Pub – Theatre – Royal House

Handel certainly never imagined back then that he would become a British citizen, let alone that he would be honored with a grave in Westminster Abbey (1), the church of British coronations. If you stand in the Abbey in front of Handel’s marble monument, you might not trust your eyes, for the year of his birth is given as 1684. But wasn’t Handel born in 1685, like Bach? However, the famous sculptor Roubiliac did not make a mistake, it is entirely because the Julian calendar was used in England until 1752, according to which the New Year falls on 25 March. And thus Handel was born in Halle on 23 February 1685 according to the new calendar, but 1684 according to the old calendar used in Britain at that time.

Handel’s links with Westminster Abbey were many and varied, and came about through his excellent connections to the British royal family. In 1710 he became Kapellmeister to the Elector of Hanover, and set off for London. In 1714 the Elector became King George I of Great Britain. His wife Caroline was also greatly devoted to Handel, and in 1724 she appointed him music teacher to her three children. George I was succeeded in 1727 by his son George II, and for his coronation in the Abbey in 1727, Handel composed his Coronation Anthems, including Zadok the Priest. For the funeral of Queen Caroline in 1737 he wrote the anthem The ways of Zion do mourn. (Later Part I of Israel in Egypt)

A position such as this also required him to compose music for royal occasions, such as the music for the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1749, which was celebrated with a great firework (3) display in nearby Green Park. Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks was an enormous success, although the public rehearsal caused a traffic jam on London Bridge. But the public fireworks ended in a fiasco as the Temple of Peace built specially for the occasion went up in flames.

As well as the theater in the Haymarket, the  Theatre Royal Covent Garden (5) played an important role for Handel. Over 20 works were premiered there, including operas and several oratorios (e.g. Alexander’s Feast in 1736, Samson in 1743, Judas Maccabaeus in 1747, Joshua in 1748, Theodora in 1750, and Jephtha in 1752). You can easily find the theater if you head in an easterly direction across Leicester Square and Charing Cross Road to Covent Garden and look for the present-day Royal Opera House there. Unfortunately the original building of 1732 burned down, but perhaps there might be a Handel opera on there again.

Handel would frequently have travelled along the Strand, for it leads not only to St. Paul’s Cathedral (7), but also to the Bank of England. Handel was a successful businessman who administered his finances with skill, as evidenced by the transactions personally signed by the composer in the archives of the Bank. It is well-known that Handel loved improvising on the organ in the Cathedral, and furthermore he is said to have often met with choral singers in one of the nearby taverns. Handel’s Utrecht Te Deum was premiered in St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1713 to celebrate the Peace marking the end of the twelve year-long War of the Spanish Succession. His first work written in the English language was an important milestone at the beginning of his London career and helped him to establish himself as a composer of prestigious music for the English royal family.

And to end, walk to see the parish church of St. George’s Hanover Square (10). This church was completed in 1725, and naturally the famous organist living in the neighborhood was involved in the building of the organ. The three-manual instrument was built by Gerald Smith, a nephew of the builder of the St. Paul’s Cathedral organ. The organ was rebuilt several times but parts of the case date from Handel’s time. It is known that Handel was a regular worshipper at St. George’s in the last years of his life – crippled with arthritis and totally blind.

(Translation: Elizabeth Robinson)