What better way to ring in the holiday season than a BBC documentary on George Frideric Handel, the Baroque composer of Water Music (1717), The Messiah (1742) and Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749). But how exactly did a German composer wind up in London in 1710 and create music that would become the soundtrack for the British royalty? [Oil painting above of George Frideric Handel by Thomas Hudson, c. 1736; in the Foundling Museum, London]
One of Handel's four coronation anthems, Zadok the Priest, has been performed at every British coronation since 1727. The sound of Handel's music instantly makes one think of the British and even the American aristocracy. Over time, Handel's The Messiah would launch the evolution of British popular music, which led to American popular music, dance music and jazz.
In 1759, Handel, who was nearly blind, died wealthy at age 74 and was given a state funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Here's the BBC documentary, The Birth of British Music: Handel the Conquering Hero...
