12 Tremendous Composers 12 Composers    

Lesson 1: Keyboard Suite I, No. 2 in F major, HWV 427

by George Frideric Handel

Performer: Ivan Ilic

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the composer.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Fifth grade music showcases twelve of the famous composers featured in the 'Child's Own Book of Famous Musicians' series by Thomas Tapper. Over the year, you'll learn about the lives and music of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, and other titans of composition. The lessons present the twelve composers in chronological order by date of birth. The first composer studied is George Frideric Handel, and his story is called, 'The Story of a Little Boy Who Practiced in an Attic.' The first composition is Keyboard Suite I, No. 2 in F major, HWV 427. The lesson composition incorporates four movements: I. Adagio, II. Allegro, III. Adagio, and IV: Allegro. Listen to the music and identify the shifts in tempo.

Vocabulary

Adagio: A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played rather slowly, leisurely and gracefully.
Allegro: A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played in a quick, lively tempo, faster than allegretto but slower than presto.
Harpsichord: A musical instrument with a keyboard that produces sound through a mechanical process. When the performer presses a key, a corresponding plectrum plucks a tuned string.
Hautbois: The now obsolete woodwind instrument that was a predecessor of the oboe.
Organ: A musical instrument that has multiple pipes which play when a key is pressed.

Composer

1. When we read about the great composers, we learn that they come from all kinds of families. Bach's parents were poor. Mendelssohn's were rich. Schubert's father was a schoolmaster. Mozart's father was a violinist. The story which you are to read in this book and then write out in your own words is about a boy whose parents were neither well-to-do nor well known. His name is George Frederick Handel.

2. In Germany, where Handel was born, his name was Georg Friedrich Händel (pronounced Gay-org Freed-riesh Hayn-del). But the great composer spent so much of his life in England, that people now use the English form of his name. Look at this old house where the great master was born.

3. George Handel was born in 1685, the same year as another composer named Johann Sebastian Bach. This is Bach's portrait, and you will study him in another lesson.

4. Handel's father was a surgeon and barber, an odd combination. We know that Handel's father did not like music, and that he was unwilling for his son to study it. Of the mother we know little. But we do know that she loved her little George Frederick, and helped him as far as she could. The father was so determined that his son should not study music that he refused to let him go to school. He feared, no doubt, that the boy would soon learn to read notes. But with the mother it was quite different. She observed the little boy's love of music.
5. In the Handel home there was a big roomy attic; the ceiling was low, and the windows had thick panes; the walls and floors were built of heavy timber, and silence reigned there. 'Here,' said Mother Handel, 'my little boy can play the harpsichord to his heart's content and no one will be the wiser.' You can imagine the surprise when the stern barber-surgeon stalked into the attic, followed by the family, holding high the lantern.

6. After that, it may have been agreed that the boy should practice a little; not, however, that he might become a musician. 'No, indeed,' we may imagine Father Handel exclaiming, 'my son shall be a famous lawyer.'
7. One day, when little George Handel was seven years old, his father set out by coach to visit another son, who was in the service of the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. The little boy begged his father to let him go on the journey. 'No,' his father replied, 'you are too young to go so far.' However, when the coach set out George Frederick set out too on foot to follow, and he would not be sent home again.

8. George kept on trudging along as fast as his little feet would go. Everyone hoped he would get tired and go back, but finally the father had to order the coach to stop and take him in. Thus, did he show that determination which helped him all his life. When he arrived at the castle, the boy soon made friends with the chapel musicians. They took him to the organ loft, where he played for them.
9. All were delighted with George Handel's talent. One day, the Duke himself heard George play. The Duke, too, was astonished that one so young should show so much skill. Calling George Handel's father into his presence, the Duke pointed out how wrong it was to deny the boy the right to study music. 'The world,' he said, 'should have the good of your son's great ability.'
10. At the Cathedral in George Handel's home city, Halle, there was a famous organist named Zachau. See the lovely Halle Cathedral.

11. Zachau became George Handel's teacher. They must have had a busy time together, for George had lessons from Zachau not only in organ playing, but in harmony, counterpoint, canon, and fugue; and in hautbois, violin, and harpsichord playing. See the organ in the Halle Cathedral.

12. If you will look at this picture of a harpsichord like the one on which George Handel played, you will see that it is unlike the grand piano of our day. How does it differ? And yet for this simple instrument Handel wrote beautiful music. Someday, if you study piano, you may play his Little Fugues and some of the dances from the Suites.

13. George Handel studied with Zachau for three years. The teacher said one day, 'The boy knows more than I do.' So Handel was sent to Berlin when he was eleven years old, to find other teachers.
14. Here George Handel met two famous men, Buononcini and Ariosti. The former was harsh and unkind to him, but Ariosti treated him kindly and encouraged him. They all met again in later years in London.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite the Composition Information

• Recite the name of the composer and the composition.

Activity 2: Study the Music Timeline

Examine the music timeline to answer the following questions.

• What is the year of birth of the lesson composer?
• What is the year of death of the featured composer?
• How old was the composer upon death?
• Which composer (if any) directly precedes the studied composer by date of birth?
• Which composer (if any) directly succeeds the lesson composer by date of birth?
• Which other timeline composers were alive at the same time as the studied composer?

Activity 3: Map the Music

• George Frideric Handel was born in Germany.
• Find Germany on the map of Europe.

Activity 4: Study Facts About George Frideric Handel

Read and study these facts about Handel.

• He was born in Halle in Germany, February 23, 1685.
• His full name was George Frederick Handel.
• His father was a barber and surgeon, who intended his son to become a lawyer.
• As a little boy he practiced the harpsichord in the garret.
• Once he went with his father to the home of the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels.
• Here he played the organ and won the Duke's attention.
• The Duke advised the father to let the boy study music.
• His first teacher was Zachau, who taught him many things, including organ and harpsichord playing.
• After a few years with Zachau he went to Berlin, and there met two famous men.
• Then he returned to Halle, but after his father's death he went to Hamburg.
• At Hamburg he and Johann Mattheson became good friends.
• He lived in Italy for three years.
• Returning to Germany he agreed to become Capellmeister to the Elector of Hanover.
• But he failed to keep his promise to the Elector by overstaying his leave of absence in London.
• The Elector became King of England. He was very angry at Handel for disobeying him.
• Handel won his friendship again by writing the Water Music for a royal boat procession on the river Thames.
• For many years Handel composed operas, but finally he won fame by writing oratorios.
• He wrote the Messiah and many others well known today.
• He became blind toward the end of his life.
• He died on Good Friday, 1759.

Review

Question 1

In which year was George Handel born and in which year did he die?

1 / 7

Answer 1

George Handel was born in 1685 and died in 1759.

1 / 7

Question 2

What other great composer was born the same year in Germany?

2 / 7

Answer 2

Johann Sebastian Bach was born the same year as Handel.

2 / 7

Question 3

What was the profession of George Handel's father?

3 / 7

Answer 3

George Handel's father was a surgeon and barber.

3 / 7

Question 4

Did George Handel's father support him learning music at first?

4 / 7

Answer 4

No, Father Handel opposed George's learning music, hoping George would become a lawyer.

4 / 7

Question 5

How did it come about that George Handel was allowed to study music?

5 / 7

Answer 5

George Handel went with his father to the home of the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, and the Duke advised his father to let Handel study music.

5 / 7

Question 6

Who was George Handel's first teacher?

6 / 7

Answer 6

George Handel's first teacher was Zachau.

6 / 7

Question 7

Which instruments did George Handel play?

7 / 7

Answer 7

George Handel played organ, harpsichord, hautbois (predecessor of the oboe), and violin

7 / 7

❮ ❯

1. In which year was George Handel born and in which year did he die? George Handel was born in 1685 and died in 1759.
2. What other great composer was born the same year in Germany? Johann Sebastian Bach was born the same year as Handel.
3. What was the profession of George Handel's father? George Handel's father was a surgeon and barber.
4. Did George Handel's father support him learning music at first? No, Father Handel opposed George's learning music, hoping George would become a lawyer.
5. How did it come about that George Handel was allowed to study music? George Handel went with his father to the home of the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, and the Duke advised his father to let Handel study music.
6. Who was George Handel's first teacher? George Handel's first teacher was Zachau.
7. Which instruments did George Handel play? George Handel played organ, harpsichord, hautbois (predecessor of the oboe), and violin

References

Tapper, Thomas. Handel - The Story of a Little Boy Who Practiced in an Attic Philadelphia, PA. Theodore Presser Co., 1916.

'George Frideric Handel.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.