Welcome back to another episode of five minutes in church history. On this episode we are talking about a composer, George Frederick Handle.

And I will resist the urge to have a pun here and say that we are going to get a handle on handle.

But let's get a handle on handle. He was born in 1685 in Hala, Germany. The importance of that year is it was the same year as the birth of

Johann Sebastian Bach. 1685 was a great year for the birth of composers apparently and now Bach to handle and I

promise I'm done with punts. Well handle was originally set to be a lawyer, but he loved music and he quickly showed

his prowess as an organist and at composing, and so he set off to be a musician.

He spent some time traveling around Italy and then he was

musician for the elector of Hanover. Now the importance of the elector of Hanover was

that he was the heir to the throne of England. And when Queen Anne died childless, the elector of Hanover became King George I of England.

Hanel moved with him to London and the year was 1712 and from then on

Hanel spent the rest of his life in Britain and he's while born in Germany and German descent

is known as an English composer. Under George the first he founded the Royal Academy of

Music which he directed for 15 years.

Early on in London, Handel composed for King George the First, his famous Water

Music, or as in Handel's beloved German tongue Vosser Musique.

The first time it was performed for King George, he loved it so much he ordered it played again.

And then he ordered it played again and then he ordered it played again.

So it debuted three times in a row in 17.

After he finished his time, Handle finished his time at the Royal Academy of Music, he spent much of the 1730s writing operas,

and then he set about to write what might be considered his Magnum Opus the Messiah.

Handle was by all accounts obsessed with work, we would say today, a workahaholic and he poured himself into his work as a composer and as a musician.

Sadly in 1751 he went blind and then in 1759, he went blind. And then in 1759, the age of 74, he died in London.

...