George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Germany/England
Handel was born in the same year as Bach: 1685. He was born in Germany, but he moved to Italy and then to England, where he stayed for most of his life. He wrote many operas and oratorios. One of his most famous pieces of music was the Hallelujah chorus from the oratorio called "Messiah".
My favourite piece of music by Handel is called "Ombra Mai Fu" from an opera called Xerxes. I have three different versions of it for you to listen to. Listen for when the melody comes in around the 40-second mark with one long beautiful note. I first heard it played on the trumpet, like this:
Then I heard it played on piano and cello and I loved it even more.
But what's better than one cello? THREE cellos! The harmonies in this one are so beautiful. I like this version best of all. Which is your favourite?
In this video, we can see lights and colours to follow the notes of Handel's Organ Concerto in G Minor.
Handel wrote this piece, "Zadok the Priest," for the coronation of King George II in 1727, and it has been used at every single British coronation ever since! Watch out for the dramatic explosion of sound at 1:26.