George frideric handel

(1685-1759)

The German composer Handel is born at Halle in Saxony, in the same year as the composer J. S. Bach. Many stories have sprung up about his childhood that suggest that his father wanted him to have nothing to do with music. Experts now believe that Handel's family in fact encouraged his talent as a musician, although they felt he would be financially more secure in a legal career. How­ever, during a visit with his father in 1696 to the Berlin court of the future King Frederick I of Prussia, he was heard playing the organ by the king, who advised his father to let him study music seriously. At the age of 11, Handel could play the organ, harpsichord, violin, and oboe, and he had also begun to compose music. In 1703 he went to work in Hamburg, where he produced his first opera, Almira. In 1706 he traveled to Italy, where, during a four-year stay, he gained experience in writing operas, religious music, and oratorios (works for choir and orchestra).

Four years later Handel became director of music to George Louis, Elector of Hanover, later King George I of England. In 1711, Handel went to England and started putting on successful Italian operas in London. He was in England when the elector became king in 1714. The king was not very pleased with Handel for staying away from Hanover, but they were soon reconciled. About this time the Water Music was composed and was probably performed for a royal water party on the Thames in 1717.

Handel made England his home and briefly became conductor of the Duke of Chandos' orchestra at his home near Edgware, Middle­sex. In the 1720s he wrote operas for a com­pany called the Royal Academy of Music. But by 1729 Londoners were tiring of Italian opera and the company went bankrupt.

In the 1730s Handel turned more and more to the writing of oratorios. Those oratorios, in English, were based on Biblical themes, and included Handel's most famous work Messiah, first per­formed in Dublin in 1742. Handel's oratorios proved extremely popular and are still heard. Apart from Messiah, they include Acis and Galatea, Judas Maccabaeus, Israel in Egypt, and Saul (now best known for its Dead March).

In 1749, Handel wrote his famous Music for the Royal Fireworks, to accompany the cele­brations for a treaty called the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. Some 12,000 people attended the rehearsal of the music in Vauxhall Gardens, which showed how popular Handel was. In 1753, he wrote his last oratorio, Jephtha, and went blind in the same year. He died six years later and was buried with honor in Westmins­ter Abbey.

For years people remembered Handel's ora­torios and neglected his operas. Now we enjoy these works, too. Among the many operas he wrote for the English stage are Berenice, Rinaldo, Rodelinda, and Serse. He also wrote harpsichord pieces and organ concertos, which were played between the acts of his oratorios.

Exercise 2: Give exact equivalents for the underlined words and word combinations. Use them in effective English sentences of your own, but change the reference of your statements (speak of other subjects, though they may be closely related to that of the piece of information above).

Exercise 3: Translate into English.

“Век Просвещения” – это лишь одно из названий, данных историками XVIII веку. Это имя подчеркивает значение (важность) разума и просвещения для людей того времени. “Век разума” – еще одно имя этого периода в истории, данное в честь преклонения перед мыслящими людьми. Богами этого культа были Ньютон и Локк (Locke). Для многих ученых разум превратился в религию.

В работах художников Просвещения мы видим стремление к порядку и уважение к древним цивилизациям. Основными темами в искусстве того времени были обыденная жизнь простых людей, с одной стороны, и великолепие, пышность придворной жизни – с другой.

Век Просвещения начался во времена правления абсолютной монархии Людовика XIV. Возрастало недовольство простого народа деспотичным и равнодушным образом жизни дворянства. Ученые Западной Европы развивали новую философию. Ее основой служили разум, идея равенства и братства, права людей и их отношение с правительством. Эти идеи и настроения привели к всплескам новых реформаторских сил и в результате – к революциям как политического, так и научного характера.

Exercise 4: Design a completed piece of judgement to make certain statements from the above extract more relevant. The point is to resort to evidence where necessary and not to make your text too long.

Exercise 5: Study the information about writing a précis in the Reference Section. Strip the text “The Enlightenment” down to its leading ideas and re-cast it in the smallest number of words possible and write a précis on the topic. Keep the logical order in which the ideas have been presented in the original, but avoid following the exact wording too closely.

STEP 5: Making a report

A report aims at communicating facts on specific prob­lems; in other words, a report is a factual account of one's investigations of some scientific problems (scientific, literary, etc.). The emphasis in the report is on the facts, and the interpretation of the facts should be logical and not emotional. The style should be literary or that of scien­tific prose, i. e. it should include some terms:

1. a title-page presenting the topic, i. e. about what and by whom the report is written;

2. a table of contents;

3. synopsis of findings, conclusions and recommenda­tions;

4. clearly headed subdivisions of the main text with cross-reference to appendices.

In order to achieve the degree of objectivity in a report the student must distinguish between facts and judgements based on facts. He must record what he really sees and not what he wants to.

The qualities of a good report include accuracy, clar­ity, consciousness, and completeness. The reporter should be selective with his material emphasizing that which he believes to be most significant.

Exercise 1: From the text “The Enlightenment” select all the names of the most famous people of the period. Choose one name as a topic of your report. Try to find the name, which is most appealing to you!

Exercise 2: Conduct a short survey in the nearest library and make up your notes on the chosen subject. Compose a table of contents for your report.

Exercise 3: Produce clearly headed subdivisions of the main text with cross-reference to appendices and a synopsis of your findings, conclusions and recommenda­tions.

Exercise 4: Distinguish between facts and judgements based on the facts and record what you really see and not what you want to.

Exercise 5: Choose the style for your report keeping in mind the audience you are supposed to address. Make the sentences clear and expressive. Write your report. Be ready to reproduce it in class.