Podcasts about fishamble street

This episode of amplify features a conversation and improvisation by violinist Cora Venus Lunny and pianist Izumi Kimura, recorded live at the Contemporary Music Centre's Creative Space as part of New Music Dublin Exchange. Presented by Jonathan GrimesShow NotesCora Venus LunnyIzumi KimuraInvisible Resistances (Farpoint Recordings, 2022)Folding (with Anthony Kelly) (Farpoint Recordings, 2021)CMC's New Music Dublin ExchangeMusic recorded at CMC's Creative Space, Fishamble Street, Dublin, 2 April 2025. Sound: Keith Fennell

Rewalking a memorable path through "Handel's Dublin" in the company of the late historian, Jonathan Bardon. (4/4)

Rewalking a memorable path through "Handel's Dublin" in the company of the late historian, Jonathan Bardon. (3/4)

Rewalking a memorable path through "Handel's Dublin" in the company of the late historian, Jonathan Bardon. (2/4)

Rewalking a memorable path through "Handel's Dublin" in the company of the late historian, Jonathan Bardon. (1/4)

SynopsisIt's nice when talent in one field recognizes and appreciates it in another. But this is not always the case. Take, for example, Jonathan Swift, one of the greatest English writers of the 18th century, and Georg Frideric Handel, one of that century's greatest composers.In 1742, Handel was in Ireland, preparing for the premiere of his sacred oratorio Messiah at the Music Hall on Dublin's Fishamble Street, and wanted to use the choirboys from Dublin's two cathedrals, Christ Church and St. Patrick's. Swift was the Dean of Patrick's, and, on today's date, the author of “Gulliver's Travels penned a flaming reply to his sub dean:“I do hereby require and request not to permit any of the choristers to attend or assist at any public musical performances ... and whereas it hath been reported that I gave a license to assist a club of fiddlers in Fishamble Street, I do annul said license, entreating my said Sub-Dean to [refuse] such songsters, fiddlers, pipers, trumpeters, drummers, drum-majors or any [such] sonic quality.”History does not record Handel's response, but he did, in point of fact, eventually get to use the St. Patrick's choir boys and other “songsters” he requested.Music Played in Today's ProgramGeorge Frederic Handel (1685-1757) Messiah; Oregon Bach Festival; Helmuth Rilling, cond. Hännsler 98.198

Arran Henderson of Dublin Decoded knows the streets of Dublin inside out. On a walk through streets I always think of as part of a different Dublin story, he showed me how Werburgh Street, Fishamble Street and others were all central to the story of early Dublin theatre. On this journey we meet some interesting characters, from a pioneering nationalist theatre director to the much-feared Lord Deputy of Ireland. Dublin Decoded tour tickets are available from dublindecoded.com (Image: Thomas Wentworth)

W poszukiwaniu Molly Malone przenieśmy się do siedemnastowiecznego Dublina. Nie przypomina on dzisiejszego miasta, jest pocięty niezliczoną liczbą wąskich uliczek. Po jednej z nich spacerujemy. Nagle naszą uwagę zwraca zamieszanie na końcu uliczki. Widzimy zebrany tłum od którego dochodzą nas jakieś pohukiwania, podniesione szepty. Wiedzeni ciekawością podchodzimy bliżej. Gawiedź zebrała się wokół młodej kobiety. Ta leży bez ruchu, nie oddycha. Ubrana w koszulę z długimi rękawami, podkoszulek, długą sukienkę z zapaską, na głowie ma baskijski wełniany beret i obuta jest w hiszpańskie trzewiki. Chociaż już martwa, zachwyca urodą. Z tłumu słychać pytania kto to kto to. Odzywa się młody chłopak „To Molly Malone, handlarka rybami” i ze smutkiem dopowiada „już jej między nami nie ma” . Stojąca obok pulchna kobieta (może matka chłopaka) rzuca pogardliwie „Dopadł ją wyrok boski, ladacznica dorabiała nocami na ulicy”. Jakiś mężczyzna wtrąca „Bądź że miłosierna kobieto, nie mów źle o zmarłej”. Wygląda na to że to medyk, pochyla się nad dziewczyną bada ją wzrokiem i stwierdza „Jeśli nie zabił ją tyfus, to pewnie choroba weneryczna, lepiej się cofnijcie jej opary mogą być szkodliwe”. Tłum niechętnie rozchodzi się. My udajemy się do tawerny gdzie się zatrzymaliśmy. Pogłoski rozchodzą się szybciej niż tłum. W tawernie już naczelnym tematem rozmów jest śmierć młodej dziewczyny. Najbardziej obeznany z tematem zdaje się być właściciel. Ze swadą opowiada, że zna rodziców Molly, również zajmują się sprzedażą ryb, mieszkają nieopodal na Fishamble Street. A Molly była jedna z najpiękniejszych dziewczyn w okolicy i wykorzystywała to handlując nie tylko owocami morza. Codziennie rano przemierzała ze swoim wózkiem pełnym ryb, krabów i małż drogę pomiędzy Liberties i Grafton Street, wykrzykując na cały głos „cookles and mussels alive alive o”. Nocami zakładała kusą sukienkę, siatkowe rajstopy i zalotne buty na obcasie i tak prowokacyjnie ubrana szukała chętnych na płatną przygodę. Klientów znajdowała przede wszystkim wśród studentów pobliskiego Trinity College. Zaciekawieni historią Molly następnego ranka udajemy się tuż obok do kościoła św. Jana. Dołączamy do ceremonii pogrzebowej. Pastor kazanie rozpoczyna słowami, „zaledwie trzydzieści lat temu osobiście w kościele św. Andrzeja chrzciłem Molly Malone, a dziś spoczywa na mnie obowiązek pochowania nieszczęsnej” Kończy zaś prośba do zgromadzonych „Nie osądzajcie zbyt surowo tej umęczonej Magdaleny, ona już została otulona miłością bożą”. Po skończonej ceremonii ciało zostaje złożone w mogile na cmentarzu św. Jana. Ale to nie jest koniec historii dziewczyny handlującej rybami. Tragiczną historie upodobali sobie dublińscy śpiewacy i bardowie. Powstała przepiękna ballada zaczynająca się od słów „W pięknym mieście Dublinie, gdzie dziewczyny są takie ładne, po raz pierwszy ujrzałem słodką Molly Malone” (znajome prawda?). Piosenka stała się niezwykle popularna, chyba najbardziej znana na świecie ze wszystkich irlandzkich piosenek no i oczywiście okrzyknięto ją nieoficjalnym hymnem Dublina. Nie sposób zliczyć artystów, którzy nagrali swoją wersję „Cookles and Mussels”. A skąd pochodzi tekst i melodia? O tym opowiadam w podcaście.

It’s nice when talent in one field recognizes and appreciates it in another. But this is not always the case. Take for example Jonathan Swift, one of the greatest English writers of the 18th century, and Georg Frideric Handel, one of that century’s greatest composers. In 1742, Handel was in Ireland, preparing for the premiere of his sacred oratorio Messiah at the Music Hall in Dublin’s Fishamble Street, and wanted to use the choirboys from Dublin’s two cathedrals, Christ Church and St. Patrick’s. Swift was the Dean of Patrick’s, and, on today’s date the author of “Gulliver’s Travels” penned a flaming reply to his sub dean: “I do hereby require and request NOT to permit any of the choristers to attend or assist at any public musical performances... and whereas it hath been reported that I gave a license to assist a club of fiddlers in Fishamble Street, I do annul said license, entreating my said Sub-Dean to [refuse] such songsters, fiddlers, pipers, trumpeters, drummers, drum-majors, or any [such] sonic quality.” History does not record Handel’s response, but he did, in point of fact, eventually get to use the St. Patrick’s choir boys and other “songsters” he requested.

It’s nice when talent in one field recognizes and appreciates it in another. But this is not always the case. Take for example Jonathan Swift, one of the greatest English writers of the 18th century, and Georg Frideric Handel, one of that century’s greatest composers. In 1742, Handel was in Ireland, preparing for the premiere of his sacred oratorio Messiah at the Music Hall in Dublin’s Fishamble Street, and wanted to use the choirboys from Dublin’s two cathedrals, Christ Church and St. Patrick’s. Swift was the Dean of Patrick’s, and, on today’s date the author of “Gulliver’s Travels” penned a flaming reply to his sub dean: “I do hereby require and request NOT to permit any of the choristers to attend or assist at any public musical performances... and whereas it hath been reported that I gave a license to assist a club of fiddlers in Fishamble Street, I do annul said license, entreating my said Sub-Dean to [refuse] such songsters, fiddlers, pipers, trumpeters, drummers, drum-majors, or any [such] sonic quality.” History does not record Handel’s response, but he did, in point of fact, eventually get to use the St. Patrick’s choir boys and other “songsters” he requested.

Born in Dublin's Fishamble Street in 1746, but resident for most of his life in Tinnehinch, near Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, Henry Grattan was the most noted, and certainly the most eloquent, of the eighteenth-century opposition ‘patriots' in the Irish Parliament.  To mark the bicentenary of his passing and to reassess his often misunderstood legacy, listen to History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with David Dickson, Patrick Geoghegan, Sylvie Kleinman and Tim Murtagh.  Find our more at: https://www.historyireland.com/ 

Recipe for ragout with poor Irish children: The mighty dean and writer, Jonathan Swift was close to putting a stop to the premiere of Messiah. Under no circumstances would he let his choir singers perform in a ‘fiddle players’ club in Fishamble Street’. One would have thought that Jonathan Swift in particular would appreciate a concert that was to raise money for the release of imprisoned debtors who were starving. Because Jonathan Swift himself had previously highlighted the shocking poverty in which the majority of Catholics in the country were living with his pamflet, ‘A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or the Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public.´Music: Dunedin Consort ‘Handel’s Original Dublin Version 1742’

Handel was soon so busy in Dublin that he could not keep up. Smock Alley Theatre further down Fishamble Street had to cancel performances because Handel monopolised the best musicians in the city. They even had to turn Fishamble Street into a one-way street when Handel was giving concerts because of the ensuing traffic congestion. Thus sedan chairs could no longer just be parked outside Mr Neal’s Great Musick Hall while the noble guests were enjoying the strains of Handel’s music. Handel was a success – and he had not even started introducing his audience to his new compositions yet. So far they had only been listening to the works they already knew.Music: Dunedin Consort ‘Handel’s Original Dublin Version 1742’

Whereas it is a well-known part of musical history that Messiah premiered in Dublin’s new leading music hall in Fishamble Street as a benefit concert arranged by a.o. the Charitable Musical Society for the Release of Imprisoned Debtors, the gravity of the situation in Ireland in 1741 is a less well-known part of history. A musical society whose purpose is to pay for the release of imprisoned debtors may at first sound sweet and cheerful. However, that was far from the case. Today’s episode is not so much about Handel, but more about the money being raised through the performance of Messiah and the people this money was intended for.

Handel arrives in Ireland on 18 November and is welcomed with open arms. Where life seemed light, cheerful, elegant and fashionable when the aristocracy were enjoying themselves in the new music hall in Fishamble Street, then life was looking considerably different to the majority of the inhabitants in Dublin. There was a particular reason that hospitals for poor people and musical charities for imprisoned debtors were in such dire need of raising as much money as possible. Because in 1741 there was a famine in Ireland, and throngs of famished people from the countryside would go to Dublin in the search of food.

In the first episode we are going down Fishamble Street, one of the oldest streets in Dublin. It was in the exclusive Musick Hall in this street that Handel’s Messiah was first performed on 13 April 1742. Once upon a time Fishamble Street was one of Dublin’s most unsanitary streets. It later became one of the most fashionable streets in Dublin. Today it is rather dull. However, it is a good starting point for the many stories about Handel’s time in Dublin.

Efter generalprøven den 9. april 1742 var forventningerne til urpremieren skyhøje. Der var nu så meget tryk på i Dublins high society, at Faulkner’s Dublin Journal blev nødt til at skrive, at de mange damer, der ønskede at støtte de noble og velgørende formål, som dette oratorie var komponeret til, måtte gerne ankomme uden stivere til deres skørter, da det ville øge indtjeningen til de velgørende formål, da der dermed ville være plads til flere mennesker. Et var at damerne måtte lade fiskebensskørterne blive hjemme, herrer blev bedt om at komme uden sværd. Uden sværd og fiskebensskørter kunne flere publikummer presses ind i Fishamble Street. Og det støttede jo en god sag!Musik: Dunedin Consort “Handel’s Messiah The Dublin Version” (læs mere under http://www.handelmessiah.dk/2017/11/24/the-music/)www.handelmessiah.dk

Hvordan det helt nøjagtigt lød, da Messias første gang blev opført, ved vi af gode grunde ikke. Især fordi Händel i sin egen levetid nåede at lave talrige ændringer i forbindelse med senere opførelser, så der findes omkring ti forskellige udgaver fra Händels egen tid. Men én ting er sikker. Messias lød meget anderledes end de senere versioner med hundredevis af musikere og hundredevis af korsangere. Den Messias, som blev opført den 13. april i tællelysenes skær i Fishamble Street foran 700 forventningsfulde Dublin borgere, var langt mere beskeden. Der har været en tendens til efterfølgende at betragte Dublin versionen af Messias som en ”kompromisløsning”, fordi Händel ikke havde de samme musikalske kræfter at trække på som i London. Det er en opfattelse, der må tilskrives manglende viden om musiklivet i Dublin i 1740’erne.Musik: Dunedin Consort “Handel’s Messiah The Dublin Version” (læs mere under http://www.handelmessiah.dk/2017/11/24/the-music/)www.handelmessiah.dk

Den mægtige domprovst og forfatter, Jonathan Swift, var tæt på at sætte en effektiv stopper for førsteopførelsen af Messias. Han ville nemlig under ingen omstændigheder lade sine korsangere optræde i en ”klub for fiolspillere i Fishamble Street.” Man skulle ellers tro, at lige netop Jonathan Swift ville værdsætte en koncert, der bl.a. skulle samle penge ind til løsladelse af de mange gældsfanger, som sad og sultede i byens overfyldte gældsfængsler som følge af hungersnøden i landet. For lige netop Jonathan Swift havde tidligere sat fokus på den chokerende armod, som flertallet af katolikker i Irland levede under. Under pseudonym udgav han i 1729 et sydende, satirisk essay om det britiske overherredømme i Irland: ”A modest proposal.” Eller på dansk: ”Et beskedent forslag – til at hindre fattigbørn i at være en byrde for deres forældre og fædreland, og til at gøre dem nyttige for almenheden.” I essayet foreslår Jonathan Swift, at de fattige irer slagter deres børn i et-års-alderen og sælger dem som mad til de rige. På den måde vil irske børn få en værdi i stedet for blot at være en byrde for deres fattige forældre og de britiske godsejere.www.handelmessiah.dk

Händel fik hurtigt så travlt i Dublin, at han slet ikke kunne følge med. Smock Alley Theatre længere nede ad Fishmable Street blev nødt til at aflyse forestillinger, fordi Händel lagde beslag på byens bedste musikere. Ja, man blev ligefrem nødt til at ensrette gaden, når der var Händel koncerter i Fishamble Street, fordi der opstod trafikkaos. Bærestole kunne således ikke længere ”bare parkeres” uden for Mr. Neal’s Great Musisck Hall, mens de fornemme gæster nød tonerne af Händels musik. Händel var en succes – og han var ikke en gang begyndt at præsentere sit nye publikum for sine nye kompositioner endnu. Indtil videre havde de kun lyttet til hans i forvejen kendte værker. www.handelmessiah.dk

Hvor det er en velkendt del af musikhistorien, at Messias blev førsteopført i Dublins nye førende koncertsal i Fishamble Street som en velgørenhedskoncert arrangeret af blandt andre the Charitable Musical Society for the Release of Imprisoned Debtors, så er det en mindre kendt del af historien, hvor alvorlig situationen var i Irland i 1741. En musikforening, der har til formål at betale for løsladelse af gældsfanger, kan måske umiddelbart lyde lidt sødt og muntert. Men sådan var det ikke. I dag handler julekalenderen ikke så meget om Händel, men derimod om de mennesker, som der skulle samles penge ind til med opførelsen af Messias.www.handelmessiah.dk

Händel går i land i Irland den 18/11 og bliver modtaget med åben arme. Hvor livet syntes let, muntert, elegant og fashionabelt, når aristokratiet morede sig i den nye koncertsal i Fishamble Street – så så livet betragteligt anderledes ud for flertallet af indbyggerne i Dublin. Der var nemlig en særlig grund til, hvorfor hospitaler for fattige og musikalske velgørenhedsforeninger for gældsfanger havde så hårdt brug for at skaffe så mange penge som muligt.For i 1741 var der hungersnød i Irland og horder af udsultede folk fra landet søgte mod Dublin i håb om at få mad.www.handelmessiah.dk 

I første afsnit bevæger vi os ned ad Fishamble Street, som er en af Dublins ældste gader. Det var her i gadens eksklusive Musick Hall, at Händels Messias havde premiere den 13/4 1742. En gang var Fishamble Street en af Dublins mest sundhedsskadelige gader. Senere blev det en af Dublins mest fashionable gader. I dag er den ret trist. Men det er godt sted at tage udgangspunkt i de mange historier, der kan fortælles om Händels tid i Dublin.www.handelmessiah.dk 

George Frideric HANDEL 1685-1759Our version ofAllemande in Am (HWV 478)George Frideric HANDEL 1685-1759© 2012 Shiloh Worship Music COPY FREELY;This Recording is copyrighted to prevent misuse, however,permission is granted for non-commercial copying-Radio play permitted. Www.ShilohWorshipMusic.com Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)George Frideric Handel(from Wikipedia) George Frideric Handel, born in the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti. By Thomas Hudson (1749)George Frideric Handel SignatureGeorge Frideric Handel (German: Georg Friedrich Händel; pronounced [ˈhɛndəl]) (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music. He received critical musical training in Halle, Hamburg and Italy before settling in London (1712) and becoming a naturalised British subject in 1727.[1] By then he was strongly influenced by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.Within fifteen years, Handel, a dramatic genius, started three commercial opera companies to supply the English nobility with Italian opera, but the public came to hear the vocal bravura of the soloists rather than the music. In 1737 he had a physical breakdown, changed direction creatively and addressed the middle class. As Alexander's Feast (1736) was well received, Handel made a transition to English choral works. After his success with Messiah (1742) he never performed an Italian opera again. Handel was only partly successful with his performances of English Oratorio on mythical and biblical themes, but when he arranged a performance of Messiah to benefit the Foundling Hospital (1750) the critique ended. The pathos of Handel's oratorios is an ethical one. They are hallowed not by liturgical dignity but by the moral ideals of humanity.[2] Almost blind, and having lived in England for almost fifty years, he died a respected and rich man.Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, with works such as Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks and Messiah remaining popular. Handel composed more than forty operas in over thirty years, and since the late 1960s, with the revival of baroque music and original instrumentation, interest in Handel's operas has grown. His operas contain remarkable human characterisation—especially for a composer not known for his love affairs.Early yearsHandel's baptismal registration (Marienbibliothek in Halle)Handel was born in 1685 in Halle, Duchy of Magdeburg, to Georg Händel and Dorothea Taust.[3] His father, 63 when his son was born, was an eminent barber-surgeon who served to the court of Saxe-Weissenfels and the Margraviate of Brandenburg.[4] According to Handel's first biographer, John Mainwaring, he "had discovered such a strong propensity to Music, that his father who always intended him for the study of the Civil Law, had reason to be alarmed. He strictly forbade him to meddle with any musical instrument but Handel found means to get a little clavichord privately convey'd to a room at the top of the house. To this room he constantly stole when the family was asleep".[5] At an early age Handel became a skillful performer on the harpsichord and pipe organ.[6]Händel-Haus (2009) – birthplace of George Frideric HandelEntrance of Teatro del Cocomero in FlorenceHandel and his father travelled to Weissenfels to visit either Handel's half-brother, Carl, or nephew, Georg Christian,[7] who was serving as valet to Duke Johann Adolf I.[8] Handel and the duke convinced his father to allow him to take lessons in musical composition and keyboard technique from Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, the organist of the Lutheran Marienkirche. He learned about harmony and contemporary styles, analysed sheet music scores, learned to work fugue subjects, and to copy music. In 1698 Handel played for Frederick I of Prussia and met Giovanni Battista Bononcini in Berlin.From Halle to ItalyThe Hamburg Opera am Gänsemarkt in 1726In 1702, following his father's wishes, Handel started studying law under Christian Thomasius at the University of Halle;[9] and also earned an appointment for one year as the organist in the former cathedral, by then an evangelical reformed church. Handel seems to have been unsatisfied and in 1703, he accepted a position as violinist and harpsichordist in the orchestra of the Hamburg Oper am Gänsemarkt.[10] There he met the composers Johann Mattheson, Christoph Graupner and Reinhard Keiser. His first two operas, Almira and Nero, were produced in 1705.[11] He produced two other operas, Daphne and Florindo, in 1708. It is unclear whether Handel directed these performances.According to Mainwaring, in 1706 Handel travelled to Italy at the invitation of Ferdinando de' Medici, but Mainwaring must have been confused. It was Gian Gastone de' Medici, whom Handel had met in 1703–1704 in Hamburg.[12] Ferdinando tried to make Florence Italy's musical capital, attracting the leading talents of his day. He had a keen interest in opera. In Italy Handel met librettist Antonio Salvi, with whom he later collaborated. Handel left for Rome and, since opera was (temporarily) banned in the Papal States, composed sacred music for the Roman clergy. His famous Dixit Dominus (1707) is from this era. He also composed cantatas in pastoral style for musical gatherings in the palaces of cardinals Pietro Ottoboni, Benedetto Pamphili and Carlo Colonna. Two oratorios, La Resurrezione and Il Trionfo del Tempo, were produced in a private setting for Ruspoli and Ottoboni in 1709 and 1710, respectively. Rodrigo, his first all-Italian opera, was produced in the Cocomero theatre in Florence in 1707.[13] Agrippina was first produced in 1709 at Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, the prettiest theatre at Venice, owned by the Grimanis. The opera, with a libretto by cardinal Vincenzo Grimani, and according to Mainwaring it ran for 27 nights successively. The audience, thunderstruck with the grandeur and sublimity of his style,[14] applauded for Il caro Sassone.Move to LondonGeorge Frideric Handel (left) and King George I on the River Thames, 17 July 1717, by Edouard Jean Conrad Hamman (1819–88).In 1710, Handel became Kapellmeister to German prince George, Elector of Hanover, who in 1714 would become King George I of Great Britain.[15] He visited Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici and her husband in Düsseldorf on his way to London in 1710. With his opera Rinaldo, based on La Gerusalemme Liberata by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, Handel enjoyed great success, although it was composed quickly, with many borrowings from his older Italian works.[16] This work contains one of Handel's favourite arias, Cara sposa, amante cara, and the famous Lascia ch'io pianga.In 1712, Handel decided to settle permanently in England. He received a yearly income of £200 from Queen Anne after composing for her the Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate, first performed in 1713.[17][18]One of his most important patrons was the young and wealthy Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington.[19] For him Handel wrote Amadigi di Gaula, a magical opera, about a damsel in distress, based on the tragedy by Antoine Houdar de la Motte.The conception of an opera as a coherent structure was slow to capture Handel's imagination[20] and he renounced it for five years. In July 1717 Handel's Water Music was performed more than three times on the Thames for the King and his guests. It is said the compositions spurred reconciliation between the King and Handel.[21]Cannons (1717–18)Main article: Handel at CannonsThe Chandos portrait. The 1st Duke of Chandos was an important patron for Handel.In 1717 Handel became house composer at Cannons in Middlesex, where he laid the cornerstone for his future choral compositions in the twelve Chandos Anthems.[22] Romain Rolland stated that these anthems were as important for his oratorios as the cantatas were for his operas.[23] Another work he wrote for the Duke of Chandos, the owner of Cannons, was Acis and Galatea: during Handel's lifetime it was his most performed work. Winton Dean wrote, "the music catches breath and disturbs the memory".[24]In 1719 the Duke of Chandos became one of the main subscribers to Handel's new opera company, the Royal Academy of Music, but his patronage of music declined after he lost money in the South Sea bubble, which burst in 1720 in one of history's greatest financial cataclysms. Handel himself invested in South Sea stock in 1716, when prices were low[25] and sold before 1720.[26]Royal Academy of Music (1719–34)Main article: Royal Academy of Music (company)Handel House at 25 Brook Street, Mayfair, LondonIn May 1719 Lord Chamberlain Thomas Holles, the Duke of Newcastle ordered Handel to look for new singers.[27] Handel travelled to Dresden to attend the newly built opera. He saw Teofane by Antonio Lotti, and engaged the cast for the Royal Academy of Music, founded by a group of aristocrats to assure themselves a constant supply of baroque opera or opera seria. Handel may have invited John Smith, his fellow student in Halle, and his son Johann Christoph Schmidt, to become his secretary and amanuensis.[28] By 1723 he had moved into a Georgian house at 25 Brook Street, which he rented for the rest of his life.[29] This house, where he rehearsed, copied music and sold tickets, is now the Handel House Museum.[30] During twelve months between 1724 and 1725, Handel wrote three outstanding and successful operas, Giulio Cesare, Tamerlano and Rodelinda. Handel's operas are filled with da capo arias, such as Svegliatevi nel core. After composing Silete venti, he concentrated on opera and stopped writing cantatas. Scipio, from which the regimental slow march of the British Grenadier Guards is derived,[31] was performed as a stopgap, waiting for the arrival of Faustina Bordoni.In 1727 Handel was commissioned to write four anthems for the coronation ceremony of King George II. One of these, Zadok the Priest, has been played at every British coronation ceremony since.[32] In 1728 John Gay's The Beggar's Opera premiered at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre and ran for 62 consecutive performances, the longest run in theatre history up to that time.[citation needed] After nine years Handel's contract was ended but he soon started a new company.The Queen's Theatre at the Haymarket (now Her Majesty's Theatre), established in 1705 by architect and playwright John Vanbrugh, quickly became an opera house.[33] Between 1711 and 1739, more than 25 of Handel's operas premièred there.[34] In 1729 Handel became joint manager of the Theatre with John James Heidegger.A musical portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales and his sisters by Philip Mercier, dated 1733, using Kew Palace as its plein-air backdropThe Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket in London by William CaponHandel travelled to Italy to engage seven new singers. He composed seven more operas, but the public came to hear the singers rather than the music.[35] After two commercially successful English oratorios Esther and Deborah, he was able to invest again in the South Sea Company. Handel reworked his Acis and Galatea which then became his most successful work ever. Handel failed to compete with the Opera of the Nobility, who engaged musicians such as Johann Adolf Hasse, Nicolo Porpora and the famous castrato Farinelli. The strong support by Frederick, Prince of Wales caused conflicts in the royal family. In March 1734 Handel directed a wedding anthem This is the day which the Lord hath made, and a serenata Parnasso in Festa for Anne of Hanover.[36]Opera at Covent Garden (1734–41)In 1733 the Earl of Essex received a letter with the following sentence: "Handel became so arbitrary a prince, that the Town murmurs". The board of chief investors expected Handel to retire when his contract ended, but Handel immediately looked for another theatre. In cooperation with John Rich he started his third company at Covent Garden Theatre. Rich was renowned for his spectacular productions. He suggested Handel use his small chorus and introduce the dancing of Marie Sallé, for whom Handel composed Terpsichore. In 1735 he introduced organ concertos between the acts. For the first time Handel allowed Gioacchino Conti, who had no time to learn his part, to substitute arias.[37] Financially, Ariodante was a failure, although he introduced ballet suites at the end of each act.[38] Alcina, his last opera with a magic content, and Alexander's Feast or the Power of Music based on John Dryden's Alexander's Feast starred Anna Maria Strada del Pò and John Beard.In April 1737, at age 52, Handel apparently suffered a stroke which disabled the use of four fingers on his right hand, preventing him from performing.[39] In summer the disorder seemed at times to affect his understanding. Nobody expected that Handel would ever be able to perform again. But whether the affliction was rheumatism, a stroke or a nervous breakdown, he recovered remarkably quickly .[40] To aid his recovery, Handel had travelled to Aachen, a spa in Germany. During six weeks he took long hot baths, and ended up playing the organ for a surprised audience.[41]Deidamia, his last and only baroque opera without an accompagnato, was performed three times in 1741. Handel gave up the opera business, while he enjoyed more success with his English oratorios.[citation needed]OratorioFurther information: List of Handel's OratoriosHandel by Philip MercierIl Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, an allegory, Handel's first oratorio[42] was composed in Italy in 1707, followed by La Resurrezione in 1708 which uses material from the Bible. The circumstances of Esther and its first performance, possibly in 1718, are obscure.[43] Another 12 years had passed when an act of piracy caused him to take up Esther once again.[44] Three earlier performances aroused such interest that they naturally prompted the idea of introducing it to a larger public. Next came Deborah, strongly coloured by the Anthems[45] and Athaliah, his first English Oratorio.[46] In these three oratorios Handel laid foundation for the traditional use of the chorus which marks his later oratorios.[47] Handel became sure of himself, broader in his presentation, and more diverse in his composition.[48]It is evident how much he learnt from Arcangelo Corelli about writing for instruments, and from Alessandro Scarlatti about writing for the solo voice; but there is no single composer who taught him how to write for chorus.[49] Handel tended more and more to replace Italian soloists by English ones. The most significant reason for this change was the dwindling financial returns from his operas.[50] Thus a tradition was created for oratorios which was to govern their future performance. The performances were given without costumes and action; the performers appeared in a black suit.[51]Caricature of Handel by Joseph Goupy (1754)In 1736 Handel produced Alexander's Feast. John Beard appeared for the first time as one of Handel's principal singers and became Handel's permanent tenor soloist for the rest of Handel's life.[52] The piece was a great success and it encouraged Handel to make the transition from writing Italian operas to English choral works. In Saul, Handel was collaborating with Charles Jennens and experimenting with three trombones, a carillon and extra-large military kettledrums (from the Tower of London), to be sure "...it will be most excessive noisy".[53] Saul and Israel in Egypt both from 1739 head the list of great, mature oratorios, in which the da capo and dal segno aria became the exception and not the rule.[54] Israel in Egypt consists of little else but choruses, borrowing from the Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline. In his next works Handel changed his course. In these works he laid greater stress on the effects of orchestra and soloists; the chorus retired into the background.[55] L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato has a rather diverting character; the work is light and fresh.During the summer of 1741, the 3rd Duke of Devonshire invited Handel to Dublin to give concerts for the benefit of local hospitals.[56] His Messiah was first performed at the New Music Hall in Fishamble Street, on 13 April 1742, with 26 boys and five men from the combined choirs of St Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals participating.[57] Handel secured a balance between soloists and chorus which he never surpassed.The use of English soloists reached its height at the first performance of Samson. The work is highly theatrical. The role of the chorus became increasingly import in his later oratorios. Jephtha was first performed on 26 February 1752; even though it was his last oratorio, it was no less a masterpiece than his earlier works.[58]Later yearsGeorge Frideric Handel in 1733, by Balthasar Denner (1685–1749)In 1749 Handel composed Music for the Royal Fireworks; 12,000 people attended the first performance.[59] In 1750 he arranged a performance of Messiah to benefit the Foundling Hospital. The performance was considered a great success and was followed by annual concerts that continued throughout his life. In recognition of his patronage, Handel was made a governor of the Hospital the day after his initial concert. He bequeathed a copy of Messiah to the institution upon his death.[60] His involvement with the Foundling Hospital is today commemorated with a permanent exhibition in London's Foundling Museum, which also holds the Gerald Coke Handel Collection. In addition to the Foundling Hospital, Handel also gave to a charity that assisted impoverished musicians and their families.In August 1750, on a journey back from Germany to London, Handel was seriously injured in a carriage accident between The Hague and Haarlem in the Netherlands.[61] In 1751 one eye started to fail. The cause was a cataract which was operated on by the great charlatan Chevalier Taylor. This led to uveitis and subsequent loss of vision. He died eight years later in 1759 at home in Brook Street, at age 74. The last performance he attended was of Messiah. Handel was buried in Westminster Abbey.[62] More than three thousand mourners attended his funeral, which was given full state honours.Handel never married, and kept his personal life private. His initial will bequeathed the bulk of his estate to his niece Johanna. However four codicils distributed much of his estate to other relations, servants, friends and charities.[63]Handel owned an art collection that was auctioned posthumously in 1760.[64] The auction catalogue listed approximately seventy paintings and ten prints (other paintings were bequeathed).[64]WorksSenesino, the famous castrato from SienaMain articles: List of compositions by George Frideric Handel and List of operas by Handel.Handel's compositions include 42 operas, 29 oratorios, more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets, numerous arias, chamber music, a large number of ecumenical pieces, odes and serenatas, and 16 organ concerti. His most famous work, the oratorio Messiah with its "Hallelujah" chorus, is among the most popular works in choral music and has become the centrepiece of the Christmas season. Among the works with opus numbers published and popularised in his lifetime are the Organ Concertos Op.4 and Op.7, together with the Opus 3 and Opus 6 concerti grossi; the latter incorporate an earlier organ concerto The Cuckoo and the Nightingale in which birdsong is imitated in the upper registers of the organ. Also notable are his sixteen keyboard suites, especially The Harmonious Blacksmith.Handel introduced previously uncommon musical instruments in his works: the viola d'amore and violetta marina (Orlando), the lute (Ode for St. Cecilia's Day), three trombones (Saul), clarinets or small high cornetts (Tamerlano), theorbo, horn (Water Music), lyrichord, double bassoon, viola da gamba, bell chimes, positive organ, and harp (Giulio Cesare, Alexander's Feast).[65]Handel's works have been catalogued in the Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis and are commonly referred to by an HWV number. For example, Messiah is catalogued as HWV 56.LegacyA Masquerade at the King's Theatre, Haymarket (c. 1724)Handel's works were collected and preserved by two men in particular: Sir Samuel Hellier, a country squire whose musical acquisitions form the nucleus of the Shaw-Hellier Collection,[66] and abolitionist Granville Sharp. The catalogue accompanying the National Portrait Gallery exhibition marking the tercentenary of the composer's birth calls them two men of the late eighteenth century "who have left us solid evidence of the means by which they indulged their enthusiasm".[67]After his death, Handel's Italian operas fell into obscurity, except for selections such as the aria from Serse, "Ombra mai fù". The oratorios continued to be performed but not long after Handel's death they were thought to need some modernisation, and Mozart orchestrated a German version of Messiah and other works. Throughout the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, particularly in the Anglophone countries, his reputation rested primarily on his English oratorios, which were customarily performed by enormous choruses of amateur singers on solemn occasions.Since the Early Music Revival many of the forty-two operas he wrote have been performed in opera houses and concert halls.Handel's music was studied by composers such as Haydn, Mozart and BeethovenRecent decades have revived his secular cantatas and what one might call 'secular oratorios' or 'concert operas'. Of the former, Ode for St. Cecilia's Day (1739) (set to texts by John Dryden) and Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne (1713) are noteworthy. For his secular oratorios, Handel turned to classical mythology for subjects, producing such works as Acis and Galatea (1719), Hercules (1745) and Semele (1744). These works have a close kinship with the sacred oratorios, particularly in the vocal writing for the English-language texts. They also share the lyrical and dramatic qualities of Handel's Italian operas. As such, they are sometimes performed onstage by small chamber ensembles. With the rediscovery of his theatrical works, Handel, in addition to his renown as instrumentalist, orchestral writer, and melodist, is now perceived as being one of opera's great musical dramatists.A carved marble statue of Handel, created for the Vauxhall Gardens in 1738 by Louis-François Roubiliac, and now preserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum.Handel's work was edited by Samuel Arnold (40 vols., London, 1787–1797), and by Friedrich Chrysander, for the German Händel-Gesellschaft (105 vols., Leipzig, 1858–1902).Handel adopted the spelling "George Frideric Handel" on his naturalisation as a British subject, and this spelling is generally used in English-speaking countries. The original form of his name, Georg Friedrich Händel, is generally used in Germany and elsewhere, but he is known as "Haendel" in France. Another composer with a similar name, Handl or Händl, was an Austrian from Carniola and is more commonly known as Jacobus Gallus.Musician's musicianHandel has generally been accorded high esteem by fellow composers, both in his own time and since.[68] Bach attempted, unsuccessfully, to meet with Handel while he was visiting Halle.[69] Mozart is reputed to have said of him, "Handel understands affect better than any of us. When he chooses, he strikes like a thunder bolt."[70] To Beethoven he was "the master of us all... the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head and kneel before his tomb".[70] Beethoven emphasised above all the simplicity and popular appeal of Handel's music when he said, "Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means".HomagesHandel Commemoration in Westminster Abbey, 1784After Handel's death, many composers wrote works based on or inspired by his music. The first movement from Louis Spohr's Symphony No. 6, Op. 116, "The Age of Bach and Handel", resembles two melodies from Handel's Messiah. In 1797 Ludwig van Beethoven published the 12 Variations in G major on ‘See the conqu’ring hero comes’ from Judas Maccabaeus by Handel, for cello and piano. Guitar virtuoso Mauro Giuliani composed his Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 107 for guitar, based on Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major, HWV 430, for harpsichord. In 1861, using a theme from the second of Handel's harpsichord suites, Johannes Brahms wrote the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, one of his most successful works (praised by Richard Wagner). Several works by the French composer Félix-Alexandre Guilmant use Handel's themes, for example his March on a Theme by Handel uses a theme from Messiah. French composer and flautist Philippe Gaubert wrote his Petite marche for flute and piano based on the fourth movement of Handel's Trio Sonata, Op. 5, No. 2, HWV 397. Argentine composer Luis Gianneo composed his Variations on a Theme by Handel for piano. In 1911, Australian-born composer and pianist Percy Grainger based one of his most famous works on the final movement of Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major (just like Giuliani). He first wrote some variations on the theme, which he titled Variations on Handel's ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’ . Then he used the first sixteen bars of his set of variations to create Handel in the Strand, one of his most beloved pieces, of which he made several versions (for example, the piano solo version from 1930). Arnold Schoenberg's Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra in B flat major (1933) was composed after Handel's Concerto Grosso, Op. 6/7.VenerationHandel is honored together with Johann Sebastian Bach and Henry Purcell with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on 28 July.He is commemorated as a musician in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 28 July, with Johann Sebastian Bach and Heinrich Schütz.He is commemorated as a musician along with Johann Sebastian Bach on 28 July by The Order of Saint Luke in their calendar of saints prepared for the use of The United Methodist Church.EditionsBetween 1787 and 1797 Samuel Arnold compiled a 180-volume collection of Handel's works—however it was far from complete.[72] Also incomplete was the collection produced between 1843 and 1858 by the English Handel Society (found by Sir George Macfarren).[73]The 105-volume Händel-Gesellschaft edition was published in the mid 19th century and was mainly edited by Friedrich Chrysander (often working alone in his home). For modern performance, the realisation of the basso continuo reflects 19th century practice. Vocal scores drawn from the edition were published by Novello in London, but some scores, such as the vocal score to Samson are incomplete.The still-incomplete Hallische Händel-Ausgabe started to appear in 1956 (named for Halle in Saxony-Anhalt Eastern Germany, not the Netherlands). It did not start as a critical edition, but after heavy criticism of the first volumes, which were performing editions without a critical apparatus (for example, the opera Serse was published with the title character recast as a tenor reflecting pre-war German practice), it repositioned itself as a critical edition. Influenced in part by cold-war realities, editorial work was inconsistent: misprints are found in abundance and editors failed to consult important sources. In 1985 a committee was formed to establish better standards for the edition.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We are delighted to have a unique recording of the annual performance of Handel's Messiah - This event was recorded on Fishamble Street in Dublin on the 13th of April, 2010.

Fishamble Street within the old Dublin walls dates back to the 14th century. It's been the site of a fish market, an open-air slaughterhouse but is most famous as the site of the first performace of Handel's Messiah. A journey through time (Broadcast 1988)