Free Music Essay Sample

Water Music by Handel

The Water Music by Frederic Handel opens with a French overture (Largo – Allegro). The composition is played by minuets, bourrées, hornpipes and violins. There was also a different arrangement, found in the Gesellshaft edition of Handel’s works. These arrangements state that the movements of D and G suites were mingled and published as the HWV 348. The first performance of the Water Music was recorded by a London newspaper, Daily Courant. This paper said that the premiere of Handel’s “Water Music” was on the Thames in 1717, with the English Concert performing favorite movements from the work.
According to the previous paragraph (the description) during the premiere of Water Music in 1717 there were the only favorite moments played. As it rumored, the main aim of the Water Music performance was to help the King George in returning some spotlight from his son, showing London that the king is still there. The overture from Water Music Suite I in F Major (HWV 348) was listened to by me in performance of Nürnberger Symphoniker - Hans Peter Gmür. Comparing the performance of Nürnberger Symphoniker and the Le Concert Spirituel with Hervé Niquet as the conductor I really prefer the Hans Peter Gmür, because Le Concert Spirituel played Water Music much faster that it needed to be, but still – this performance has its own positive signs. But well, about the Nürnberger Symphoniker: the music sounds magnificent, gorgeous, pushes me to listen to it again and again. The overture made me feel like the person, who stands in front of a paradisiacal, beautiful garden, without a permission to enter. It is also beautiful because of its brass-like qualities, but still – not brass, like something special, interpreted in well balanced colours. There also can be imagined a very fast river flowing (caused by rain and windstorm), representing the movement of water in nature. The horns sound so naturally so they can be felt like the water strikes against the big rough rocks, showing the rampage of wild nature.
The quality of the Overture from Water Music Suite I in F Major HWV 348 by Frederic Handel is outstanding. Fredric Handel did his best in 1717 by trying to help his king with a music therapy. The performances are great, quality gets the first rate. The Water Music suite (and the overture especial) showed me that there are still a lot of classical music masterpieces, unknown for me. In my opinion, the Water Music is a valuable piece of art, made by famous musician of the 18th century. But well, this music is not for everyone, and the understanding of the classical music is not given for everyone’s culture.