Why Is Handel Famous? The German Composer Who Gave London Messiah

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) is famous above all for Messiah, the oratorio that contains the "Hallelujah" chorus and is still one of the most frequently performed choral works in Western music. But that is only the end of a remarkable story. Handel was born in Germany, learned his craft in Hamburg and Italy, and then made London his home, writing Italian operas for English audiences before reinventing himself as the master of the English oratorio. He was, in other words, an international career long before that idea existed.

A boy from Halle

Handel was born on 5 March 1685 in Halle, then part of Brandenburg-Prussia, and baptised Georg Friedrich Händel. His father was a barber-surgeon who wanted his son to study law. An early biographer, John Mainwaring, claimed that the father forbade musical instruments in the house and that the boy practised secretly on a clavichord hidden in the attic. Modern scholars treat that attic scene as a romantic story rather than established fact, and Mainwaring's book is known to contain errors.

What is certain is that the young Handel found a real teacher: Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, the organist of Halle's main church. Zachow taught him composition and keyboard and had him copy music by many different composers, a training in styles that would serve Handel for the rest of his life.

Hamburg and Italy: learning the theatre

In 1703 Handel moved to Hamburg and joined the orchestra of the city's opera house, the Oper am Gänsemarkt, as a violinist and harpsichordist. His first operas, Almira and Nero, were staged there in 1705. He was barely twenty and already writing for the stage.

Around 1706 he went to Italy, the home of opera, where he spent several formative years in Florence, Rome, Naples and Venice. His opera Agrippina, staged in Venice in 1709, was a hit and ran for 27 performances. In Italy Handel absorbed the Italian gift for melody and drama, and he never lost it.

Hanover, then London for good

In 1710 Handel became Kapellmeister, or music director, to George, Elector of Hanover. Almost immediately he asked for leave to visit London, and by 1712 he had settled in England permanently. His first London opera, Rinaldo (1711), was a great success, partly built from music he had written earlier in Italy.

There was an awkward twist. In 1714 his former employer in Hanover became King George I of Great Britain. Handel's famous Water Music was performed for the king on the River Thames in July 1717. It is often said that this music helped reconcile the king with the composer who had left Hanover, but the story is a tradition rather than a documented fact. Handel became a naturalised British subject in 1727.

The opera business: triumphs and losses

For about two decades Handel's main work was Italian opera seria for London. From 1719 he served as music director of the Royal Academy of Music, a company backed by aristocrats, and he later ran other commercial opera companies of his own. Star singers were paid huge fees, rival companies competed for the same audiences, and fashions changed.

The business was risky, and Handel was not always lucky. After a period of illness in 1737, often described as a mild stroke, he recovered, but his opera ventures kept struggling. He gave up opera after Deidamia in 1741.

Messiah in twenty-four days

The turning point was the English oratorio: a large dramatic work for soloists, choir and orchestra, performed in concert without costumes or staging. The text of Messiah was compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Psalms of the Book of Common Prayer. Handel began composing on 22 August 1741 and finished on 14 September, in about 24 days.

The premiere took place not in London but in Dublin, on 13 April 1742, at the Great Music Hall on Fishamble Street. It was a charity concert: the proceeds of around £400 helped free 142 people imprisoned for debt. London was slower to love it. Some people objected to a sacred text being performed in a theatre, and the first London performances in 1743 had a cool reception.

Did the king really stand up?

Today, audiences often stand during the "Hallelujah" chorus. The usual explanation is that King George II rose to his feet at the London premiere and everyone followed. It is a lovely story, but there is no convincing evidence that the king was even present, so it is best treated as legend.

What is well documented is Handel's link with the Foundling Hospital, a London home for abandoned children. From 1750 he conducted annual charity performances of Messiah there, became one of its governors, and left the hospital a copy of the score. In 1749 he also wrote Music for the Royal Fireworks for a public celebration in London.

Blindness, death and Westminster Abbey

In his last years Handel's eyesight failed. An operation on his eyes in 1751 did not help, and by 1752 he was completely blind, yet he continued to play and direct performances. He died at his home in Brook Street, London, on 14 April 1759, aged 74, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

His influence outlived him. Composers of the Classical era, especially Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, admired his music. In 1789 Mozart even produced his own re-orchestrated version of Messiah, adding instruments like flutes and clarinets.

Why Handel still matters

Handel's life is a story about adapting. He moved country, changed genre and learned to write for a new public when the old one disappeared. He wrote Italian operas in London and then set English words so naturally that many British listeners came to think of him as their own composer. His house in Brook Street is now a museum, and Messiah returns every December to concert halls and churches around the world.

Learn with Handel: English phrases about change and success

Phrase	Meaning	Example
to make a name for yourself	to become well known	Handel made a name for himself in London.
to reinvent yourself	to change your style or career completely	When opera failed, he reinvented himself.
against all odds	despite great difficulty	Against all odds, he finished the work in weeks.
a turning point	a moment that changes everything	Messiah was a turning point in his career.
to stand the test of time	to stay popular or useful for a long time	His music has stood the test of time.

Try this: Think of a time you changed plans. Write three English sentences about it using "a turning point", "to reinvent yourself" and "against all odds".