Читать книгу Stories of Great Musicians - Olive Brown Horne - Страница 10

Table of Contents

Handel was twenty-five years old when he went to England. He had not been there long before he composed an opera. The music of this opera became very popular. Often when friends met on the street, they said, "Have you heard Handel's opera?" Soon it was hummed and whistled everywhere.

Long ago, the river Thames was well loved by the kings and queens of England. When they wished to spend a pleasant holiday, nothing was so enjoyable as a sail down the river.

One fine morning in August, King George and his family returned to London after a pleasant day spent on the water. The people had seen the royal boats floating past in the morning and were ready to welcome their king on his return. They built big bonfires on the banks of the river. From time to time salutes were fired. The people crowded the bridges and banks to see the royal procession.

Soon the boats of the king came in sight. How the banners waved and how the flags fluttered in the breeze! How the water splashed as the oars rose and fell! "That must be the king's own boat that we see yonder!" shouted the people. "Yes, there is the king under that crimson canopy!"

But hark! the sound of music comes floating gently across the water. How soft is the melody in the still night air! Whence come those sweet sounds?

Not far from the royal barge are several boats filled with musicians. In one of the boats stands a young man, the leader of the musicians. He must have trained them well, for the fine music attracts the attention of the king.

"Who is the leader of the musicians?" asks the king of one of the gentlemen near him. "It is Handel, your Majesty," replies the courtier. "And did he compose the music which we now hear?" asks the king. "Yes, your Majesty," is the reply.

The people on the banks of the river become quiet as one piece of beautiful music after another is heard. King George thinks that each is better than the one that preceded it. At last, when the royal barge is no longer in sight, the sweet sounds die away.

The next day the king invited Handel to the court and asked him to become the teacher of the young princess. He also promised the composer that he should receive two hundred pounds sterling every year. It was not unusual in those days for a king to settle a sum of money upon a poet or musician.

One day Handel walked out into the country. He was caught in a shower and found shelter in a blacksmith's shop. The jolly old smith was singing at his work and beating a tune upon the anvil as he sang. The composer caught the clanging music of the hammer on the anvil. When he went home, Handel put the tones that he had heard into some music, which he called The Jolly Blacksmith.

By the year 1726 the composer was so much pleased with England that he decided to live there. He sometimes went back to Germany to visit; but England was his home.

During the first years that Handel lived in London, he composed many operas. Great crowds of people went to hear them sung; sometimes twenty dollars was paid for one seat. Sometimes hundreds of people were turned away from the theater. King George and Queen Caroline often attended the operas. That was a great honor for Handel.

It is not as a composer of operas that George Frederick Handel is remembered to-day. Indeed, if he had written nothing but operas, we should hear little of him now. In 1741 he composed an oratorio more beautiful than any other that has ever been written. It is called The Messiah. If Handel had written nothing but this one oratorio, his name would live forever.

The music was composed in twenty-four days. The Messiah means The Christ. The words which are sung to Handel's music are taken from the Bible. The music is so wonderfully written that one scarcely needs the words to know the story.

While Handel was composing the music of The Messiah, he thought much of the life of Christ. His heart was filled with sorrow when he thought how He was crucified. The words of one of the solos speak of Christ as "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." When Handel was writing the music for these words, a friend, coming in, found him in tears.

Some one once asked Handel how he could write such beautiful music. He replied, "While I was writing The Messiah, I did think I saw all heaven before me and the great God himself."

There are many choruses in The Messiah. The one best liked is the Hallelujah Chorus. When The Messiah was first sung in London, the king was present. He listened in silence to the wonderful music. When the Hallelujah Chorus was reached, he rose and stood with bowed head. The whole audience followed his example. This has now become a custom. Whenever and wherever The Messiah is sung, the people rise and remain standing until the last Hallelujah has died away.

Handel was fifty-six years old when he wrote The Messiah. The remaining eighteen years of his life were filled with work. He wrote many other oratorios. In the year 1752 the master musician became blind. In spite of his blindness, he worked on, dictating many pieces of music, while some one wrote for him.

His misfortune did not make Handel sad. He was still cheerful and happy, and was never heard to complain. Until the end of his life he carried on his work.

George Frederick Handel died in London in 1759, and was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. Now the soft light from the great rose window falls gently upon a marble statue of the musician.

The statue represents Handel standing and looking upward. Upon the marble table beside him is carved a sheet of music from The Messiah. Here may be seen the words of one of the most beautiful parts of the oratorio:—

(The Messiah.)

←Contents