Handel

Question 1

What style did Handel compose in?

Answer 1

Handel wrote in a cosmopolitan style combining the international currents of the day: German counterpoint, Italian opera, French overture, and English choral style.

Question 2

How did Handel compose?

Answer 2

Handel frequently contrasted homophonic and polyphonic passages for a dramatic effect, as is the case in the “Overture” and “Hallelujah” from Messiah.

Question 3

True or False:

Handel wrote lyrically for the voice, making use of legato passages and extreme lyricism

Answer 3

False

Handel’s writing for the voice was often virtuosic, marked by breathtaking runs and vivid word painting.

Question 4

What form of music did Handel contribute to?

Answer 4

Handel contributed to the development of opera seria (composing over 40 operas) and created the English oratorio (nearly 30 oratorios).

Question 5

True or False?:

Handel made effective use of word painting.

Answer 5

True:

Handel made effective use of word painting. (Think #21)

Question 6

True or False:
Handel’s use of very basic musical elements such as chordal passages and scale figures make his style accessible and appealing.

Answer 6

True
Handel’s use of very basic musical elements such as chordal passages and scale figures make his style accessible and appealing.

Question 7

Was Handel famous during his lifetime?

Answer 7

Handel wrote many works that were performed at public events, conveying a sense of pageantry and dramatic theatrical style through grandiose gestures

Question 8

What song of Handel’s does RCM use in its history course?

Answer 8

The overture of the Messiah:
Title in original score : Sinfony (Overture)
Glory to God
Hallelujah Chorus
And there were Shepherds

Question 9

What is the genre of Handel’s overture?

Answer 9

French overture

Question 10

What is the form of Handel’s overture?

Answer 10

||: A :|| B ||

Question 11

What is the key of Handel’s overture?

Answer 11

E minor

Question 12

What is the meter of Handel’s overture?

Answer 12

C

Question 13

What era is Handel?

Answer 13

The baroque era

Question 14

What is the text of “and there were shepherds”?

Answer 14

And there were shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night