The Harmonious Blacksmith Norwegian The Harmonious Blacksmith The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras (ca. 580 - 500 B.C.) is generally credited with having discovered that musical intervals which are recognized as concordant are related by small integer ratios. Prior to Pythagoras, musicians appreciated that particular notes when sounded together created a pleasant effect, and tuned their lyres so that plucking two strings would generate such a harmony. However, the early musicians had no understanding of why particular notes were harmonious and had no objective system for tuning their instruments. Instead they tuned their lyres purely by ear until a state of harmony was established--a process that Plato called torturing the tuning pegs. Iamblichus, the fourth-century scholar who wrote nine books about the Pythagorean sect, describes how Pythagoras came to discover the underlying principles of musical harmony: "Once he was engrossed in the thought of whether he could devise a mechanical aid for the sense of hearing which would prove both certain and ingenious. Such an aid would be similar to the compasses, rules and optical instruments designed for the sense of sight. Likewise the sense of touch had scales and the concepts of weights and measures.

By some divine stroke of luck he happened to walk past the forge of a blacksmith and listened to the hammers pounding iron and producing a variegated harmony of reverberations between them, except for one combination of sounds." According to Iamblichus, Pythagoras immediately ran into the forge to investigate the harmony of the hammers. He noticed that most of the hammers could be struck simultaneously to generate a harmonious sound, whereas any combination containing one particular hammer always generated an unpleasant noise. He analyzed the hammers and realized that those that were harmonious with each other had a simple mathematical relationship--their masses were simple ratios or fractions of each other. That is to say that hammers half, two- thirds, or three-quarters the weight of a particular hammer would all generate harmonious sounds. On the other hand, the hammer that was generating disharmony when struck along with any of the other hammers had a weight that bore no simple relationship to the other weights. Here is Händels theme for the Harmonious Blacksmith , from his fifth suite for harpsichord.

Frontispiece to Theorica Musice, Franchino Gafurio, 1492 The upper left illustration depicts Jubal, the biblical father of music, and six blacksmiths with differing size hammers striking an anvil. This relates to the story that the young Pythagoras was first moved to investigate musical intervals on hearing the notes produced by different size hammers at a blacksmith's shop. The upper right illustration depicts Pythagoras testing the interval of an octave between bells of size 16 and 8 and between glasses filled in the proportion 16 and 8. The lower left illustration shows Pythagoras testing intervals on a stringed instrument and the lower right illustration shows Pythagoras and his pupil Philolaus testing intervals by means of flutes. William "The Harmonious Blacksmith" Powell (1702 - 1780) - Find A Grave Memorial William "The Harmonious Blacksmith" Powell Death: Feb., 1780 "In memory of William Powell, the Harmonious Blacksmith, who was buried 27th. February 1780, aged 78 years.

He was Parish Clerk during the time the immortal Handel was organist of this church. Erected by subscription, May 1868." Handel's Suite for Harpsichord in E (1720) was given the name of "The Harmonious Blacksmith" because of the story that the composer took shelter from the rain in a smithy, and was inspired to write his tune upon hearing the hammer and the anvil. Unfortunately, it is quite untrue. The legend began three-quarters of a century after the composer's death, when an anonymous writer to the Times started the falsehood. This was compounded by two men named Henry Wylde and Richard Clark, who found an old anvil in a smithy near Whitchurch and fabricated a story to identify William Powell as the fictitious Blacksmith. They even raised a subscription for a wooden memorial to him. In 1868, the people of Whitchurch subscribed again for the current stone memorial. Note the hammer and the anvil on the carving. Nor was Handel ever the organist of St.

Lawrence's, as the inscription claims, although this is repeated by a plaque on the instrument, which reads : "HANDEL was organist at this church from the year 1718 to 1721 and composed his oratorio ESTHER on this organ." Both of these claims are quite untrue, although he was in the service of the Duke of Chandos at Edgware, only a mile or so to the East. "The Harmonious Blacksmith" was, of course, never given that title by Handel, but it appears that William Lintern, a blacksmith's apprentice from Bath, was very fond of the tune and sang it so often that his friends called him The Harmonious Blacksmith ; and, eventually, the term began to be applied to the tune, as well. Sadly, there is no connection at all with William Powell. (bio by: Iain MacFarlaine) Origins of the Harmoneous Blacksmith Origins of the Harmoneous Blacksmith Origins of the Harmoneous Blacksmith Historical Extract 1.

The Harmonious Blacksmith is an air and variations from Handel's fifth Harpsichord Suits of his first set (1720) and he gave it no fancy name whatever. There is no foundation for the story that Handel heard the air sung by a blacksmith at Edgware, near London, nor justification for the exhibition of the anvil upon which the man beat time as he sang, nor for the inscription of a portion of the air upon the tombstone of a blacksmith in a graveyard at Edgware. 2. The Edgware blacksmith story was first floated by the notoriously inventive Richard Clark in this Reminiscences of Handel (1836). In 1889, in the first edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music, the following appeared from the pen of William Chappell (1809-88): A few months after Clark's publication the writer saw the late J.W. Windsor, Esq., of Bath, a great admirer of Handel and one who knew all his published works.

He told the writer that a story of the Blacksmith at Edgware was pure imagination, that the original publisher of Handel's lesson under that name (The Harmonious Blacksmith) was a music seller at Bath, named Lintern, whom he knew personally from buying music at the shop, that he had asked Lintern the reason for this new name, and he had told him that it was a nickname given to himself because, he had been brought up as a blacksmith, although he had afterwards turned to music, and that was the piece he was constantly asked to play. He printed the movement in a detached form, because he could sell a sufficient number of copies to make a profit’. 3. Chappell was a careful and conscientious musical antiquarian and this story is probably true, but there is no copy of Lintern's edition of the piece in the British Museum and Mr W. C.

Smith, late of the museum, a Handelian specialist of high standing, said that the earliest copy of the piece that he had yet (1940) been able to find under the name The Harmonious Blacksmith was that published by the British Harmonic Institution, arranged as a piano-forte duet, t he paper of which bears the watermark ‘1819’. 4. Equally there is no foundation for the statement that the air is by Wagenseil (who was only five years old when it was first printed) and some other attributions have been shown to be equally baseless. 5. Almost the same air, but in the minor, is found in a bourree (music for a spanish dance) by Richard Jones (1680-1740) and it is not known whether the publication of this preceded or followed that of Handel's suite. But a passage in Handel's opera Almira, written 1704, is very like the `Harmonious Blacksmith' tune, so it is more than likely that the latter was his own. 6. Beethoven has used much the same theme for the subject of a two-part organ fugue - probably an unconscious reminiscence.

The Composer 7. George Frederic Handel was borne at Halle, in Saxony, in 1658, and died in London in 1759. Handel's father was a prosperous barber-surgeon who, as a hard-boiled business man, not unreasonably had doubts allowing his son to become a musician. However, the boy's obvious talent brought favourable comment from the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels and from 1693 he was able to study with Frederich Zachow, an organist and excellent all- round musician then in Halle. Three years later he attracted the interest of the Elector of Brandenburg, who wanted to send him to Italy to study. This time his father refused to cooperate and insisted that he should concentrate on his general studies, with a view to becoming a lawyer. 8. Though Handel's father died in 1697, he still followed his wishes and in 1702 enrolled at the University of Halle as a law student. He remained there for a year and then his resolution broke, for better or worse he would be a musician. 9.

He went first to Hamburg, where he found employment in the orchestra of Reinhardt Keiser's famous opera house, eventually becoming its conductor. His own first opera, Almira, appeared in 1705 with great success and was followed by another, Nero, in the same year. It was now clear that Handel was a composer of exceptional talent. 10. In 1706 he left Hamburg and went to Italy. For a composer anxious to shine in opera this was a natural thing to do, for the Italian operatic style dominated the whole of Europe. He spent four years there, in Florence, Rome, Naples and Venice. Everywhere he went he triumphed: his operas in the Italian style, conquered even the Italians themselves. 11. Having learned everything Italy had to teach him, Handel now returned to Germany (1710) to take up the post of Kapellmeister to the Elector of Hanover on the understanding that he would be allowed to visit England that year. 12. He could have scarcely arrived in London at a more favourable moment. Italian opera was all the rage. He was immediately commissioned to write one, in two weeks he had completed Rinaldo.

It was performed in February 1711 and proved a great success. In June, however, Handel was obliged to return to Hanover and there settled to a rather less exciting musical routine. But in the autumn of 1712 he was back to London - for it was obvious to him that this was where fame and fortune lay. As it happened, his first new opera for London, Teseo (1713) was not a success. However he was asked to write music to celebrate Queen Anne's birthday, and later to celebrate the Peace of Utrecht, and was duly rewarded with a pension of 200 pounds a year. 13. This time he cheerfully overstayed his leave from Hanover, thereby annoying his employer, the Elector. But in 1714 Queen Anne died, and now George, Elector of Hanover, became George 1 of England. At first he was not disposed to forgive his errant Kapellmeister, but gradually the rift was mended. The pension from Queen Anne was continued, and then doubled. The Princess of Wales also paid Handel a further 200 pounds a year to teach her children.

He was therefore a comparative wealthy man - or would have been had he not decided to invest in operatic productions on his own account. 14. His first venture was as a member of an operatic company known as the Royal Academy of Music, for whom he quickly wrote a number of successful operas. But by now London had become a battlefield for operatic rivalries. The Italian composer Giovanni Bononcine had been set up as a counter attraction, and different singers engaged by the two composers only added to complications. Matters were not improved when, in 1728, John Gay produced his ballad opera The Beggar's Opera - a direct and enormously successful satire on the absurdities of Italian Opera. By June 1728, the academy was bankrupt. 15. Handel promptly decided to become his own manager. After a shaky start he slowly began to retrieve his financial position. It was now, however, that he decided to revive a Masque he had written in 1720 for the Duke of Chandos. It was called Ester, and because it was based on a Bible story he decided not to stage it, but gave it in concert form.

It proved extremely successful, and it dawned upon Handel that dramatic oratios were something that the English might prefer to opera. 16. Though he continued to write operas, he now began to produce oratorios as well. There success helped to keep him afloat - though in 1738 he came near to being imprisoned for debt. 17. In 1741 Handel visited Dublin, taking with him the score he had written in the space of three weeks. It was called Messiah, and it proved to be enormously successful. From now on he abandoned all attempts to write opera, and concentrated solely on the composition of oratorios - which were themselves a kind of opera, even though they were not staged. 18. The last years of Handel's years were tranquil, though marred by increasing blindness. When he died he was mourned by the entire nation, which had come to regard him as an English composer, just as he regarded himself as an Englishman. His Music 19. Unlike his famous contemporary Bach, Handel was a man of the theatre and therefore accustomed to the necessity of making an immediate dramatic impact.

Mozart said of him ‘when he strikes, he strikes like a thunderbolt’ : and this is true. Handel's ideas are always sturdy and bold. They grip the attention immediately. He was able, as certain choruses in the great oratorios show, to command the most monumental effects. Yet he could also write music of extreme delicacy - for example, the `nightingale' chorus in Solomon. He could write counterpoint as complex and ingenious as Bach's, but he could also write melodies of great power, sweetness and simplicity. The following is a summary of Handel's main works: a. Operas include: A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Harmonious Blacksmith, The - Wikisource, the free online library A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Harmonious Blacksmith, The From Wikisource 1505540 A Dictionary of Music and Musicians — Harmonious Blacksmith, The1900 HARMONIOUS BLACKSMITH, THE. Handel's variations on the air known in England as 'The Harmonious Blacksmith' were originally printed in No.

5 of his first set of 'Suites de Pièces, pour le Clavecin,' in Nov. 1720. As no name is there given to the air, and even down to the time of the late Robert Birchall it was still published only as 'Handel's Fifth favourite Lesson from his first Suite de Piéces,' it has been generally assumed to be Handel's composition as well as the variations. Upon this point, however, doubts have arisen since Handel's death, and various claims have been put forth, of which at least one still remains undecided. The first claim was in 'Anthologie Française, ou Chansons choisies depuis le treizième siècle jusqu'à présent' (Paris, 3 vols. 8vo, 1765). The editor of that work was J. Monnet, and, according to M.

Fetis, 'ce recueil est estimé.' In the first volume are the following eight lines, printed to the air, and ascribed to Clement Marot:— Plus no suis que j'ai été, ﻿Et plus ne saurais jamaia l'être; Mon beau priutems et mon été, ﻿Ont fait le saut par la fenêtre: Amour! tu as été mon maître. ﻿Je t'ai servi sur tous les dieux: Ah! si je pouvais deux fois naître, ﻿Combien je te servirais mieux! Although these lines might pass for one of the extravagant love-songs of Clement Marot in his earlier years, if we allow for their being presented in a modernized form, yet no trace of them is to be found in his published works, nor of any song like them. A thorough search has been made through the long poems as well as the short pieces, lest these lines should prove to be an extract. The name of Clement Marot is therefore an assumed one. The air itself is not at all like music of the 15th century. When therefore Professor J.

Ella informed his readers in the 'Supplement to Programme of Musical Union,' June 6, 1865, that this melody 'was first published in a collection of French Chansons printed by Ballard in 1565 to words of Clement Marot, who died in 1545, there was some misunderstanding between his informant, M. Weckerlin, and himself. On writing recently to Mr. Weckerlin to inquire whether there was such a book in his custody, he being Librarian to the Conservatoire de Musique, in Paris, the writer was informed that nothing was known of such a work, and that the earliest French edition known to him was in the above-named 'Anthologie Française,' not of 1565, but of 1765. Professor Ella thought also that he had seen the melody in a French collection, a copy of which was sold in the library of the late Wm. Ayrton, F.R.S. On tracing it through the sale catalogue to its present resting-place in the British Museum, it proved to be 'Lot 38. Ballard (J. B.

Chr.) La Clef des Chansonniers, on Recueil des Vaudevilles depuis cent ans et plus, notez et recueillis pour la première fois' (2 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1717) Here we find the name of Ballard, suggested by Professor Ella, but not the melody in question. The next claim is for G. C. Wagenseil, an eminent clavecinist of Vienna, who was born three years after Handel. The late Dr. Wm. Crotch, Professor of Music at the University of Oxford, informed the present writer that he had seen the air in a piece of music for the clavecin composed by Wagenseil. Dr. Crotch made a similar communication to the late Richard Clark, adding that the volume in which he saw it was one in the possession of Dr. Hague, who was then Professor of Music at the University of Cambridge. In 1836, Richard Clark published a book in folio, entitled 'Reminiscences of Handel,' and in it he referred to the information he had received from Dr. Crotch and to the liberty given to him to use it (p. 65).

Clark then published a new edition of the piece, giving to Wagenseil the credit of the air, and to Handel that of the variations. The difficulty in proving priority between the two contemporaries arises from the fact that published music was, and is, undated. We know the date of Handel's publication only from an advertisement by his publisher. In Vienna music was copied, not printed, even so late as 1772 or 1773, when Dr. Burney visited that capital. 'In his youth,' says M. Fétis, 'Wagenseil was the fashionable composer for the clavecin, and his music was much sought for long afterwards.' Wagenseil's op. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are all sets of six pieces for that instrument, like Handel's two sets. But the circulation of Wagenseil's music was limited to manuscripts from the copyists of Vienna until he was fifty-two years old. His op. 1 was then first printed—not in Vienna, but at Bamberg—in 1740, when the copyright had probably expired.

He wrote five other sets for the clavecin, of which manuscript copies were in the hands of Breitkopf & Härtel of Leipzig at the end of the last century. We know very little of Wagenseil in England—for Handel eclipsed all competitors—but he was highly esteemed on the continent. As to the question of priority it is far more probable that Handel copied from Wagenseil than vice versâ, because Handel borrowed systematically from other authors, dead and living, whenever he found anything to suit his purpose. Dr. Crotch was an enthusiastic admirer of Handel, and yet he published a list of twenty-nine of the best composers from whom Handel 'quoted or copied,' with an et ceteris to indicate that he had named only the principal sources (Lectures on Music, 8vo, 1831, p. 122, in note). The story of Handel's having heard the air sung by a blacksmith at Edgware, while beating time to it upon his anvil, and that Handel therefore entitled it 'The Harmonious Blacksmith,' is refuted by the fact that it was never so named during Handel's life.

The late Richard Clark was the propagator, if not also the inventor, of this fable. In Clark's edition of the lesson he has gone so far as to print an accompaniment for the anvil, as he imagined Handel to have heard the beats. He states that the blacksmith was also the parish clerk at Whitchurch. A few months after Clark's publication the writer saw the late J. W. Winsor, Esq., of Bath, a great admirer of Handel, and one who knew all his published works. He told the writer that the story of the Blacksmith at Edgware was pure imagination, that the original publisher of Handel's lesson under that name was a music-seller at Bath, named Lintern, whom he knew personally from buying music at his shop, that he had asked Lintern the reason for this new name, and he had told him that it was a nickname given to himself because he had been brought up as a blacksmith, although he had afterwards turned to music, and that this was the piece he was constantly asked to play. He printed the movement in a detached form, because he could sell a sufficient number of copies to make a profit, and the whole set was too expensive.

It is worth mentioning that Beethoven has taken the theme, whether consciously or unconsciously, for the subject of a two-part organ fugue published in the supplementary volume of his works issued in 1888. Learn and talk about The Harmonious Blacksmith, 1720 compositions, Compositions for harpsichord, Suites by George Frideric Handel, Variations Handel's Life[ edit ] Around the time of 1720, G. F. Handel had just left his native land of Germany to London , accepting his new position at the Royal Academy of Music . Before that, Handel had already moved to England in 1712, spending his time based at the Burlington House before becoming house composer at Cannons in Middlesex . [2] It has been suggested that the move to Cannons was related to the fact that in 1717 there was reduced demand for his services in central London because operatic productions were experiencing a temporary downturn. At the end of Handel's stay at Cannons, the Duke and his friends helped him establish a new opera company in London, the so-called Royal Academy of Music.

The eight suites of 1720[ edit ] Handel published his first eight harpsichord suites in 1720 with the following explanation: “ I have been obliged to publish some of the following Lessons, because surrepticious and incorrect Copies of them had got Abroad. I have added several new ones to make the Work more useful, which if it meets with a favourable Reception; I will still proceed to publish more, reckoning it my duty, with my Small Talent, to serve a Nation from which I have receiv’d so Generous a protection ” — Handel, preface to the publication of 1720 [3] Among the eight suites published for harpsichord in 1720, G. F. Handel published his Suite no. 5 in E Major, HWV 430. This suite consists of four movements: The Prelude, Allemande, Courante and Air and Variations; the first three movements having stylized dance rhythms. This suite was promulgated a year after Handel became Master of the Orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music , also known as the first Italian opera company in London.

[4] Handel lived the remainder of his life in London after leaving Germany to work as resident composer for Earl of Carnarvon . [5] The name[ edit ] There have been a number of explanations proffered as to why this movement was called The Harmonious Blacksmith, and by whom. The name was not given by Handel and was not recorded until early in the 19th century, when the movement became popular on its own (while Handel's music remained popular in England continuously after his death, it was only very selectively known.) An unproven history[ edit ] William Powell's infamous grave The story is that Handel, when working for James Brydges the future Duke of Chandos at Cannons between 1717 and 1718, once took shelter from the rain in a smithy , and was inspired to write his tune upon hearing the hammer on the anvil ; the regularly repeated pedal note (B in the right hand) in the first variation, can give the impression of a blacksmith hammering. A variation on the story is that he heard the blacksmith singing the tune which would later become the Air; this explanation fits in nicely with Handel's general technique of borrowing tunes.

Neither story is true. The legend began three-quarters of a century after Handel's death with Richard Clark in his Reminiscences of Handel (1836). Henry Wylde and Richard Clark then found an old anvil in a smithy near Whitchurch , Edgware and fabricated a story to identify William Powell as the fictitious blacksmith, when, in fact, he had been the parish clerk. They raised a subscription for a wooden memorial to him, and in 1868, the people of Whitchurch subscribed again for a grandiloquent gravestone , still standing. It reads: "In memory of William Powell, the Harmonious Blacksmith, who was buried 27. of February 1780, aged 78 years. He was Parish Clerk during the time the immortal Handel was organist of this church. Erected by subscription, May 1868." Handel had written his harpsichord suites of the 1720 publication before he lived at Cannons, when he was at Adlington Hall in Cheshire , or even earlier still.

Another possible history for the Harmonious Blacksmith[ edit ] William Lintern was a blacksmith's apprentice from Bath who later took up music and so was The Harmonious Blacksmith. The piece came to be called after him, probably because he published it under that name for reasons outlined in the following extract: A few months after Clark's publication the writer saw the late J.W. Windsor, Esq., of Bath, a great admirer of Handel and one who knew all his published works. He told the writer that a story of the Blacksmith at Edgware was pure imagination, that the original publisher of Handel's lesson under that name (The Harmonious Blacksmith) was a music seller at Bath, named Lintern, whom he knew personally from buying music at the shop, that he had asked Lintern the reason for this new name, and he had told him that it was a nickname given to himself because, he had been brought up as a blacksmith, although he had afterwards turned to music, and that was the piece he was constantly asked to play. He printed the movement in a detached form, because he could sell a sufficient number of copies to make a profit.

— William Chappell (1809–88), 1889, first edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music Chappell was a respected musical historian and the story is probably true, but there is no copy of Lintern's edition of the piece in the British Museum , and Mr W. C. Smith, who worked at the museum and was a Handelian specialist of high standing, said that the earliest copy of the piece that he had yet (as of 1940) been able to find under the name The Harmonious Blacksmith was that published by the British Harmonic Institution, arranged as a piano-forte duet, the paper of which bears the watermark '1819'. Origins of the music[ edit ] As to the origins of the music, a bourrée by Richard Jones (1680–1740) features almost the same air in a minor key , though it is not known whether Jones preceded Handel or vice versa. A passage in Handel's opera Almira , written in 1704, is very like the Harmonious Blacksmith tune, so it is likely that it was his own.

Beethoven used a similar theme for the subject of a two-part organ fugue . There also exist several early manuscript versions of this piece, in G major and entitled Chaconne . The overall shape and form of the variations are the same, but the melody as we know it is not yet fully formed, and there are significant improvements to texture and passagework throughout the later published version. Interesting, perhaps, is a complete lack of the insistent repetition of b' (d" through transposition), which has since been commonly associated with the image of a blacksmith striking his anvil. Structure[ edit ] The final movement of Handel's Suite no. 5 in E Major, HWV 430, consists of the opening theme and five variations, all in E major . "Air and Variations" only modulates from the tonic key to the dominant, with no modal mixture. Theme[ edit ] The theme is in rounded, continuous binary form and is made up of two phrases,with the exposition beginning with the first musical phrase ending on a half cadence and the following phrase ending with a perfect authentic cadence resulting in a parallel period . The music is set in simple meter, with a 4/4 time signature throughout.

Moving eighth notes create the foundation for both the right and left hand. Upon completion of the first phrase, the tonic key is reestablished and the right hand begins to play sixteenth notes until a perfect authentic cadence in measure ten, followed by recapitulation of the second phrase. The first measure outlines the tonic and dominant chords, followed in the next measure by a repeat of tonic and dominant chords until the fourth beat, where Handel applies a secondary dominant that leads to a [B major] chord on the first beat of the third measure. This initial motive is repeated in measures three and four, ending the first phrase on a half cadence. The second phrase begins on the tonic chord arpeggiated, followed by a IV chord. This I to IV is repeated until measure five, where the dominant chord is added to the progression, creating a common I, IV, V, I chord progression. This new phrase retains the same chord progression in measures seven and eight, ending the second phrase on a PAC. Variation One[ edit ] Variation one includes the same motivic ideas and adds arpeggiation of the chords with focus on the tonic and dominant key , B major .

Both phrases are made up of five measures, with the first ending on a half cadence and the final phrase of the variation ending on a perfect authentic cadence. Variation Two[ edit ] The melody is switched between hands and is now played in the right hand with the left hand arpeggiating the harmonic chordal progression. The left hand plays sixteenth notes throughout this variation and the right hand only plays eighth notes, with the addition of trills in the second phrase. The motivic structure remains the same, with focus on only the tonic and dominant keys. Variation Three[ edit ] The third variation introduces the new musical idea of sixteenth note triplets in the right hand, with the left hand playing the melody in eighth notes. Variation three has the same progression and division of musical sections, but the melody is no longer in the right hand, with the left hand arpeggiating a harmony identical in structure to the theme and both preceding variations. Variation Four[ edit ] The penultimate variation trades the melody to the right hand, with the left hand playing sixteenth note triplets. This variation is almost identical in structure to its predecessor, with the roles of the hands switching.

Variation Five[ edit ] The fifth, and final, variation consists of impressive scale work that played by both hands, with each run of thirty-second notes being returned with another set of thirty-second notes in the following beat, usually played by the opposite hand. The same progression and structural ideas are maintained throughout the this variation, ending on a descending E major scale starting on the dominant, resulting in a final PAC. Literary mention[ edit ] Pip, the main character in Great Expectations , by Charles Dickens , is fondly given the nickname of Handel by the character Herbert Pocket, in honor of Pip's upbringing as a blacksmith, and in honor of this music: "We are so harmonious- and you have been a blacksmith". Saint Dunstan is named as the Harmonious Blacksmith in the 18th century poem "The Devil and Saint Dunstan". The piece is mentioned in Siegfried Sassoon 's semi-autobiographical work Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man. Aunt Evelyn is heard to be playing the piece one evening and the author recalls this happy memory during his time at the Front.

Musical influence[ edit ] The Italian guitarist-composer Mauro Giuliani used the theme as the basis for his Variazioni su un tema di Handel ("The Harmonious Blacksmith"), Op. 107, for solo guitar in 1828. The German composer Louis Spohr used the theme as the basis for a variation movement in his Octet in E major, Op. 32. The theme is referenced at the beginning of the finale of Francis Poulenc 's Concert champêtre . [6] The Australian-born composer and pianist Percy Grainger based one of his most famous works on this melody. He first wrote his Variations on Handel's ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’ in 1911. Shortly after, he used the first sixteen bars of his set of variations to create one of his most beloved pieces, Handel in the Strand. He wrote that the music “seemed to reflect both Handel and English musical comedy”, hence the title. The composer made various versions of the work, most notably, a piano solo version (1930). The entire Suite no. 5 in E Major, HWV 430.

[1] Only the final movement, "Air and Variations", on harpsichord. [2] Notes and references[ edit ] ^ Paul Henry Lang, George Frederich Handel, W. W. Norton and Company Inc, New York, 1966 ^ Newman Flower, George Frederich Handel: His Personality and His Times, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1948 ^ Original courtesy of Wikipedia: — Please support Wikipedia. This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia . A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. We're sorry, but there's no news about "The Harmonious Blacksmith" right now. Limit to books that you can completely read online Include partial books (book previews) Oops, we seem to be having trouble contacting Twitter Support Wikipedia A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. Please add your support for Wikipedia! Searchlight Group Digplanet also receives support from Searchlight Group. Visit Searchlight Copyright © 2009-2017 Digparty. All rights reserved.

The Harmonious Blacksmith Privacy The Harmonious Blacksmith The Harmonious Blacksmith is the popular name of the final movement, Air and variations, of George Frideric Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major, HWV 430, for harpsichord. An air is followed by five doubles (variations in the English division style): semiquavers in the right hand; semiquavers in the left hand; semiquaver triplets in the right and left hands; and finally demisemiquavers in both hands. The Name - Another Possible History For The Harmonious Blacksmith ... William Lintern was a blacksmith's apprentice from Bath who later took up music and so was The Harmonious Blacksmith ... He told the writer that a story of the Blacksmith at Edgware was pure imagination, that the original publisher of Handel's lesson under that name (The Harmonious Blacksmith ... had yet (as of 1940) been able to find under the name The Harmonious Blacksmith was that published by the British Harmonic Institution, arranged as a piano-forte duet, the paper of which bears the ...

Famous quotes containing the words blacksmith and/or harmonious: “The blacksmith dropped his hammer, the carpenter his plane, the mason his trowel, the farmer his sickle, the baker his loaf, and the tapster his bottle. All were off for the mines, some on horses, some on carts, and some on crutches, and one went in a litter.” —For the State of California, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943) “The windy springs and the blazing summers, one after another, had enriched and mellowed that flat tableland; all the human effort that had gone into it was coming back in long, sweeping lines of fertility. The changes seemed beautiful and harmonious to me; it was like watching the growth of a great man or of a great idea. I recognized every tree and sandbank and rugged draw. I found that I remembered the conformation of the land as one remembers the modelling of human faces.” Terms related to the harmonious blacksmith: Related Phrases Harmonious Blacksmith - Classical Guitar Classical Guitar Respect Copyrights : Any messages offering illegal material or links to sites that provide unauthorized, copyrighted material will be removed by the moderators.

Forum rules Respect Copyrights : Any messages offering illegal material or links to sites that provide unauthorized, copyrighted material will be removed by the moderators. Quote Post by pacifica » Thursday 07 December 2006, 07:10 am Does anyone know where i might be able to find/purchase a copy of John William's arrangement for Handel's "The Harmonious Blacksmith"? Top Google AdSense Want to avoid ads? Register on the forum! It's free, you'll be able to join in and get access to thousands of free scores and recordings, and we'll be pleased to welcome you. Google AdSense Post by MickeyD » Thursday 07 December 2006, 14:47 pm I don't know about John Williams but here's a link to a public domain version From the Website, In their statement of purpose they state as follows: FREE SHEET MUSIC TO DOWNLOAD We are proud to participate to the transmission of free sheet music. Our project is to distribute for free the most important choice of domain public free scores. So I hope it's o.k.

to post the link Quote Post by MickeyD » Thursday 07 December 2006, 14:52 pm Well I guess it wasn't o.k. to post the link. How do we know if a link is boycotted? Post by Brock » Thursday 07 December 2006, 17:17 pm MickeyD wrote: Well I guess it wasn't o.k. to post the link. How do we know if a link is boycotted? Only the site administartor keeps a list of boycotted links. You know a link is boycotted when you type in a URL and it's automatically changed to read *** boycotted link *** or similar. Quote Post by pacifica » Thursday 07 December 2006, 17:23 pm I already have a version of the Harmonious Blacksmith from one of Frederick Noad's books, and there is also an arrangement on this forum.

I really like the arrangement by John Williams, it is in a different key and sounds much more challenging to play - and I like a challenge Post by MickeyD » Thursday 07 December 2006, 18:07 pm Dear pacifica: After a little hunting, I found the following. On his website offering free lessons based on his own personal transcriptions, classical guitarist Harry George Pellegrin writes of the piece played by John Williams: "Mauro Giuliani wrote the little gem from Handel's 'Harmonious Blacksmith' that spawned this tiny variation. "This is a fairly simple piece that can and is (usually) played in a student's third year with the instrument. "I know a few recitalists who still play this piece, not because of its razzle-dazzle factor, but for its musicality. Listen to John Williams' rendition on his Virtuoso Variations recording for Columbia Records." Pellegrin´s transcription of the piece by Giuliani and Handel is offered by Mr. Pellegrin at the following link. I hope it is allowed. I hope this is satisfactory.

MD Post by bones » Thursday 07 December 2006, 18:37 pm MickeyD wrote: Dear pacifica: After a little hunting, I found the following. On his website offering free lessons based on his own personal transcriptions, classical guitarist Harry George Pellegrin writes of the piece played by John Williams: "Mauro Giuliani wrote the little gem from Handel's 'Harmonious Blacksmith' that spawned this tiny variation. "This is a fairly simple piece that can and is (usually) played in a student's third year with the instrument. "I know a few recitalists who still play this piece, not because of its razzle-dazzle factor, but for its musicality. Listen to John Williams' rendition on his Virtuoso Variations recording for Columbia Records." Pellegrin´s transcription of the piece by Giuliani and Handel is offered by Mr. Pellegrin at the following link. I hope it is allowed. I hope this is satisfactory.

MD This Tune is a little gem one of the finest tunes Handel wrote and the Guiliani Variations are fun to play and only a little challenging, if you are going to learn this splendid work listen to a harpisichord recording and get a taste of the original piece, it may help your thoughts on the interpretation once you've mastered the dots. Quote Post by pacifica » Thursday 07 December 2006, 19:41 pm Thanks MickeyD for the information. I have to say though that John Williams version & his variations are quite different than the music that i have for this piece. I guess, as the arrangement that I am listening to is by John Williams , I should expect it to be more challenging. Bones, I will take your advice in trying to get a harpsichord recording. Post by bones » Thursday 07 December 2006, 20:50 pm pacifica wrote: Thanks MickeyD for the information. I have to say though that John Williams version & his variations are quite different than the music that i have for this piece. I guess, as the arrangement that I am listening to is by John Williams , I should expect it to be more challenging.

Bones, I will take your advice in trying to get a harpsichord recording. I've never heard the Williams recording, what CD/Vinyl is it on? I made my own version of the theme based on the original score, a little bit more difficult than Guiliani or Noad, I've yet to write any variations. Quote Post by Brock » Friday 08 December 2006, 00:18 am Do check you guys are listening to the same JW recording. He recorded Giuliani's Variations on a Theme by Handel on a 60s LP and it was re-issued on a CD Guitar Recital along with some Paganini, Scarlatti and Villa-Lobos. He recorded Handel's Harmonious Blacksmith (multi-tracking himself), with I guess some of his own variations and not Handel's, on an LP/CD called Echoes of London, re-issued on the Englsh Guitar Music CD. The music on Pellegrin's site is from the Giulinai variations, the 4th variation. Last edited by Brock on Friday 08 December 2006, 00:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

Post by alter Ton » Friday 08 December 2006, 00:19 am bones wrote: pacifica wrote: Thanks MickeyD for the information. I have to say though that John Williams version & his variations are quite different than the music that i have for this piece. I guess, as the arrangement that I am listening to is by John Williams , I should expect it to be more challenging. Bones, I will take your advice in trying to get a harpsichord recording. I've never heard the Williams recording, what CD/Vinyl is it on? I made my own version of the theme based on the original score, a little bit more difficult than Guiliani or Noad, I've yet to write any variations. Handel's variations appear on the "Echoes of London" CD. Pacifica, Williams has recorded both the original Handel variations and Giuliani's variations on the same theme. It is possible that the you have the music to the Giuliani but have the recording of the Handel or vice versa.

Post by alter Ton » Wednesday 13 December 2006, 00:55 am Brock wrote: MickeyD wrote: So you can check the score against John Williams. If Brock says he cooked up his own variations, that's good enough for me. Brock seems to do his homework. Thanks for the vote of confidence. The Wiliams recording of the Giuliani variations is I think pretty much what Giuliani wrote. It's the later recording that Williams calls Handel's Harmonious Blacksmith which sounds like the vaiations are more JW than handel - I've never heard Handel's original variations, but what Williams recorded then doesn't sound very Handelian to me. Actually, his rendition is pretty faithful to Handel's original, which is why he does it with two guitars. The only major difference is the repetition of the theme at the end which isn't part of the original.

Question: Who composed The Harmonious Blacksmith?
Answer: Handel