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Religious Influences in the Works of George Fredric Handel
Setting biblical scriptures to music was his passion. “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself.” George Fredric Handel was said to have pronounced in the epiphany of his composition, “The Halellujah Chorus,” one of the greatest movements in classical music history.
Born in German in 1685, son of Lutheran parents, Handel’s father was a barber and thought little of his son’s ambitions to write music. Perseverance reigned, and Handel made his mark with his extraordinary talent as a piano/organ virtuoso.
While most of his musical success took place in Engliand, both fickle audiences and the Church of England attacked him for what they called his practice of writing biblical dramas performed in secular theaters. By 1741 he was deeply in debt, as a result of influences from the people and church, and could only foresee debtor’s prison as being his future home.
Miraculously, a wealthy friend sponsored Handel for a musical libretto on the life of Christ. “The Messiah” played by symphony orchestras during the Christmas holiday worldwide was the result. An avid Christian believer in the Holy Trinity, he sought not to entertain, but to teach audiences to become willing to believe in his God.