George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (1685 – 1759)
was a German-British Baroque composer well known for
his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and
organ concertos. Handel received his training in Halle
and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before
settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of
his career and became a naturalised British subject in
1727. He was strongly influenced both by the
middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by
composers of the Italian Bar...(+)
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (1685 – 1759)
was a German-British Baroque composer well known for
his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and
organ concertos. Handel received his training in Halle
and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before
settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of
his career and became a naturalised British subject in
1727. He was strongly influenced both by the
middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by
composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel's
music forms one of the peaks of the "high baroque"
style, bringing Italian opera to its highest
development, creating the genres of English oratorio
and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into
English church music. He is consistently recognized as
one of the greatest composers of his age.
After spending some of his early career composing
operas and other pieces in Italy, he settled in London,
where in 1711 he had brought Italian opera for the
first time with his opera Rinaldo. A tremendous
success, Rinaldo created a craze in London for Italian
opera seria, a form focused overwhelmingly on solo
arias for the star virtuoso singers. In 1719, Handel
was appointed music director of an organisation called
the Royal Academy of Music (unconnected with the
present day London conservatoire), a company under
royal charter to produce Italian operas in London.
Handel was not only to compose operas for the company
but hire the star singers, supervise the orchestra and
musicians, and adapt operas from Italy for London
performance.
Giustino ("Justin", HWV 37) is an opera seria in three
acts by George Frideric Handel. The opera was first
given at the Covent Garden Theatre in London on 16
February 1737. The Italian-language libretto was
adapted from Charles VI's court poet Pietro Pariati's
libretto for Giustino (1711), after the much older
original libretto of Nicolò Beregan (1682). The
libretto had already been adapted by many composers
including Vivaldi's Giustino of 1724 and Tomaso
Albinoni's lost opera of 1711.
By the 1736–37 season in London, the German-born
Handel was presenting both operas he had composed in
Italian, as he had done for more than twenty years, and
oratorio in English, which was a newer form for him.
Giustino was one of three new operas composed by Handel
that season. In addition he revived earlier operas and
oratorios and presented two new oratorios.
In the middle of all this work, Handel suffered an
illness which temporarily left his right hand
paralyzed, as reported in the London Evening Post on 14
May 1737: The ingenious Mr. Handel is very much
indispos'd, and it's thought with a Pareletick
Disorder, he having at present no Use of his Right
Hand, which, if he don't regain, the Publick will be
depriv'd of his fine Compositions.
Handel led the performances of his operas and oratorios
from the keyboard and often played organ concertos
between the acts; nevertheless he was absent from the
theatre while he recovered, which he did fairly
speedily although he suffered occasional relapses of
this ailment for the rest of his life. Of the three new
operas Handel presented that season, Giustino was the
most successful with audiences..
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giustino_(Handel)).
Although originally scored for Violini, Viola, Soprano
& Bassi I created this Interpretation of the Aria
"Corri, vola, a' tuoi trofei" from "Giustino" (HWV 37
Act 1 No. 6) for Oboe & Strings (2 Violins, Viola &
Cello).
PARTITION