George Frideric Handel

A Life with Friends

De: Ellen T. Harris

Narrado por: Andi Arndt

An intimate portrait of Handel’s life and inner circle, modeled after one of the composer’s favorite forms: the fugue. During his lifetime, the sounds of Handel’s music reached from court to theater, echoed in cathedrals, and filled crowded taverns, but the man himself - known to most as the composer of Messiah - is a bit of a mystery. Though he took meticulous care of his musical manuscripts and even provided for their preservation on his death, very little of an intimate nature survives. One document - Handel’s will - offers us a narrow window into his personal life. In it, he remembers not only family and close colleagues but also neighborhood friends. In search of the private man behind the public figure, Ellen T. Harris has spent years tracking down the letters, diaries, personal accounts, legal cases, and other documents connected to these bequests. The result is a tightly woven tapestry of London in the first half of the 18th century, one that interlaces vibrant descriptions of Handel’s music with stories of loyalty, cunning, and betrayal. With this wholly new approach, Harris has achieved something greater than biography. Layering the interconnecting stories of Handel’s friends like the subjects and countersubjects of a fugue, Harris introduces us to an ambitious, shrewd, generous, brilliant, and flawed man, hiding in full view behind his public persona.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2014 Ellen T. Harris (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Interesting book, lackluster performance

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Very informative for Handel scholars and Baroque music lovers. At this writing, the accompanying PDF file provided by the publisher is unavailable on the Audible site, but they are working on a fix.

What other book might you compare George Frideric Handel to and why?

John Eliot Gardiner Music In the Castle of Heaven, same period with many fascinating details on the period, although not as personal as Gardiner's writing about J.S. Bach.

What didn’t you like about Andi Arndt’s performance?

Tedious and monotonous.

Handel became a real person in this book

Most narrations of Audible Books are by male voices. Getting comfortable with a female voice was an excellent exercise for me. As my focus became less on narration and more on Handel. I enjoyed the female narration. The material of the book does tell the life of Handel and those people whom he associated. Handel apparently had many friend (men and women) whom truly enjoyed a community that appreciated the fine aspects of humanity; caring for others, appreciation of the artistic, and belief in Jesus Christ. I am now motivated to attend performances of Handel’s Operas with the understanding from the author of the context behind when they were written and composed.

Stick with it: the narrator gets better and better

This is an informative book that kept my attention throughout. It's amazing what the author was able to learn about Handel from his friends and acquaintances. My main comment, though, is about the narrator. I found that initially she was a bit monotonous and even sounded bored, but she quickly got better and better until I thought she did a fine job and in places a superior job.