BAROQUE 1600 –1750 87
In 1717, George I asked Handel
to compose the music for a barge
trip down the Thames. The music
needed to be sensational: the
King wanted to make a big public
statement to draw attention away
from his son, the Prince of Wales,
who was forming an opposing
political faction. Handel had to
balance a desire for novelty with
the need for broad popular appeal.
While a concert in a barge with
some 50 performers was a novelty
in itself, Handel added to the
occasion by importing Bohemian
horn players, whose elegant
fanfares would have soundedvery different from the hunting
horns familiar to English audiences.
Along with bassoons and trumpets,
these helped the music carry in
the open air.
E s s ent i a l l y, Water Music is a
blend of popular European styles.
It starts with an overture in the
uneven rhythms of the French style,
incorporates dances that were
fashionable across Europe at the
time, and includes the most English
of music—the hornpipe—which
became the signature tune of
the work.Opera in London
In 1719, the Duke of Chandos and
his friends, taking advantage of
the growing interest in opera in
England, inaugurated the Royal
Academy of Music (unrelated to
the conservatoire of the same namefounded a century later) under
a charter from the King. It was a
commercial venture, formed as
a joint-stock corporation, with
the aim of commissioning and
performing new Italian operas in
Britain. Handel was one of its three
composers as well as its musical ❯❯I should be sorry if I only
entertained them. I wish to
make them better.
George Frideric HandelSee also: Ga brieli’s Sonata pian’ e forte 55 ■ Euridice 62–63 ■ The Four Seasons 92–97 ■ The Magic Flute 134 –137 ■
Elijah 170 –173 ■ La traviata 174 –175 ■ The Ring Cycle 180 –187 ■ Tosca 194 –197Handel presents Water Music to
George I in a painting by the Belgian
artist Edouard Hamman. According to
newspaper reports, the whole river was
filled with small boats and barges.US_084-089_Handel_Water_Music.indd 87 26/03/18 1:00 PM