I should be sorry if I only entertained [my audience]; I wish to make them better.

George Frideric Händel
Attributed to Balthasar Denner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Händel was born in Halle, a city of Brandenburg-Prussia. As a child, his father saw his propensity for music, but wanting him to pursue a career in law, forbade him to study it. Nevertheless, Händel managed to learn in private, at one point even sneaking a clavichord into the house through the roof. Finally embarking upon his musical career, Händel moved to Hamburg before travelling to Italy and studying with Archangelo Corelli. He returned to Germany to take his first significant position as Kapellmeister at the court of Hanover. In 1714, the Elector of Hanover became King George I of England, and Händel spent the rest of his career in London.

In his own day, he was famous for his operas, which were usually written in Italian, as well as works written for the British Crown, including music for the coronation of King George II in 1727. This music is still used in British royal coronations to this day.

Händel became simultaneously known for his brash wit and fiery temper, made all the more dramatic by his German accent. He was often critical of other composers and harsh with his players during rehearsal. For example, when an English singer named Gordon complained about Händel's accompaniment style, threatening to break his harpsichord, Händel replied that Gordon should wait until the event could be advertised, as more people would pay to see him do that than hear him sing. Another time, while attending a concert, a violinst playing a cadenza wandered through a number of different modulations before finally returning to the original key, after which Händel loudly shouted from the back of the theater, "Welcome home!"

In 1737, Händel suffered from a stroke, but recovered and continued composing, pioneering the genre of oratorio, or an opera with a libretto taken from Scripture and performed with minimal staging, costuming, or acting. Oratorii retain all the same stylistic and compositional features of an opera, including the instrumental movements (overture/sinfonia, intermezzo, entr'act) and different types of vocal piece (aria, recitative, chorus.) This form of music allowed operatic styles to become popular with the more reserved English culture. Händel's most famous oratorio is The Messiah, which was both extremely popular and a masterful expression of his deep personal devotion. At the premiere performance, moved by the final "Hallelujah Chorus," King George II stood up, leading to a longstanding tradition of the audience doing the same during any live performance of the piece. Many of the profits from this oratorio were donated to the Foundling Hospital, an orphanage in London.

Starting in 1750, Händel's health began to fail, especially his eyesight. A surgeon/con artist named John Taylor operated on him, but he did not recover and was soon completely blind, although he was still able to compose by dictation. He passed away in 1759.