Acis and Galatea (HWV 49) is a musical work by George
Frideric Handel with an English text by John Gay. The
work has been variously described as a serenata, a
masque, a pastoral or pastoral opera, a "little opera"
(in a letter by the composer while it was being
written), an entertainment and by the New Grove
Dictionary of Music as an oratorio. The work was
originally devised as a one-act masque which premiered
in 1718. He later adapted the piece into a three-act
serenata for the Italian opera tr...(+)
Acis and Galatea (HWV 49) is a musical work by George
Frideric Handel with an English text by John Gay. The
work has been variously described as a serenata, a
masque, a pastoral or pastoral opera, a "little opera"
(in a letter by the composer while it was being
written), an entertainment and by the New Grove
Dictionary of Music as an oratorio. The work was
originally devised as a one-act masque which premiered
in 1718. He later adapted the piece into a three-act
serenata for the Italian opera troupe in London in
1732, which incorporated a number of songs (still in
Italian) from Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, his 1708 setting
of the same story to different music. He later adapted
the original English work into a two-act work in
1739.
Several writers, such as musicologist Stanley Sadie,
consider it the greatest pastoral opera ever composed.
As is typical of the genre, Acis and Galatea was
written as a courtly entertainment about the simplicity
of rural life and contains a significant amount of wit
and self-parody. The secondary characters, Polyphemus
and Damon, provide a significant amount of humor
without diminishing the pathos of the tragedy of the
primary characters, Acis and Galatea. The music of the
first act is both elegant and sensual, while the final
act takes on a more melancholy and plaintive tone. The
opera was significantly influenced by the pastoral
operas presented at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
during the early 18th century. Reinhard Keiser and
Henry Purcell also served as influences, but overall
the conception and execution of the work is wholly
individual to Handel.
Acis and Galatea was by far Handel's most popular
dramatic work and is his only stage work never to have
left the opera repertory. The opera has been adapted
numerous times since its premiere, with a notable
arrangement being made by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in
1788. Handel never gave the work in the form in which
it is generally heard today, since it contains music
which, while by Handel, was never added by him.
The story comes from Dryden’s translation of the
thirteenth book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which
appeared in London in 1717. In a libretto of 1730,
Alexander Pope is named as the author of Handel’s
text, but in one of 1739 John Gay is credited; the
words of the aria ‘Would you gain the tender
creature’ are certainly by John Hughes. As Handel
would have known the three poets through Lord
Burlington’s circle it would not be unreasonable to
suggest that all three may have had a hand in the
libretto: such a practice was not uncommon.
Handel made numerous revisions of the score, especially
for later revivals, adding extra movements (in
Italian!) and a chorus version of ‘Happy we’
(rather than the original duet). He also increased the
scoring to include violas (which were absent from the
Cannons orchestra) and even a carillon in 1739. Some
versions included a third tenor part for the character
named Coridon, giving him Damon’s aria ‘Would you
gain the tender creature’: in most versions, however,
this fifth voice appears only in the choruses, being
suited to either a very high tenor or a countertenor.
(The possibility of the former must be considered as
the Chapel choir at Cannons did not employ
countertenors, though the range is much more suited to
a falsettist.)
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acis_and_Galatea_(Handel
))
Although originally composed for Chorus & Orchestra, I
created this Interpretation of the "As when the dove
laments her love" from "Acis and Galatea" (HWV 49 Mvt.
7) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, French Horn & Bassoon) and
Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
