George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
's ''Gloria'' is a sacred solo
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
, a setting of the
Gloria, the liturgical part of the
Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
, for soprano and strings. Handel may have composed it in Germany before departing for Italy in 1706. The composition was lost for many years and was attributed to Handel again only in 2001.
History
''Gloria'' (HWV deest, the Latin word meaning "missing"), is a work which was missing from the Handel thematic catalog, but was discovered at the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...
's library in 2001.
Handel may have composed ''Gloria'', a demanding piece for a
coloratura voice, two violins and
basso continuo
Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...
, during his early years in Germany prior to his departure for Italy in 1706
or in Italy in 1707. He divided the liturgical text into eight movements. Later he used parts of it for his compositions ''Laudate pueri dominum'' and ''
Utrecht Jubilate''.
The manuscript is not in Handel's hand but bound in a collection of arias by Handel. The singer
William Savage (1720-1789) owned the volume. Probably his pupil Robert Stevens left it to the Academy upon his death in 1837. The work was identified by
Hans Joachim Marx, professor at the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...
.
A note in the
Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegr ...
on 11 March 2001 announced "Lost work by Handel could rival
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
/ An unknown choral work by Handel that some music scholars believe will come to be regarded as significant as Messiah has been discovered in the library of the Royal Academy of Music", but that was a sensational heading, whereas the article described the work correctly. "Perhaps not too many sopranos will be able to perform this piece.", was a comment of Marx, who had found the manuscript.
Curtis Price, the principal of the Academy, testified: "The music is fresh, exuberant and a little wild in places, but unmistakably Handel." It was then believed that the piece was written in Italy in 1707.
Emma Kirkby
Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings.
Education and early career
Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dorse ...
, who performed the first recording, released in May 2001, said that "the piece has individuality and charm, good bravura moments, and, more important, some moments of depth, beauty, and poignancy".
The first public performance was on 18 May 2001, sung by soprano Patrizia Kwella with Fiori Musicali and Penelope Rapson as artistic director, at the Hinchingbrooke Performing Arts Centre in
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...
. A second performance was given at the
International Händel Göttingen Festival on 3 June 2001 by Dominique Labelle with the
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and
Nicholas McGegan.
performed it in 2003 in the
Unionskirche, Idstein
The Unionskirche (Union Church) is the active Protestant parish church of Idstein, a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, Rheingau-Taunus district in the German state of Hesse. Idstein was a residence of the House of Nassau, counts of Nassau. The ...
, along with Handel's ''
Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate
''Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate'' is the common name for a sacred choral composition in two parts, written by George Frideric Handel to celebrate the Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, ending the War of the Spanis ...
''.
Structure
Handel divided the text in six movements.
# Gloria in excelsis Deo
# Et in terra pax
# Laudamus te
# Domine Deus, Rex coelestis
# Qui tollis peccata mundi
# Quoniam tu solus sanctus
See also
*
List of Latin church music by George Frideric Handel
References
External links
Handel's Gloria / Previously Unknown Compositionmusicweb-international.com 2001
John Ostendorf & Elaine Comparone, liner notes 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gloria Handel
Compositions by George Frideric Handel
1706 compositions