The Life Of Handel - Softcover

Victor Schoelcher

Softcover

ISBN 10: 037143789X ISBN 13: 9780371437896

Publisher: HardPress, 2019

Synopsis

"The Life Of Handel" by Victor Schoelcher is a detailed biographical study of George Frideric Handel, charting his rise as a towering figure in 18th-century English music and his enduring influence on sacred and secular forms. Focusing on Handel's London years (roughly the late 1740s through his death in 1759), the work examines how political tensions, aristocratic opposition, and shifting public tastes shaped his career, from debt-driven compilations like Occasional Oratorio to triumphs such as Judas Maccabaus, Joshua, and Solomon, and to the fundraising triumphs of The Fireworks Music for the Foundling Hospital. It discusses his expanding role as conductor and impresario, his collaborations with leading musicians, his struggles with finances and eyesight, and his celebrated charity. The narrative weaves character study with cultural history, presenting Handel as a supremely independent, generous, and artistically fearless figure who forged a national musical identity through English oratorio, large-scale choral works, and instrumental concertos. The volume also surveys commemorations, manuscripts, and the enduring posthumous legacy that cemented Handel as a national cultural symbol, while including an appendix of textual debates and a catalog of his works.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 037143789X
• ISBN 13: 9780371437896
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 491