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**Georg Friedrich Händel**

1685-1759 **George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) :** George Frideric Handel was German. **George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) :** Handel is yet one - after regarding Johann Sebastian Bach - great figure of the baroque era, who in the larger part of his creative period was dealing ambitiously with the operatic art, but near to the end of his career turned almost exclusively to more serious kinds of music like e.g. the religious oratorio. With frequent travels and tours all around Europe, Handel met great success and influenced to a large extent the musical life of his epoch. Handel's music is full of inspiration and freshness. **STYLE** **George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) :** In all the breadth of Handel's work, the composer used the well-known style of the baroque era : simultaneous use of counterpoint and harmony. The orchestra of that era gave focus on the strings rather than on the wind instruments (because in that era winds were in general terms far from their perfected form) and made large use of the "basso continuo" (concise line of the composition bass for performance by the cembalo player based on his own improvising forms), resulting in the well-known sound of the preclassic period. **WORKS** **George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) :** Handel's large output includes : 41 Italian operas, 24 oratorios, odes, 2 passions, 100 Italian cantatas, 12 lieds, 7 arias, 20 hymns, "Water Music" and "Music for the Royal Fireworks" (suites for orchestra), 20 "Concerto Grosso", 40 sonatas for various instruments.
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