3. He was born the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach.
4. Handel’s Messiah This work is his most famous creation and is among the most popular works in the Western choral literature.
5. Handel completed the music in just 24 days and gave to Charles Jennens to create the lyrics.
6. After he finished composing The Messiah, Handel is said to have made the following statement: “I did think I saw Heaven before me and the great God himself.”
7. Much of the libretto comes from the Old Testament. The first section draws heavily from the book of Isaiah; that which prophesies the coming of the Messiah. There are few quotations from the Gospels; these are at the end of the first and the beginning of the second sections. They comprise the Angel going to the shepherds in Luke, two enigmatic quotations from Matthew and one from John: "Behold the Lamb of God". The rest of the second section is composed of prophecies from Isaiah and quotations from the evangelists. The third section includes one quotation from Job Job ("I know that my Redeemer liveth"), the rest primarily from First Corinthians. Interesting, too, is the interpolation of choruses from Revelation. The well-known "Hallelujah" chorus at the end of Part II and the finale chorus "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" (“ Amen” ") are both taken from Revelation —a book of prophecies in the New Testament. The libretto was compiled by Charles Jennens and consists of fragments of verses from the King James Bible . Jennens conceived of the work much as an opera with three acts, each comprised of several scenes.
9. The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, composed by Handel. It premiered in the summer of 1717 when King George I requested a concert on the River Thames. The concert was performed by 50 musicians that joined King George I on his barge. King George I was said to have loved it so much that he ordered Handel to play the suites three times on the trip.
