Handel in London: The Making of a Genius

"How refreshing, to read a book about music written for a music lover and not a musicologist. In clear, lucid, entertaining prose, Jane Glover makes those of us who lack musical literacy better understand and appreciate Handel's divinity," remarks Donna Leon, author of Handel's Bestiary and the Inspector Brunetti mysteries.

Handel in London tells the story of a young German composer who, in 1712, followed his princely master to London and remained there for the rest of his life. That master would become King George II, and the composer was George Frideric Handel. Handel, then only twenty-seven and largely self-taught, would be at the epicentre of musical activity in London for the subsequent four decades, composing masterpiece after masterpiece. These included the glorious coronation anthem, 'Zadok the Priest', operas such as Giulio Cesare, Rinaldo, and Alcina, or the great oratorios, culminating, of course, in Messiah.

Here, Jane Glover, who has conducted Handel's work in opera houses and concert halls across the globe, draws on her profound understanding of music and musicians to narrate Handel's story. It is a tale of music-making and musicianship, of practices and practicalities, but also of courts and cabals, of theatrical rivalries, and of eighteenth-century society. It is also, naturally, the story of some of the most remarkable music ever composed, music that has been performed, sung, and cherished in this country – and throughout the world – for three hundred years.