Baroque composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) enjoyed a long and successful career, during which he produced no fewer than forty-two operas, twenty-nine oratorios, and sixteen organ concerti, along with numerous other compositions. When he died in London at the age of seventy-four, more than three thousand mourners attended his funeral, and his remains were interred in Westminster Abbey.
Handel composed this Bell Sinfonia in 1738 as part of his opera Saul.
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comfort & joy, musical offerings | Tagged: Bell Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia, George Frideric Handel | 
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6 Comments | comfort & joy, musical offerings | Tagged: George Frideric Handel, Jonah Ho | Permalink
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George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) composed the oratorio Solomon in 1748, and the sinfonia that introduces the third act, “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba,” became one of his greatest hits. Originally scored for oboes and strings, the piece has been adapted to any number of instruments and combinations of instruments, including some instruments that did not exist in the eighteenth century when the piece was composed. Here it is in a version for harp, an instrument that has been with us since Biblical times.
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George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) composed the Music for the Royal Fireworks in 1749 for King George II, to celebrate the signing of the treaty that ended the War of the Austrian Succession. Here is the fourth movement from the suite.
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Of all the many versions of the Hallelujah Chorus with subtitles I’ve seen, this one, performed by residents of Quinhagak, Alaska, is my favorite, the cringe-inducing misplaced apostrophes notwithstanding.
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6 Comments | comfort & joy, musical offerings | Tagged: Easter, George Frideric Handel, Messiah, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra | Permalink
Posted by bluebird of bitterness
Home sweet home
Bob's sister Hannah
Bob's sister Ada
Bob's brother Otto
Bob's sister Eve
Bob's sister Nan
A baby picture of Bob and his siblings (clockwise from upper left: Otto, Eve, Hannah, Ada, Bob, and Nan)
Bob's childhood home
Bob's mom and dad
Bob in his youth
Bob's cousin Alphonse
Bob's Uncle Ralph and Aunt Edna
Bob's cousin Archibald
Bob's stepbrother Herbie (who really needs to quit smoking)
Bob's cousin Chester
Bob's Great Uncle Norbert and Great Aunt Phyllis
Bob's cousin Saffron (who will do anything for a drink)
Bob's cousin Thorndike
Bob's brother-in-law Vinnie
Bob's cousin Orville, who loves the Green Bay Packers
Bob's nieces Lulu and Bitsy, the biker chicks
Bob's stepsister Eloise, with the twins, Rudy and Trudy
Bob's Uncle Henry and Aunt Rowena
Bob's niece Esmerelda (who likes to live dangerously)
Bob's Great Uncle Arthur up in Saskatchewan
Bob's cousin Louie, the grackle of grumpiness
Miss Screech, Bob's journalism teacher
Bob's nephew Winthrop, who loves sports
Bob's Uncle Seymour and Aunt Bernice
Bob's second cousin Schlomo in Brooklyn
Bob's nephew Baxter
Bob's cousin Darrell
Nigel, Bob's pen pal in New Zealand
Bob's sister-in-law Delphine, who volunteers at the animal shelter
Percy the Pickpocket, Bob's third cousin once removed (the relative no one likes to talk about... every family has one)
The Bluebird of Happiness™ (no relation to Bob)
A pair of boobies (also no relation to Bob, but included for readers who desire titillation)
A pair of tits (in case the boobies were insufficiently titillating)
Bluebird Bitter™, the beer they named for Bob
bluebird of bitterness 