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Not only is George Frideric Handel’s Water Music extraordinarily beautiful, it also helped to establish the orchestral suite as a legitimate art form. Written to be performed outside instead of in a theater, it remains one of the most outstanding compositions in Handel’s catalogue. Even though it is somewhat overplayed, the Water Music continues to be a very popular work of art. By nature of the venue this great work was to be performed in, Handel had to be very original in orchestration. His strong usage of woodwinds and percussion influenced countless composers such as the wind music of Mozart, Holst, Strauss, Beethoven, Vaughn-Williams, and even Stravinsky. Handel’s music proved that he was not only one of the greatest Baroque composers, but he was and is a giant in the history of musical evolution.

To fully understand the importance of this work, one must first examine the period and life of the composer. In Europe, the Baroque style dominated from 1600-1750. This particular time focused on the excess of all the arts. Examples of this can be seen in the architecture of this period in countries such as Vienna, France, and England where churches are resplendent and magnificent. Another prime example of the extravagance of this time period is the paintings of William Hogarth, but the most evident excess of style appears in the music of this time frame. During these times, the church had grown extremely powerful and influenced virtually everyone. This was true especially for composers. While secular music had always been written, a composer of this period spent most of his time writing for the church. The most dominant composer of this time is now considered to be J. S. Bach but was doubtfully that in his day. He achieved slightly more than minimal fame. Other composers of the time such as Vivaldi, Telemann, Purcell, and Lully also share a great respect for the educated musical world. George Frideric Handel is generally considered the second most important Baroque composer after Bach. Unlike Bach’s nearly complete focus on church music in Germany, Handel more openly embraced the French, Italian, and English secular music. Also unlike Bach, Handel did not come from a long line of musicians. When he was born on February 23, 1685, Handel’s family had no idea that he would rise to a legendary status in music. Handel’s father began to see his son’s desire to compose at an early age and violently objected. His mother was responsible for nurturing and continuing his musical education. At the age of seven, Handel was asked to give an organ recital for the Duke of Sachse-Weissenfels. The Duke was very impressed and awarded the family with a generous amount of money. This event persuaded his father to allow Handel to pursue his musical career. When his father died in1697, Handel was freed from his father’s will. He studied with numerous organists and gained minor fame.

In 1703, he moved to Hamburg. There he met Telemann and began to have many of his works performed. He then traveled to Rome and numerous European capitals until he settled in England in 1714. He remained a world traveler his entire life which was a main contributing factor to his originality and probably was responsible for his well-known habit of “borrowing” music of other composers and taking credit for it. Handel focused most of his attention on opera and is still remembered mainly as an opera and oratorio composer. Before his death in 1759, Handel had achieved world fame and his oratorio Messiah is the single most performed choral work of all time.

Although he was primarily considered an opera composer, Handel displayed great originality in the orchestral suite. This is especially apparent in his Water Music. This work, divided into three separate suites, was written over a period of twenty years in the service of King George I of England. The king had planned a procession down the Thomas River and needed a floating orchestra to perform on barges. Because of this situation, Handel had to experiment with the orchestration.

The first suite, written in 1715, is scored for oboes, horns, bassoons, and strings. This orchestral arrangement worked well and was greatly