George Frideric Handel, born in Halle, grew up as the
son of a barber-surgeon who wanted his boy to study
law. Young Handel successfully rebelled, and by 1703
was playing violin and keyboard in Hamburg’s opera
orchestra. Handel spent four years it Italy
(1706-1710), where he moved amidst the musical elite of
the day – meeting Corelli, Scarlatti, and Pasquini
– and received the nickname “il caro Sassone”
(the dear Saxon).
Back in the days before international copyright laws,
a...(+)
George Frideric Handel, born in Halle, grew up as the
son of a barber-surgeon who wanted his boy to study
law. Young Handel successfully rebelled, and by 1703
was playing violin and keyboard in Hamburg’s opera
orchestra. Handel spent four years it Italy
(1706-1710), where he moved amidst the musical elite of
the day – meeting Corelli, Scarlatti, and Pasquini
– and received the nickname “il caro Sassone”
(the dear Saxon).
Back in the days before international copyright laws,
any publisher could publish anything they wanted
without fear of legal action. Thus, Jeanne Roger of
Amsterdam published "surrepticious [sic] and incorrect
Copies" of the suites in 1719 without paying or
informing the composer. This led Handel to publish the
works himself in London in 1720. The Suite in G Suite
is one of the grandest and most impressive of the
suites. In six movements, the Suite in G minor is much
more than a standard-issue set of stylized dance
movements. The first movement is an overture in the
French style with a massive opening Adagio, followed by
a fast and brutal Presto, with a pummeling theme played
in thirds, sixths, and octaves. The following movement
is a quietly lyrical Andante with a gently embellished
melody. The next movement is a propulsive, two-voice
Allegro in 3/8 time. The central Sarabande, marked
Andante con moto, is an incredibly simple and affecting
series of three- and four-voice chords with the melody
as the top voice. The Gigue that follows is a hurtling
movement in two virtuoso voices. The climax and
culmination of the Suite in G minor is the monumental
Passacaglia of contrapuntal force majeure.
This passacaglia (Passacaille) derives from a musical
form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain
and is still used by contemporary composers. It is
usually of a serious character and is often, but not
always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple
meter.
This Passacaille has become well known as a duo for
violin and viola, arranged by the Norwegian violinist
Johan Halvorsen.
Although this piece was written for period keyboard, I
created this arrangement for Concert (Pedal) Harp.
SHEET MUSIC