Handel, George Books

Handel, Revised Edition

Christopher Hogwood

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Accurate, detailed, readable - and finely printed 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Christopher Hogwood: Handel. Revised Edition. Chronological Table by Anthony Hicks. With 100 illustrations, 10 in color. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2007. (First published 1985). 324 pages. I had read a couple of Handel biographies before obtaining Christopher Hogwood's book, but this is by far the best, both for detail and accuracy and for sheer readability. With the help of a good deal of 18th (and sometimes 19th) century literature which he quotes verbatim whenever it seems appropriate (but without overburdening his text with footnotes), Christopher Hogwood takes five long chapters to describe in great fulness the known facts - and some speculative ones - of the life of Handel from his birth through to his death in London in 1759. Hogwood limits himself to narrative and does not begin interpreting Handel's music, nor does he discuss in too much detail the ins and outs of when Handel changed this or that aria. This provides a very good overview of the events of Handel's life and of the people he was involved with. Handel's works are, of course, mentioned in the order they were composed, but Hogwood does not descend to giving summaries of opera plots; he is more interested in informing us how the individual operas and oratorios were received and to pass on any detail about the audience or about press reactions. There is quite a lot about the singers, too, although I never found this confusing. In his sixth chapter, "Handel and Posterity", Hogwood takes a critical look at the developments in the reception of Handel's music. He shows how it came to pass that only a few of Handel's works were ever performed in the 19th century and why they were usually performed with forces that were much bigger than anything Handel himself ever envisaged. He traces the development through until the 1980's, when the book was originally published. What has gone on in the world of performance and recording since that time is neatly summarized in an additional chapter written for the revised edition, which also has a bibliographical supplement. The book has a comprehensive index, and is very well printed: I found only one spelling mistake in the whole book, and that in a German word ("Diens" instead of "Dienst"). This is excellent material, much easier to read and much more fascinating, in my opinion, than say, Christoph Wolff's biography of Johann Sebastian Bach (which I found such hard going that I put it aside after about 150 pages). If you want to be thoroughly informed about Handel's life and doings, then buy this book!

Editorial Review:

A revised edition of "the clear biography of choice for anyone interested in one of the great figures of music.—The New York Times Book Review

George Friedrich Handel remains one of the unchallenged geniuses of musical history. Yet many revealing and fascinating aspects of his work have been obscured by generations of adulation, prejudice, or misinterpretation. Christopher Hogwood takes us back to the original Handel, blending the evidence from documents of all kinds with judicious biographical observations as well as a delightful selection of illustrations.

The result is a comprehensive and entertaining portrait of the developing character and career of Handel, with an important concluding chapter that traces the progress of the Handel legend down to our own time, and a chronological table compiled by Anthony Hicks that outlines major events in the composer's life and musical career. 100 illustrations, 10 in color.

George Handel (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A fantastic series!! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Combined with music and simple art projects, this book and the others in the series, have made for a wonderful class for grades 2-3 and 4-6. The books are accessable and engaging, allowing the students to learn and have fun at the same time. I would highly recommend these books for nearly any setting, in a music class, as a supplement to instrumental lessons, or simply music enrichment with your child at home.

Editorial Review:

The author/illustrator of the highly successful Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series lends his creative talents to another fun, informative series, this one featuring world-famous composers.

Messiah: The Gospel According to Handel's Oratorio

Roger A. Bullard

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Editorial Review:

Bullard provides an informed, readable commentary specifically on the libretto, or text, of Handel's Messiah, explaining each part in terms of: how the language differs from the King James Version of the Bible; what the passage of Scripture meant in its original context; and how the citation fits in the artistic and religious structure of the oratorio as a whole.

Messiah: Calligraphic Word Pictures Inspired by the Music and Text of George Frederick Handel's Messiah, With Notes by the Artist

Timothy R. Botts

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Messiah 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I am very impressed with this book. Knowing the musical work, it is interesting how he portrays the music into pieces of art other than notes, instruments, and voices. Each and every piece can stand on it's own, and putting them all together is very meaningful. I shared this with my own children to appreciate Handel's work as they listened and looked. I have this out right after Thanksgiving, and leave it out until Easter. Often it is picked up by visitors and becomes a great subject of conversation. It would be a great addition to any home library, as well as a perfect memorial book for a church.

A treasure you will cherish. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

There really are no words adequate to describe this book. As Handel's music lifts the spirit of the text, Timothy Bott's use of lettering, size, color and placement of words on the page in the description of the text is unique in my experience, in its ability to touch the soul. This is a book you will want to keep close by all year long, to be touched again and again by its inspiring and deeply meaningful expression of the Christmas/Resurrection story.

Editorial Review:

1992 Gold Medallion Award winner!
Value priced!
Now art lovers can experience the inspiration of Handel's classic Messiah through Botts's expressive calligraphy. His full-color artwork is a visual orchestration of the entire text of the Messiah.

Handel (Master Musicians Series,)

Donald Burrows

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Editorial Review:

Celebrating its 100th anniversary, this extraordinary series continues to amaze and captivate its readers with detailed insight into the lives and work of music's geniuses. Unlike other composer biographies that focus narrowly on the music, this series explores the personal history of each composer and the social context surrounding the music. In a precise, engaging, and authoritative manner, each volume combines a vivid portrait of the master musicians' inspirations, influences, life experiences, even their weaknesses, with an accessible discussion of their work-all in roughly 300 pages. Further, each volume offers superb reference material, including a detailed life and times chronology, a complete list of works, a personalia glossary highlighting the important people in the composer's life, and a select bibliography. Under the supervision of music expert and series general editor Stanley Sadie, Master Musicians will certainly proceed to delight music scholars, serious musicians, and all music lovers for another hundred years.
In this volume, Donald Burrows's relates Handel's life and his music, devoting particular attention to two crucial junctures in Handel's development: his transition from a church-trained musician in Germany to a successful opera composer in London, and the gradual transformation of his theater career from opera to oratorio, some thirty years later. In the oratorio form, as Burrows demonstrates, Handel was able to combine the techniques of large-scale construction and of aria writing that he had developed in his operas with an experience of choral music that went back to his earliest training as a church organist. The result was music that succeeds to this day in capturing the imagination of a vast audience.

Handel, Who Knew What He Liked

M.T. Anderson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Non-Fiction 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

This is a biography that is fun enough to use as a read aloud. According to Anderson, Handel was quite a character, sneeking things behind his father's back and dueling with his best friend. The funny personal anectdotes spice up the great historical information on each page. The illustrations give a good sence of Handel's personality, and of the period. I especially liked the rococo frames and end pages. Anderson has included a time line, list of recordings, and further reading at the end of the book. Grades K-3.

Editorial Review:

"Both illustration and text are characterized by a saucy style, impeccable pacing, and a richness of content, and the two harmonize splendidly." — SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review)

George Frideric Handel was not your everyday eighteenth-century composer. And in a manner befitting its subject, this witty, rigorously researched, and accessible biography captures Handel's essential spirit — from a child who smuggled a clavichord into the attic to make music against his father's orders to a young man who imported forty-five pounds of mountain snow to chill wine for a gala. LOS ANGELES TIMES Book Prize winner M. T. Anderson depicts not only Handel's triumphs but also his struggles, chronicling the illness, ill fortune, and despair that led to his greatest achievement, the Messiah. With impeccable detail and a wink at the reader, Kevin Hawkes illustrates this singular story of Handel and the music through which he lives on.

Handel: Messiah (Cambridge Music Handbooks)

Donald Burrows

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Concise guidebook to a musical masterpiece 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

My favorite book about Handel's iconic work remains Jens Peter Larsen's definitive study of 1957. However, getting through Larsen's painstakingly researched and densely written volume is a forbidding task for even a trained musician, let alone a casual music lover wanting to know more about the oratorio. This shorter guide by Donald Burrows offers a worthy alternative and supplement (though a fairly high degree of musical literacy is still presupposed). Burrows' portrait of Handel's librettist Charles Jennens and the uneasy relationship between Jennens and the composer brings both figures vividly to life, in part through frequently quoting primary source material. His chronology of Messiah's composition and early performances is both more concise and more interesting than Larsen's somewhat ponderous background text. On the other hand, for cogent, detailed analysis of each individual number, as well as in thorough dissections and balanced conclusions regarding Messiah's changing versions, Larsen comes out far ahead. I also do not agree with Burrows' contention in a separate essay that Handel's original text-settings, with their frequently faulty accentuation of the English language, must be kept at all costs. Still, in terms of packing quantities of useful, interesting information into a small space without sacrificing readability, this Cambridge Musical Handbook is a winner.

Editorial Review:

Donald Burrows brings many new insights to this fascinating account of one of the favorite works of the concert hall. He traces the course of Messiah from Handel's initial musical response to the libretto, through the oratorio's turbulent first years to its eventual popularity with the Foundling Hospital performances. The book addresses such questions as the position of Messiah within the oratorio genre, Handel's treatment of structural design, tonal relationships in the work and problems of English wordsetting, as well as contemporary issues such as Handel's relationship with his librettist, Charles Jennens, and with his performers and audience.

Handels Messiah Family Advent Reader

Frances Lenzo, Donna Payne

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Christmas Devotions your whole family will love 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 17 people found this review helpful.

If you have never bought a family devotional before, thinking your family would never sit still for it, you're in for a real surprise! This is one thing you will want to add to your family's list of "to do's" over this Christmas season. I have never read a devotional quite like this one. Based on the great Handel's Messiah, this beautiful book is full of stories you most likely will never find anywhere else. Chock full of surprising and very interesting but little known facts. For instance, why do people all stand up when the "haleluia chorus" is played? How about this story intitled "Daughter of Her Son". This is a beautifully written piece about Mary and her relationship with her Savior/Son. Children will love the stories entitled "The Flying Snakes", "The Reindeer People" and "No Christmas allowed". Each story has been carefully researched and well written with beautiful color artwork. There is a story for each day of advent. I guarantee your family will be eager to sit down each evening to hear what story will be read that evening. If you have never had family devotions before, this is a great way to introduce your family to a time of learning, reflection, and what Christmas is truly all about. This is the best book of the Christmas Season. I can't wait to go through it again this year with my loved ones.

Editorial Review:

For families who yearn for Christmas to be a true celebration of Christ's birth on earth, the Handel's Messiah Family Advent Reader provides daily readings that are biblically-based and culturally rich. With intriguing stories explaining well-known Christmas customs, each reading features a different portion of the libretto from Handel's Messiah and offers a spiritual insight that links the story to an important principle. The book also includes a CD with portions of Handel's Messiah to enhance the experience.

Handel's Messiah: A Celebration

Richard Luckett

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Editorial Review:

Luckett explores the background and composition of Messiah--the often stormy relations between Handel and his librettist, the colorful lives and personalities of the original soloists, and the circumstances of the first performance in Dublin, 1742. Paintings, engravings, caricatures, and fascimiles.

The New Grove Handel (New Grove)

Winton Dean

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Expanded Grove Dictionary article in book form 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is the Grove Dictionary article published in book form with expanded text by Winton Dean. The best part of this book is the complete annotated catalogue of Handel's works. A basic reference survey