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Article: Handel, George Frideric (1685–1759)
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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HANDEL, GEORGE FRIDERIC (1685
–
1759)
HANDEL, GEORGE FRIDERIC
(1685
–
1759), German-born musician eventually hailed as "England's national composer." He was the first great composer who broke free of church and court patronage and earned a living directly from the public; England was perhaps the only country that could provide such support in his time.
Born Georg Friedrich H
ä
ndel at Halle, Lower Saxony, on 23 February 1685, he was the son of a sixty-three-year-old barber-surgeon. His early talents persuaded his father to let him study music as well as law, and he took lessons from the local organist, Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau (1663
–
1712). After a year as organist ...