Hamburg the Gateway to the World
Hamburg
Handel in Hamburg
Friends
Journey to Lübeck
Hamburg Opera
Tradition of Church Music
Departure to Italy
Telemann
Hamburg
It was of supreme importance for Handel’s artistic development that he went to Hamburg. The
free, imperial Hanseatic city – largely spared from the horrors and devastation of the Thirty Years‘
War – had become an advanced city-state, open to influences from the world and one in which the
arts flourished with some splendour.
Handel in Hamburg
In 1703 Handel arrived in Hamburg. There is little we know about the occasion for, and the
itinerary of, this journey.
It may be surmised that the young Handel was sent for by Reinhard Keiser (1674-1739), the
director of the Hamburg opera, Keiser came from Teuchern, quite near to Weissenfels. The
Weissenfels court and particularly the court opera, which enjoyed a reputation for high artistic
standards, had exercised a great fascination on Handel in his boyhood. Keiser also came here at
various times in order to produce some of his own operas, and had probably had his attention drawn
to the gifted young Handel. In Hamburg he turned out to be a fatherly friend and stimulating mentor
to the young man.
Friends
Soon after his arrival Handel also formed a close friendship with the composer, singer and
writer on music, Johann Mattheson (1681-1764), who was almost the same age. In 1740 Mattheson
recalled in his work “Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte” that Handel “
was strong on the organ,
stronger than Kuhnau, and especially at extemporising in fugue and counterpoint, but he knew
very little about melodic
writing until he got to the Hamburg opera.”
Another friend became the Hamburg senator and poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes possibly was
acquainted with Handel since his years of study at Halle (1700-1702). Inter alia he wrote a
passion, which Handel and other composers set to music (HWV 48).
Journey to Lübeck
In August 1703 Handel and Mattheson - like J. S. Bach two years later - undertook a journey
to Lübeck to visit the famous master of the organ, Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707). They clearly
showed much less interest in the post of organist offered there particularly since this was
conditional upon marriage to Buxtehude’s daughter, who was not exactly a young woman any more.
Hamburg Opera
But it was the Hamburg Opera in which Handel was interested above all else. In 1698 the Goose
Market Opera had been founded on the model of the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice and enjoyed great
popularity. Its director for many years was Reinhard Keiser, under whom the theatre achieved high
artistic standards. It was above all due to him that the Hamburg Opera did not remain a mere
imitation of Italian models but evolved works in a national, German style of its own.
At first Handel was engaged as a violinist in the orchestra. He soon demonstrated his abilities
as a harpsichordist, too, and finally composed four German operas:
1. Der in Kronen erlangte Glückswechsel, oder: Almira, Königin von
Kastilien HWV 1
(The Vicissitude of Royalty, or: Almira, Queen of
Castille)
2. Die durch Blut und Mord erlangte Liebe, oder: Nero HWV 2
(Love won by Blood and Murder, or: Nero)
3. Der beglückte Florindo HWV 3 (The Fortunate Florindo), and
4. Die verwandelte Daphne HWV 4 (Daphne Transformed).
Of these only Almira has survived complete. The two last named operas, originally conceived
as a single work but later divided because of its length, were performed in January 1708, when
Handel was already in Italy. - Although it has been supposed he could have made a trip to Hamburg
on the occasion of this event. - From the other compositions of the Hamburg period, presumed to be
numerous, only a few instrumental pieces are known to us.
Tradition of Church Music
Hamburg has a long and rich tradition of church music. At Handel’s time some churches
(like St. Gertrud, St. James, St. Michaelis and St. Nicolai) had magnificent new organs by the
great organ builder Arp Schnitger (1648-1719). Supposably Handel played on some of those
instruments and he associated with the famous organ masters Jan Adams Reinken (1623-1722) and
Vincent Lübeck (1654-1740).
Departure to Italy
1705 or 1706 George Frideric Handel left Hamburg. Except for his short-time intermezzo at
Hanover he returned to his homeland only for visits. However, he always greatly attached especially
to his hometown. He often visited his mother, and he was always interested in the fates of members
of his family as you may conclude from his letters handed down to us.
Telemann
Handel’s friend Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) worked in Hamburg from 1712 to his death.
There he became musical director of all churches. His outstanding personality soon moulds the whole
musical life of the city. And later he performed some of Handel’s operas in Hamburg.
