Handel was born in the German city of Halle on February
23, 1685. His father noted but did not nurture his
musical talent, and he had to sneak a small keyboard
instrument into his attic to practice. As a child he
studied music with Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, organist
at the Liebfrauenkirche, and for a time he seemed
destined for a career as a church organist himself.
After studying law briefly at the University of Halle,
Handel began serving as organist on March 13, 1702, at
the Domkirche there. ...(+)
Handel was born in the German city of Halle on February
23, 1685. His father noted but did not nurture his
musical talent, and he had to sneak a small keyboard
instrument into his attic to practice. As a child he
studied music with Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, organist
at the Liebfrauenkirche, and for a time he seemed
destined for a career as a church organist himself.
After studying law briefly at the University of Halle,
Handel began serving as organist on March 13, 1702, at
the Domkirche there. Dissatisfied, he took a post as
violinist in the Hamburg opera orchestra in 1703, and
his frustration with musically provincial northern
Germany was perhaps shown when he fought a duel the
following year with the composer Matheson over the
accompaniment to one of Matheson's operas. In 1706
Handel took off for Italy, then the font of operatic
innovation, and mastered contemporary trends in Italian
serious opera. He returned to Germany to become court
composer in Hannover, whose rulers were linked by
family ties with the British throne; his patron there,
the Elector of Hannover, became King George I of
England. English audiences took to his 1711 opera
Rinaldo, and several years later Handel jumped at the
chance to move to England permanently. He impressed
King George early on with the Water Music of 1716,
written as entertainment for a royal boat outing.
Sometimes mistakenly called an "oboe concerto," much of
the music for this orchestral work in two movements
dates from many years before -- the material had
appeared in Handel's operas Amadigi di Gaula (1716) and
Ottone, Rè di Germania (1723). Nevertheless, this
material is treated to some interesting and innovative
orchestration.
The second movement is an Allegro in D minor which
features several pairings of instruments which make for
an unusual ensemble sound: violin I and oboe I in
unison, violin II and oboe II in unison, viola, cello,
and bassoon in unison, and organ and harpsichord
(clavecin) in unison (!).
The theme declaims itself in two-measure units, partly
noble, partly sighing. The keyboards enter for a long
passage by themselves which is built from steady scale
runs and rotating pedal points (e.g., G sharp, E, A, E,
B, E) that generate the effect of a melody heading off
into the distant universe until it plunges in a
three-octave descent that evokes a recapitulation of
the theme by the full ensemble. This passage is
expanded in length and pitch range three more times
before the final closing.
Although originally written for Oboes(2) & Strings, I
created this arrangement for Woodwind Quartet (Flute,
Oboe, Bb Clarinet and Bassoon).
