Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759) was a German,
later British, baroque composer who spent the bulk of
his career in London, becoming well known for his
operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel
received important training in Halle and worked as a
composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London
in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in
1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great
composers of the Italian Baroque and by the
middle-German polyphonic choral ...(+)
Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759) was a German,
later British, baroque composer who spent the bulk of
his career in London, becoming well known for his
operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel
received important training in Halle and worked as a
composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London
in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in
1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great
composers of the Italian Baroque and by the
middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.
Hercules (HWV 60) is a Musical Drama in three acts by
George Frideric Handel, composed in July and August
1744. The English language libretto was by the Reverend
Thomas Broughton, based on Sophocles's Women of Trachis
and the ninth book of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Hercules was first given at the King's Theatre in
London on 5 January 1745 in concert style. There were
only two performances in the original run. The role of
Lichas was written first as a small one for tenor, but
it was greatly expanded before the premiere to provide
Susanna Cibber with six airs. She was too ill to sing
on the first night, and the music was either omitted or
redistributed on that occasion. She sang in the second
performance on 12 January. The music for the chorus
"Wanton God" and the air "Cease, ruler of the day" was
never given in this opera: the latter was adapted for
the final chorus of Theodora. The work was a total
failure and caused Handel to suspend his season.
Hercules obtained three further hearings, two in 1749
and one in 1752, for which the role of Lichas was
eliminated, and much of the other music was also
cut.
Hercules was originally performed in the theatre as an
oratorio without stage action. It is argued that this
contributed to its later neglect as it did not make the
transition into the church and the concert hall
successfully. When fully staged it was reappraised and
acclaimed by Romain Rolland, Henry Prunières, Paul
Henry Lang and others as one of the supreme
masterpieces of its age. The first modern performance
was in Münster in 1925. Hercules is sometimes given a
full opera staging, for example, in a Peter Sellars
production at the Chicago Lyric Opera in 2011.
The mad scene for Dejanira "Where shall I fly?" is one
of the highlights of the score. It contains many
changes of tempo and mood, following the character's
panic and despair. The chorus comment on the action
after the manner of the choruses in Greek tragedy, with
varied and inventive music. Some of the choruses
contain massive fugues, others are "jolly" tunes. The
work makes extensive use of musical chromaticism. For
musicologist Paul Henry Lang, the excellence of the
libretto, the masterly characterisation through music,
and Handel's superlative musical invention make
Hercules "the crowning glory of Baroque music
drama".
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_(Handel)).
Although originally created for Baroque Orchestra, I
created this Arrangement of Sinfonia from "Hercules"
(HWV 60 Mvt. 20) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, French Horn &
Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
