[Music: (Handel's Largo.) Father in heaven, Thy children hear.]
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:--
[Music: (The Messiah.) I know that my Redeemer liveth.]