Category Archives: George Frederick Handel

BBC Documentary – Handel’s Messiah at the Foundling Hospital

12 Sunday Apr 2015

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BBC Documentary –  Handel’s Messiah at the Foundling Hospital.

Handel’s Messiah is one of the most popular choral pieces in Western music. It has been recorded hundreds of times and contains a tune that is as instantly recognisable as any in music. Yet few people know the extraordinary story of how this much-loved piece came to public attention – or how it helped save the lives of tens of thousands of children.

Historian Amanda Vickery and BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service present this one-hour drama documentary which recreates the first performance of Messiah at London’s Foundling Hospital in 1750 and tells the heart-rending story of how this special fundraising concert helped maintain the hospital and heralded a golden age of philanthropy.

Exploring historical documents and artefacts, Amanda Vickery examines the plight of women in Georgian London, particularly how the attitudes of the time led mothers to abandon their babies at the hospital. Tom Service looks at the momentous trials and tribulations faced by Handel in London and discovers how the composer became involved with the Foundling Hospital alongside another philanthropist of the day, the artist William Hogarth.

God Rot Tunbridge Wells – The Life Of George Frederic Handel (drama)

09 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by in George Frederick Handel, Period Dramas

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God Rot Tunbridge Wells – The Life Of Georg Frederic Handel.

A rather blunt and grumpy Handel looks back on his life and works. Handel is played by Trevor Howard. Period drama made in 1985 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of  Handel’s birth. I don’t know a lot about Handel’s personality and whether he is being accurately portrayed here or not. I like the style though- it is as though Handel is talking personally to you!

George Frederick Handel Documentary

21 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by in George Frederick Handel, Music

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George Frederick Handel Documentary.

This is another BBC composers documentary. It explores Handel’s arrival in London and the pivotal role he played in bringing opera to London, and the great contribution he also made to choral works.

Handel was very generous and supported charitable causes; his Messiah helped fund the Foundling Hospital in 1750, which saved the lives of many impoverished orphaned babies.

His former home in London ( where he lived from 1723, until his passing in 1759) is now a beautiful museum:

http://www.handelhouse.org/

I really hope I can visit it soon! Just look at that exquisite harpsichord on the home page!

Here is the first part of the documentary: