Illustrations

HANDEL IN MIDDLE AGE

HANDEL'S HOUSE IN LONDON

FACING PAGE

THE STRUCTURE ERECTED IN THE GREEN PARK FOR
THE "FIREWORK MUSIC," AND THE CELEBRATION OF
THE PEACE OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE

306

HANDEL LETTER SHOWING HIS HANDWRITING WHEN HE
FIRST CAME TO LONDON

312

HANDEL LETTER SHOWING HIS HANDWRITING AT THE
AGE OF 65

312

THE WORDS OF "THEODORA" IN THE AUTOGRAPH OF
THE WRITER, THOMAS MORELL

314

SCORE OF "JEPHTHA," HANDEL'S LAST ORATORIO .
JOHN CHRISTOPHER SMITH

THE LAST PORTRAIT OF HANDEL [Colour] ·

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FIRST PERFORMANCE OF

330

BOOK I

MORNING

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL

CHAPTER I

OF SOME RELATIONS

GENIUS is seldom admitted as such save when it can achieve over Circumstance. And the Circumstance that governs the ways of Mankind is so contrived as to hinder rather than help the weakling idea. Existence, as humanly conceived, would mock at and poke into seclusion those tendrils of thought which, if developed, would produce a voice to which the world might listen.

This same Circumstance did its utmost to snuff out the genius of George Frideric Handel. It pegged him about from his early years with absurd obstacles. It fought him with all the strength of precedent in its favour. Nor did it yield him even the favour of happy chance. It tried to stifle a voice that ultimately turned a world to melody.

For the child who was born at the little Saxon town of Halle on 23rd February 1685 was never followed by what is known as good luck. In a gamble with chance he was safe to lose every time. But he made his way to his ultimate destiny by the triumph of sheer courage and personality.

To begin with, nothing was expected of George Frideric Handel when he was born except a commonplace yet circumspect life. His father had reared many children, and George Frideric, following after by the grace of a second wife, was just one of a herd, as ordinary as his name. No great ability was

1 For the purpose of this book, and to avoid confusion, the name of Handel, both as applied to the composer and his relatives, is spelled in English fashion. There are documents in existence in which the composer spelled his name in several ways, notably Hendel. This form of spelling was usually adopted by his relatives, and to this day his descendant has a bookshop in Halle with the name OTTO HENDEL over the door. In England, however, the composer always kept to the English form of Handel.