''The Alchemist'', HWV 43, is

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

used for the revival of

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

's play ''

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

'' at the Queen's Theatre,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 14 January 1710. The work is an arrangement, by an anonymous composer, of music written by

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 ...

. All but one of the movements were taken from the extended overture to Handel's first Italian opera ''

Rodrigo Rodrigo () is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' ( Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the la ...

''. The overture introduced the play and the other movements were used to fill the gaps between acts. The incidental music was published in full a few months after the first performance; however, it is unlikely that Handel received any payment for either the performance or publication of the music. It is likely that the work was the first of Handel's music to be performed in England. A typical performance takes almost 15 minutes.

Movements

The work has the following

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

External Links

*
The Alchemist
' at IMSLP {{DEFAULTSORT:Alchemist (Handel) Compositions by George Frideric Handel Incidental music 1710 compositions Adaptations of works by Ben Jonson