manuscripts, the first 46 pp recto and verso, 4to (190 x 235 mm), the second 12 pp recto and verso, 8vo (160 x 195 mm), n.p., c.1790, featuring handwritten music and lyrics to popular tunes of the era, both volumes disbound, pages toned, some chipping at edges.
Likely prepared for home use, perhaps by a student (some of the songs contain fingering notations), the present books contain music an lyrics for several popular late 18th century tunes, including “[Ode] On the Death of Dr. Franklin” (the first stanza only), “Handel’s Water Piece,” “The Match Girl,” “The Soldier’s Adieu by Dibdin,” and “A Favorite Hymn by Dr. Arnold” in the larger volume, and “God Save Great Washington,” “The Beggar Girl,” and “The Maid of Lodi” in the smaller volume, among other titles. “God Save Great Washington,” sung to the tune of “God Save the King,” dates to the end of the Revolutionary War and served as a defacto campaign song for the General.
Sold for US$ 701 (£ 557) inc. premium at Bonhams in 2019
Plan of the orchestra and choir for the Handel Centenary Commemoration held in Westminster Abbey in 1784, as conducted by Joah Bates. Etching and engraving
Reference: © The Trustees of the British Museum
A GERMAN ENAMELLED GOLD SNUFF-BOX SET WITH AN ENAMEL PORTRAIT MINIATURE BY LES FRÈRES SOUCHAY, MARKED, HANAU, CIRCA 1780, STRUCK WITH THE HANAU TOWN MARK FOR 19 CARAT GOLD, A CROWNED LETTER K AND A MARK RESEMBLING THE CHARGE MARK OF JULIEN ALATERRE oval box, the cover, sides and base set with panels of translucent purple enamel over an engine-turned ground within white enamel frames, the cover centred with an enamel portrait miniature of George Frederick Handel (1685-1759), within a sablé gold border enamelled with translucent green foliage and red translucent flower-heads alternating with opaque white taille d’épargne leaves, the four side pilasters and frosted gold borders similarly decorated 3 1/8 in. (78 mm.) wide
Sold for GBP 6,875 at Christie’s in 2016
Forte-Piano Oratorio Musical Box by Nicole Frères, c. 1875 No. 47463, playing twelve airs on six revolutions, predominantly from “Messiah” by George Frideric Handel, Gamme No. 3334, with 139 teeth in two combs (complete), with double-spring motor, tune-sheet for retailer “Wales & Mc.Culloch, 32 Ludgate Hill, Londres” and veneered case with kingwood banding, decorative carrying handles and inlaid motifs of musical trophies on front and lid, wd. 27 ¾ in. (70,5 cm), cylinder 13 ½ x approx. 3 ¼ in. diameter (34 x 8,2 cm), good playing condition.
Sold for €7,000 at Auction Team Breker in 219
HANDEL, GEORGE FRIDERIC
Mid eighteenth-century English manuscript of keyboard music, including fugues and arrangements from “Messiah” and “Acis and Galatea”, Thomas Arne and others
in three or more unidentified hands, containing c.38 pieces scored for keyboard, some working manuscripts (incomplete), including preludes, fugues and minuets, some items being transcriptions of works by Fiorini (four minuets and one march, each also inscribed “NB. Banks -.”), Arne and choruses by Handel (‘Wretched Lovers’ from Acis and Galatea; the ‘Amen’ Chorus from Messiah), some pieces begun in one hand and continued in another
48 leaves (7 pages blank), oblong 4to (23.3 x 29.5cm), 8-stave paper, bookplate of Charles Hanbury to front pastedown, no place or date [c.mid eighteenth century], original mottled calf gilt, binding worn but intact, browning to edges
An intriguing eighteenth-century English manuscript keyboard volume, possibly once belonging to the diplomat, satirist and music lover Charles Hanbury-Williams (1708-1759). The arrangement of the “Amen” Chorus from Messiah is likely to be a pre-publication source: it was not included in Walsh’s Songs in Messiah (1749) and no full score of the oratorio was published before 1767.
Sold for 2,750 GBP at Sotheby’s in 2019
