Händel gay
George Frideric Handel
Career
Handel's father discouraged his early interest in music, and he studied statute for a hour. His first two operas were produced in , and in he travelled to Italy, producing sacred music and operas. He moved to England in , and calm music for Queen Anne and Lord Burlington. In he became house composer at Cannons in Middlesex, the house of the Duke of Chandos, for whom he calm the Chandos Anthems. Many of his operas and oratorios were first performed at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket (now Her Majesty's Theatre) or at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, but his most famous oratorio, Messiah, using words from the King James Bible, was first performed in Dublin in
While in Germany, Handel had been Kapellmeister to the Elector of Hanover, who later
When I was about 8 and my younger brother was about 7 we sang in our village Methodist chapel&#;s short show of Handel&#;s &#;Messiah&#;. My Dad was a life-long member of the choir and my Grandad used to be it&#;s secretary, so its likely they &#;persuaded&#; us.
Handel was never one of the composers I ever thought of as being gay, not until relatively recently. Preparing for this year&#;s harmony theme I was surprised at how many legendary classical composers like Handel could be considered &#;queer&#; in their sexuality.
The case for Handel&#;s sexuality is persuasive, but I&#;m still undecided. Like a lot of historical characters George Frideric Handel () never mentioned or referred to any sexual desires in his lifetime. Most of the current theories revolve around what he didn&#;t say and more on where he went. Only &#;straight&#; people in history could flaunt their sexuality as any homosexual exercise was illegal for centuries.
Questions about his sexuality were apparently raised during his own lifetime, or so a later story goes. It may be just apocryphal, but it is
The Mysteries, Myths, and Truths about Mr Handel
Not so long ago George Frideric Handel was best known to the general public for a few predictable things: Messiah, being 'German', his obesity, and for going blind. Thankfully that narrow consciousness has substantially altered over the last 30 years. Nowadays we appreciate that his career was often as dramatic in its ups, downs and astonishing twists as the plot of one of his operas. Moreover, Handel has become the composer who most epitomises 'European-ness', and from our 21st-century perspective he represents an exemplary historical precedent for what it means to be multi-national. As much as we know about him, though, there are still riddles to be solved. Some of which we can begin to answer.
What do we know for sure? He was born at Halle in Decrease Saxony on February 23, His barber-surgeon father intended for him to pursue the study of rule at the historic local university, but was persuaded to let the lad study music with the local church organist Friedrich Zachow. Having acquired a good foundation in counterpoint and organ-pla
15 LGBTQ+ composers in classical harmony history that you probably already know
Benjamin Britten ()
Edward Benjamin Britten is one of the finest composers of English operas, choral works, and songs, many of which he wrote for his animation partner, tenor Sir Peter Pears.
Britten started writing music as young as nine, when he wrote an oratorio. He studied under Frank Bridge, John Ireland and Arthur Benjamin among others, and was also a pleasant pianist.
His ground-breaking operas, which comprise Peter Grimes (), and The Turn of the Screw () – and his famous War Requiem – tackle contemporaneous issues around psychology and post-war trauma, as well his own homosexuality, which was illegal in Britten’s lifetime.
Britten founded the Aldeburgh Festival in Suffolk with Pears and librettist Eric Crozier.
Dame Ethel Smyth ()
Ethel Smyth was a prolific composer and an active member of the women’s suffrage movement, and she made no classified of her relationships with women.
Born in South-East London, Smyth studied at the Leipzig Conservatory and there met composers that included Grieg