Music Notes 5-17-26
George Frideric Handel (born Georg Friedrich Händel) is known as an English composer, but he
was actually born, raised and trained in Germany. He was born in 1650 in Halle an der Saal, a
city just north of Leipzig (famous for its resident composer J.S. Bach) in what was East
Germany, and was the son of a coppersmith. Between the age of 7 and 9, he began training with
the only teacher he would ever have, Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, who introduced him to both the
traditional music of fugues and counterpoint, and to the newer forms of music, especially the
new Italian art form, opera. By age 9, he was composing entire services of music for Zachow’s
church. After graduating from the University of Halle in 1702, he moved to Hamburg, a free city
with an established opera company, where he took a position with the Hamburg opera orchestra
(playing violin and harpsichord) and began writing operas in the Italian style (in those days,
operatic subjects were always based on Greek mythology). In 1706, he traveled to Italy at the
invitation of the Medicis, who were trying to establish Florence as the musical capitol of Italy by
attracting the greatest talents in the world. He wrote operas in Florence and sacred music for the
clergy in Rome. In 1710, he became Kapellmeister (person in charge of music-making) to
Georg, Elector of Hannover. In 1712, he decided to move to London, and in a twist of fate,
Georg of Hannover became King George I of England in 1714 (Handel had to appease his
old/new boss by writing a bunch of music for him, including the Coronation Anthems, also
known as Zadok the Priest, which our choir has sung and has been performed at every British
coronation since). Handel ultimately founded 3 companies to supply the British nobility with
Italian opera, including the opera house at Covent Garden. As financial returns from opera
began to dwindle, he turned to writing oratorios – they were cheaper to produce since no sets
were required and the singers wore their own clothes. Once he began writing oratorios, he never
completely returned to opera. His Messiah was written in 3 weeks in a burst of energy and
debuted in Dublin in 1741. He died on April 14, 1759, and was buried in Westminster Abbey
with full state honors and with 3000 attendees present. Comfort Ye, My People is the second
piece of music heard in Part I of Handel’s Messiah, as well as also being the first vocal work.
Based on three verses, this work depicts the voice of God talking to the people. It is traditionally
sung by a tenor. The slow and warm string opening sets the scene for the tenor to enter. The
vocalist sings the first line, which is then mirrored at pitch by the violins. This is significant as it
places the emphasis on the phrase ‘Comfort Ye’. The ebb and flow of the accompaniment add to
the peaks and troughs of the vocal line, which keeps the ear interested in the music.
In This Very Room is considered to be one of the all-time “Top 10” modern Christian songs. It
was written by Los Angeles-based composer Ron Harris, who, at the time, was music director for
Carol Lawrence. Over coffee at Starbucks one day, he told me the story of how he was on the
road with Carol, and had been away from home for over a month. He was in New Orleans, and
had just gotten off a one hour phone call to his wife. He was sitting on the bed of his hotel room,
feeling lonely and miserable, and, looking around at the walls of the room, suddenly came to the
realization that there was more to the room than just the 4 walls. Pulling out his electronic
keyboard, he began writing a melody to the words that had popped into his head - “In this very
room there’s quite enough love for one like me….” It’s been performed as a solo, as a choral
work, with piano, with orchestra, a cappella, and to date, is known to have been sung in the
Upper Room – the room generally accepted to be the room where the Last Supper took place – at
least twice.