George Frideric Handel

Composers Datebook / 23 February 

G.F. Handel is one of the greatest composers in the Baroque Era 

Handel excelled in oratorios and operas. He received wide acclaim during his lifetime. To this day, he is best known for his oratorio Messiah, the summation of his life’s work composed in a single burst of inspiration but including some elements from earlier works.     

   
"What a wonderful thing it is to be sure of one's faith!" - G.F. Handel

George Frideric Handel (February 23, 1685 – April 14, 1759) was an English composer and violinist of German origin.  He was born in Halle, the son of a barber-surgeon. At first his father wanted him to pursue law instead of music; eventually, his father relented and allowed him to study under Zachau, the local organist at St Michael's Church. 

  

When his father died in 1703, he abandoned the study of law and became a violinist at Keiser's Opera House in Hamburg. He completed the opera Almira (started by Keiser in 1705) and Nero.  

From 1706 to 1710, he visited Italy. He was inspired by these travels through meetings with Archangelo Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti that he was able to write a number of oratorios and operas to Italian styles of composition. His first opera Almira was performed in Hamburg in 1705.  In 1710, Handel was appointed Kapellmesiter to the Elector of Hanover Court (the future George I of England). The following year, he performed the opera Rinaldo in London. It was a huge success that Handel decided to move to England, at the same time he composed the operas Il pastor fido, Sila and Amadigi. 

Handel established his popularity in England with such works as the Water Music Suite written for George I.  The king gave him a life pension of six hundred pounds.  The following year, he became musical director to the Duke of Chandos, as well as director of the Royal Academy of Music at the King's. He wrote some operas, anthems, solo sonatas, and suites for the harpsichord specifically for the Royal Academy of Music until the theatre closed in 1728. 

Léo Delibes

Classical Music / Composers Datebook: February 21 

 

 

Brief biography of French composer Léo Delibes – his life, influence, ballets and operas. Best known for opera Lakme and ballet Coppélia.          

 

 

 

 

Clement Philibert Leo Delibes (b. February 21, 1836, St. Germain du Val - d. January 16, 1891, Paris), was a French composer and organist. He was a son of a government employee, but he ans his mother moved to Paris after the death of his father. He is known for his highly successful opera masterpiece Lakme, a lyric evocation of India for which he was indebted to Georges Bizet for its oriental colour and characterization. Others contend that his most famous work is the ballet Coppelia, premiered when he was 34. 

Early age

At the age of 12, he entered Paris Conservatory and became a pupil of Adolphe Adam, French composer of many popular stage works and famous for ballet Giselle. Adam would have a lasting influence in his life.  

Career in Music

Delibes became a church organist until 1871, however, he was strongly drawn to the theatre, writing sparkling operettas in the style of his teacher Adolphe Adam, then becoming chorus master at the Theatre-Lyrique and the Paris Opera.

Delibes's first operetta which he produced at the age 19, Deux Sous de Charbon, led to series of popular short works in this genre.

His classical ballet Coppelia is known for its charming character numbers, and the tuneful but more sophisticated Sylvia, both admired by Piotr Tchaikovsky. 

Below video:  Why The Royal Ballet love dancing Coppélia. YouTube, uploaded by the Royal Opera House. Accessed February 21, 2023. 

It is noteworthy that in the same year he was successful with Coppelia, Tchaikovsky had his Romeo and Juliet Overture and Wagner, his Die Walkure (The Valkyrie), the second of his ring operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen ('The ring of the Nibelungs').

Delibes also wrote the opera Le Roi l’a dit (The King has Spoken) and his serious Jean de Nivelle, where Giacomo Meyerbeer’s influence is evident. 

Delibes also wrote an incidental music based on Victor Hugo's play, Le Roi s'amuse ('The King's Pleasure'), 1882  

At the time of his death, Léo Delibes left an unfinished opera Kassya. This was posthumously orchestrated by Jules Massenet, the composer known for his famous meditations from opera Thais.

While Verdi (in Italy) and Wagner (in Germany) were revolutionizing and enriching the opera, Delibes in Paris was providing his audiences with sparkling light music in their night out at the theatre.

Delibes' Operas

Le Roi l'a dit (The King has Spoken), 1873

Lakmé, including the famous 'Flower Duet' and the 'Bell Song', 1883

Delibes' Ballet

La Source (known as Naila), 1866

Coppélia, 1870

Sylvia, 1876

 

Photo credit:

Leo Delibes. Wikipedia commons / Public Domain

 

Resources:

The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2^nd Ed, edited by Stanley Sadie (2000)

The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham, Oxford (2002)

 

(c) February 21, 2008.  Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Charles Dickens

Literature / Writers Datebook: February 7 

Famous for A Christmas Carol and David Copperfield

Considered the greatest English novelist, Charles Dickens is the most famous of all British novelists and best known for all-time booksellers Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations – all of them, also made into film. Dickens is remembered for his lively inventions of comic, good and bad characters in London's 19^th century tales set. He was a prolific writer.       

Early Life of Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens, (b. Feb 7, 1812 - d. June 9, 1870), was born at Portsmouth during the new industrial age that made businessmen rich but brought great hardships to millions of low-paid workers. His father, John, was a badly-paid clerk in the Navy Office, later sent to a debtors' prison for the kind Dickens later described in Little Dorrit.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - a Gifted Child Prodigy

Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, boy genius before turning 5 years old.
 
A glimpse of Mozart, from being baby Mozart until aged 5, when he started composing.
Years 1756-1760.

The pages in most Mozart biography books usually remain blank between his second day and before his fifth birthday. Naturally, a baby has to be cared for and to grow sometime. So did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Since his father Leopold already worked for the Prince Archbishop, it can be implied that Mozart was born into musical service.

Mozart began to play the harpsichord at three years old. Nannerl his sister gave a glimpse of what her baby brother was doing. According to her, Wolfgang spent a lot of time picking out small chords at the keyboard, and would be well pleased when his music sounded good.

The teenage years of Mozart were significant as he undertook more travels in Europe and compositions in the employ of the older supportive Archbishop of Salzburg, unlike the later, a less sympathetic archbishop.

Links:

Biography: Mozart.  Accessed December 5, 2013

Mozart Bio. Accessed December 5, 2017  

Mozart Biography in Pictures and Music.  Accessed December 5, 2013 



(c) 2008-2017.  Tel Asiado. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.