Early life
What was Handel's birth name?
Georg Friedrich Händel
Handel spent his youth studying which 3 instruments?
Organ, Harpsichord, and Violin
Handel is most widely known for this musical genre
Oratorio
What is the long-standing tradition with Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus"?
To stand for the duration of the performance.
What are Handels birth and death dates?
1685-1759
How old was Handel when he began writing operas, oratorios and cantatas for England's most important venues?
(+/- 3 years will be accepted)
21
In what was did Handel's performance of Saul offer a unique performance experience?
He included stage directions printed into the libretto which audiences could follow while they listened.
This excerpt is from which aria from a well-known Handel oratorio?
(0:50)
I know that my redeemer liveth
Handel began losing which of his senses?
Sight. He eventually became totally blind.
Handel was born in? (Town and country)
Halle, Germany
Handel was the music director for which academy?
The Royal Academy of Music
How do Handel's original major work compositions differ from the versions we hear today?
Many of the movements in his major works were altered through transposition, adding or removing pieces, or re-writing specific sections.
This excerpt is from which aria in which well-known Handel oratorio?
(0:47)
Let the Bright Seraphim from Samson
Most of Handel's oratorios were written within this timeframe
1 month
Handel's father was a
Which theater was Handel co-director for?
The Kings Theater
Which two "oratorios" are no longer considered this genre due to their secular content?
Semele and Hercules
In 1738, Handel pivoted to writing primarily Oratorio. Name one of the oratorios written this year.
Saul
Israel in Egypt
Handel believed which composers music was better than his own?
Henry Purcell
Handel's family wanted him to become
A lawyer
What was the last appointment Handel held?
composer at the Chapel Royal
Name 5 Handel oratorios not previously mentioned
Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (1707), La Resurrezione (1708), Esther (1732), Deborah (1733), and Athalia (1733), Saul (1738) Israel in Egypt (1738) Messiah (1741), Samson (1741), Semele (1743), Joseph and His Brethren (1743), Hercules (1744), Belshazzar (1744), Occasional Oratorio (1746), Judas Maccabaeus (1746), Alexander Balus (1747), Joshua (1747), Solomon (1748), Susanna (1748), Theodora (1749), and Jephtha (1751).
Which oratorios did Handel write in Rome, when opera was forbidden?
Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (1707) and La Resurrezione (1708)