Georg Friedrich Haendel

As a frequent guest at the country estate of Lord Aylesford, Handel evidently composed new stuff and re-worked old stuff. The manuscripts were left behind in the Aylesford manor and not discovered until an auction in 1918. Research has shown that some of the material dates from Handel's early years in Hamburg, while other of the pieces were new.

The first adjective that comes to mind is "unpretentious." While Bach was storming the very gates of heaven in Leipzig, here was Handel, relaxed, enjoying holidays in the country, diddling about on his host's harpsichord. But what diddling! Mostly short, often playful, sometimes somber, but always with an air of creative freedom, of unpressured delight in the act of composition. Music, one is tempted to say, for the sake of music.

Although originally written for Keyboard, I created this arrangement for Concert (Pedal) Harp.