The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-11-25

wv AZ uDoub tnls illne when handel
IS fifty years old he turned his atteu-
y on toward the writing of oratorios.
'L'iis word is deriven from The latin
word ordtoifum and means space of
prayer. These were first per formed in
a chapel at Rome. He determined TO
80 TO Dublin, Ireland, and performed
these oratorios, 1t was os natural for
Handel to express himself in music as
1t was for him TO breathe, and he had
good deal of practice in it, being COM
PEELED when a boy at Halle, by his
teacher, Zachua, to write music. Iu all
he wrote fifteen oratorios, tho most i'm
portqnt of which are Israel in Egypt,
and the Messiah. Handel was tho first
man to teach the people that there was
a meaning i'll music, and that tune was
the expression OF feeling. For instance
we may say TO child in kind and
gentle tone, al will take care of youl"
and the child is comforted but if we
speak 10 The child in course and rough
manner al will take care of you'll, then
The child is Immediately frighlcned and
expects whipping or at least a scold-
ing. Elevation and depression are the
distinguishing characteristics of music.
Handel was blind the last ten years of
his life, but this did not seem to lessen
his ambition in the least. Handel was
one of the men that never grow old.
lie was profoundly religious man, and
was Lutheran. Although he compos-
ed some music for the Roman Catholic
church, yet his sympathies were always
with the Protestants. He had a quick
temper which famed up al the least
provocation. lie wore wig. On one
occasion an enemy stole In and in secret
untuned all the Instruments, for it was
the custom in those days to tune all the
instruments after they wero through
using them SO that they would be all
ready for use when they came to use
them. A little while after this scamp
had put the instruments out of tune
Handel and the band returned and
commenced playing, and of course the
first sound was great discord, and the
minute Handel heard it he was so
cnraged that he went for the members
of the band, supposing that they had
done 1t purposely, and broke the base
viol over the head of the player and
made quite an excitement generally
The singers that were employed by
Handel were Italians and were rather
proud concerning their requirements
and were apt to sing piece not a:
nearly as they could to the way il
which Handel had composed it, but il
a way to receive more attention Il
Themselves, and nothing narrowed
Handel much more than this. At Oh,
time he had employed fine Italian
singer, and shelwas on one occasion
singing piece of Handel's composition
! and she came to place where she pu
on little flourish of her own and Han
: del stopped the music and told her tina
= she had made mistake, she starte,
= again and when she came 10 that plac
Z she sang it just as she did before, an
D this made Handel very angry, and h
I rushed at her and seizing her about tn
waist, he took her up and carried her I
: the window and said 81 always though
J that you vas de very devil and now
: know it, but ish Bcelxebub, the prime
o of dc devils. If you do not sing this
! piece as ] composed it, | will throw 20
/, out of the Window" She was gla
u enough TO so back and sing it as h
II wanted her to.
Il Handel always was anxious that |
e. might die on Good Friday SO that
l. might see his Lord on the followin
y day, and he died on that day. Hand
le was buried in Wcstmenister Able
a There is life-size statue of him
u that place and in his hand is bra
IL plate, and on this an extract from OIL
70 OF his best compositions is printed.