Handel on Guitar Volume 1 : Daniel Estrem

Handel on Guitar Volume 1 by Daniel Estrem

Daniel Estrem : Handel on Guitar Volume 1.
Colorful classical guitar.

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era. Born into a family that was indifferent to music; his early talent was so pronounced that his father grudgingly allowed him to receive training in his native Germany. His studies took him to Italy as well, before settling in London (1712) where he became a naturalized British subject in 1727. Although Handel is primarily known for his larger creations (operas, oratorios, motets, passions, cantatas) his smaller scale works are greatly admired and often performed by instrumentalists.

Handel and J. S. Bach were both German-born in 1685 and comparisons are difficult to avoid. Bach's work lay in comparative obscurity for half a century, whereas Handel was internationally renowned in his lifetime. One of the curious ironies of music history is that both men would be afflicted with debilitating cataracts in their later years and undergo surgery at the hand of the same oculist, John Taylor. This surgery by today's standards was extremely crude resulting in very little visual improvement, and of course, there was no anesthesia or sterile-technique at that time. Unfortunately, Bach died as a result of bacterial contamination from the procedure at age 65. Handel lived to age 74.

Throughout his life Handel avoided the rigorous contrapuntal techniques of Bach and achieved his effects through the simplest of means, trusting always his own innate musicianship. Both composers often practiced a kind of musical "recycling" where they would take a work composed for one medium and recast it for another. It would not have been uncommon in Handel's day to hear a recorder concerto played as an organ sonata. Such interchangeability was possible in the more abstract instrumental sound of the Baroque. It remained for later composers to create music whose effect depended mainly on the sound of specific instruments.

Cover art image courtesy of Mike Stenhouse on flickr.com

Songs:

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Release date: 07/18/2015
Daniel Estrem lives in Minnesota USA

Tagged as: Classical, Baroque, Instrumental, Composer: George Frideric Handel, Classical Guitar

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