Baroque · Germany and Central Europe
1685 – 1759
Halle - London
Review
Born in Halle the same year as Bach, he was formed at the Hamburg opera and triumphed in Italy. In 1712 he settled in London, where he naturalized British and dominated the Italian opera for decades.
When the opera went out of fashion, it created the English-language oratorio, with the Messiah (Dublin, 1742) as a summit work. He wrote music for the court and for the coronations, and is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Main works
- Opera Rinaldo (1711)
- Water music HWV 348-350 (1717)
- Opera Giulio Cesare (1724)
- Himno Zadok the Priest (1727)
- Opera Alcina (1735)
- Opera Serse, with «Ombra mai fu» (1738)
- Concerti grossi op. 6 (1739)
- The Messiah HWV 56 (1742)
- Music for the real fireworks (1749)
