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Handel's Biography

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History has been somewhat unkind to Handel. He was practically deified after his death, but the celebration of his music over the ensuing decades gradually became routine. The same small group of pieces became his trademarks, while the vast majority of his output faded into obscurity. Today he is still popularly known for very little besides his Messiah and a handful of minor pieces. When you compare this with the amount that he wrote, it represents a smaller fraction than any other composer of similar standing.

But in the last couple of generations his works have been increasingly revived, in part as a result of the Early Music Movement. First-rate recordings now exist of all of his major works, and many leading conductors have been eager to reintroduce them to the world as they were meant to be heard. For ideas on where to find such recordings for reasonable prices, visit our Where to Shop section, and check our local and worldwide concert listings to see if there is any playing near you.

Notwithstanding the quality of Handel's works, their revival is not an easy task. His operas became outmoded even in his own lifetime, and their conventions are very different from most standard opera repetoire (Verdi, Mozart, Puccini, etc.). Musically they are fantastic, but it can be difficult to attract opera lovers. Meanwhile, oratorio remains an unfamiliar genre, and the audience equally difficult to find. In his own time, Handel found that those who enjoyed the spectacle of the opera were uninterested in music without staging. Others scoffed at dramatic music in general, thinking it shallow and flashy, as indeed much of it was.

Handel has fallen victim to this schism more than any other major composer. The oratorios are not often performed by opera companies because they were not intended to be staged (though some directors adapt them to operas with varying degrees of success). But because they require an orchestra, a chorus, and soloists, they are difficult for smaller ensembles to perform. Nor does it help that many are based on Biblical stories that would have been well known in Handel's day, but which are obscure to most people now. It is probably no coincidence that the most popular one (Messiah) is based on the most widely known story.

Fortunately, the ability to record music evens the playing field, at least for the listeners. For centuries the only way to hear music was if a local group was playing it. Thankfully, this is no longer the case. Oratorios thrive in the recorded mediums precisely because they do what operas usually cannot - they tell a story with only music. Handel had the ability to create powerful drama without relying on spectacle, and it is for this reason that his genius is increasingly recognized. When all of his works are taken into account, he easily earns his place among the great musical dramatists who have ever lived. Next Page

Biography: Upbringing and Early Career | Handel's Opera Career | Transition to Oratorios | Final years | Legacy | Personality

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