History Music / GeorgeFredericHandel

** [[LampshadeHanging|Lampshaded]] in the introduction to the word-books for ''Serse'': "Some imbicilities, and the temerity of Xerxes (such as his being deeply enamour’d with a plane tree, and the building of a bridge over the Hellespont to unite Asia to Europe) are the basis of the story, the rest is fiction".

* ArtisticLicence: A lot of Handel's operas are based on the lives of historical figures (''Alessandro'', ''Ricardo Primo'', ''Agrippina''), but the librettists frequently distorted facts in service of a good story (and a happy ending); anyone familiar with Imperial Roman history might be surprised that ''Agrippina'' ends with joyful wedding celebrations when in reality the events portrayed led to... well, lots of ugly death, really.
** [[Lampshade]]d in the introduction to the word-books for ''Serse'': "Some imbicilities, and the temerity of Xerxes (such as his being deeply enamour’d with a plane tree, and the building of a bridge over the Hellespont to unite Asia to Europe) are the basis of the story, the rest is fiction".

German-born English composer (23 February 1685 -– 14 April 1759), an exact contemporary of Creator/JohannSebastianBach (Bach was born 37 days after Handel), although they never met. Handel made his name and fortune composing operas in Italian, writing over 40 of them, most of them for the English market after he moved to London; he was the first ever composer to [[MoneyDearBoy get rich and famous from composing]]. In the 1740s, the audience's taste for Italian opera mysteriously went away. After a brief period of reconsideration, Handel saw what the audience wanted and began to write oratorios in English, the most famous of which (and most famous overall) is ''Messiah''. (Yes, it's the one with the [[StandardSnippet "Hallelujah" chorus.)]]

* OutOfGenreExperience: While Handel is rightly famous for his own work, he is less known as a major force in the preservation of Irish folk music. He spent a lot of time in Dublin gathering and notating Irish airs and dance tunes.

** Also, the story is sometimes told that Handel composed the "Water Music" to earn his way back into the king's favor after a falling-out. In fact, the king specifically commissioned the piece.

German-born English composer (23 February 1685 -– 14 April 1759), an exact contemporary of Creator/JohannSebastianBach, although they never met. Handel made his name and fortune composing operas in Italian, writing over 40 of them, most of them for the English market after he moved to London; he was the first ever composer to [[MoneyDearBoy get rich and famous from composing]]. In the 1740s, the audience's taste for Italian opera mysteriously went away. After a brief period of reconsideration, Handel saw what the audience wanted and began to write oratorios in English, the most famous of which (and most famous overall) is ''Messiah''. (Yes, it's the one with the [[StandardSnippet "Hallelujah" chorus.)]]

* GenreBusting: Scholars still argue over whether ''Hercules'' and ''Semele'' are oratorios, operas or something else (even though they're performed in opera houses quite a bit). Handel called ''Hercules'' 'A Musical Drama' and said ''Semele'' would be performed 'After the manner of an oratorio (implying it wasn't actually one), so it seems even the man himself didn't want to nail his colours to the mast.

* Genre-Busting: Scholars still argue over whether ''Hercules'' and ''Semele'' are oratorios, operas or something else (even though they're performed in opera houses quite a bit). Handel called ''Hercules'' 'A Musical Drama' and said ''Semele'' would be performed 'After the manner of an oratorio (implying it wasn't actually one), so it seems even the man himself didn't want to nail his colours to the mast.

* GeniusBruiser: An immensely skilled musician and composer, but also famous for his huge size and prodigious strength (recall the famous incident in which he held a soprano out of a window until she acquiesced to some demand of his).
* HotBlooded: At one point attempted to hurl an obnoxious diva out through a window, and threw a kettle drum (for those of you not in the know, the smallest kettle drum is a two feet wide, two feet deep copper pot) at an offending violinist.

German-born English composer (23 February 1685 -– 14 April 1759), an exact contemporary of Creator/JohannSebastianBach, although they never met. Handel made his name and fortune composing operas in Italian, writing over 40 of them, most of them for the English market after he moved to London; he was the first ever composer to [[MoneyDearBoy get rich and famous from composing]]. In the 1740s, the audience's taste for Italian opera mysteriously went away. After a brief period of reconsideration, Handel saw what the audience wanted and began to write oratorios in English, the most famous of which (and most famous overall) is ''Messiah''. (Yes, it's the one with the "Hallelujah" chorus.)

Tropes pertaining to the Creator:

* AmbiguouslyGay: Handel never married and he never had a long-term relationship with a woman, although he had plenty of opportunity to have one, since he worked for most of his life writing operas. Some people believe that he had a long-term relationship with his secretary, John Christopher Smith; there's no evidence that he did, but also none that he didn't.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: When Georg Friedrich Händel moved to England, he anglicized his name to George Frideric Handel.

German-born English composer (23 February 1685 -– 14 April 1759), an exact contemporary of Creator/JohannSebastianBach, although they never met. Handel made his name and fortune composing operas in Italian, writing over 40 of them, most of them for the English market after he moved to London; he was the first ever composer to [[MoneyDearBoy get rich and famous from composing]]. In the 1740s, the audience's taste for Italian opera mysteriously went away. After a brief period of reconsideration, Handel saw what the audience wanted and began to write oratorios in English, the most famous of which is (his now most famous work) ''Messiah''. (Yes, it's the one with the "Hallelujah" chorus.)

German-born English composer (23 February 1685 -– 14 April 1759), an exact contemporary of Creator/JohannSebastianBach, although they never met. Handel made his name and fortune composing operas in Italian, writing over 40 of them, most of them for the English market after he moved to London; he was the first ever composer to [[MoneyDearBoy get rich and famous from composing]]. In the 1740s, the audience's taste for Italian opera mysteriously went away. After a brief period of reconsideration, Handel saw what the audience wanted and began to write oratorios in English, the most famous of which is his now-most-famous work, ''Messiah''. (Yes, it's the one with the "Hallelujah" chorus.)

German-born English composer (23 February 1685 -– 14 April 1759), an exact contemporary of Creator/JohannSebastianBach, although they never met. Handel made his name and fortune composing operas in Italian, writing over 40 of them, most of them for the English market after he moved to London; he was the first ever composer to [[MoneyDearBoy get rich and famous from composing]]. In the 1740s, the audience's taste for Italian opera mysteriously went away. After a brief period of reconsideration, Handel saw what the audience wanted and began to write oratorios in English, the most famous of which is his now-most-famous work, the ''Messiah''. (Yes, it's the one with the "Hallelujah" chorus.)

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: When Georg Friedrich Händel moved to England, he anglicized his name to George Frideric Handel.
* OutOfGenreExperience: While Handel is rightly famous for his own work, he is less known as a major force in the preservation of Irish folk music. He spent a lot of time in Dublin gathering and notating Irish airs and dance tunes.

German composer (1685-1759), an exact contemporary of Creator/JohannSebastianBach, although they never met. Handel made his name and fortune composing operas in Italian, writing over 40 of them, most of them for the English market after he moved to London; he was the first ever composer to [[MoneyDearBoy get rich and famous from composing]]. In the 1740s, the audience's taste for Italian opera mysteriously went away. After a brief period of reconsideration, Handel saw what the audience wanted and began to write oratorios in English, the most famous of which is his now-most-famous work, the ''Messiah''. (Yes, it's the one with the "Hallelujah" chorus.)

* GeniusBruiser: An immensely skilled musician and composer, but also famous for his huge size and prodigious strength (recall the famous incident in which he held a soprano out of a window until she acquiesced to some demand of his.
* HotBlooded: At one point attempted to hurl an obnoxious diva out through a window, and threw a kettle drum (for those of you not in the know, the smallest kettle drum is a two feet wide, two feet deep copper pot) at an offending violinist.

* GeniusBruiser: An immensely skilled musician and composer, but also famous for his huge size and prodigious strength.

* BerserkButton: People playing out of tune. He demanded that the orchestras he worked with tune before he showed up, and at one time slugged a violinist who missed a note in the jaw.