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The ''Water Music'' is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three
suites, composed by
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...
. It premiered on 17 July 1717, in response to
King George I's request for a concert on the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
.
Structure
The ''Water Music'' opens with a
French overture
The French overture is a musical form widely used in the Baroque period. Its basic formal division is into two parts, which are usually enclosed by double bars and repeat signs. They are complementary in style (slow in dotted rhythms and fast in f ...
and includes
minuet
A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''.
The term also describes the musical form that accompa ...
s,
bourrée
The bourrée ( oc, borrèia; also in England, borry or bore) is a dance of French origin and the words and music that accompany it. The bourrée resembles the gavotte in that it is in double time and often has a dactylic rhythm. However, it is ...
s, and
hornpipe
The hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England with Hugh Aston's Hornepype of 1522 and others r ...
s. It is divided into three
suites:
Suite in F major (HWV 348)
#
#
Overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...
(
Largo –
Allegro
Allegro may refer to:
Common meanings
* Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright
* Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement
Artistic works
* L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton
* ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...
)
#
Adagio
Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to:
Music
* Adagio, a tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner
* Adagio (band), a French progressive metal band
Albums
* ''Adagi ...
e staccato
#
Allegro
Allegro may refer to:
Common meanings
* Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright
* Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement
Artistic works
* L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton
* ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...
–
Andante
Andante may refer to:
Arts
* Andante (tempo), a moderately slow musical tempo
* Andante (manga), ''Andante'' (manga), a shōjo manga by Miho Obana
* Andante (song), "Andante" (song), a song by Hitomi Yaida
* "Andante, Andante", a 1980 song by A ...
–
Allegro
Allegro may refer to:
Common meanings
* Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright
* Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement
Artistic works
* L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton
* ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...
da capo
#
Passepied
The passepied (, "pass-foot", from a characteristic dance step) is a French court dance. Originating as a kind of Breton branle, it was adapted to courtly use in the 16th century and is found frequently in 18th-century French opera and ballet, ...
#
Air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
#
Minuet
A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''.
The term also describes the musical form that accompa ...
#
Bourrée
The bourrée ( oc, borrèia; also in England, borry or bore) is a dance of French origin and the words and music that accompany it. The bourrée resembles the gavotte in that it is in double time and often has a dactylic rhythm. However, it is ...
#
Hornpipe
The hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England with Hugh Aston's Hornepype of 1522 and others r ...
#
Andante
Andante may refer to:
Arts
* Andante (tempo), a moderately slow musical tempo
* Andante (manga), ''Andante'' (manga), a shōjo manga by Miho Obana
* Andante (song), "Andante" (song), a song by Hitomi Yaida
* "Andante, Andante", a 1980 song by A ...
#
Allegro
Allegro may refer to:
Common meanings
* Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright
* Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement
Artistic works
* L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton
* ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...
#
Hornpipe
The hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England with Hugh Aston's Hornepype of 1522 and others r ...
Suite in D major (HWV 349)
# Overture (Allegro)
# Alla Hornpipe
# Lentement
# Bourree
# Minuet
Suite in G major (HWV 350)
#
Sarabande
The sarabande (from es, zarabanda) is a dance in triple metre, or the music written for such a dance.
History
The Sarabande evolved from a Spanish dance with Arab influences, danced by a lively double line of couples with castanets. A dance cal ...
# Rigaudon
# Menuet
# Gigue
There is evidence for the different arrangement found in
Chrysander's
Gesellschaft edition of Handel's works (in volume 47, published in 1886), where the movements from the "suites" in D and G were mingled and published as one work with HWV 348. This sequence derives from Samuel Arnold's first edition of the complete score in 1788 and the manuscript copies dating from Handel's lifetime. Chrysander's edition also contains an earlier version of the first two movements of HWV 349 in the key of F major composed in 1715 (originally scored for two natural horns, two oboes, bassoon, strings, and continuo), where in addition to the horn fanfares and orchestral responses, the original version contained an elaborate concerto-like first violin part.
The music in each of the suites has no set order today.
First performance
The first performance of the ''Water Music'' is recorded in ''
The Daily Courant
''The Daily Courant'', initially published on 11 March 1702, was the first British daily newspaper. It was produced by Elizabeth Mallet at her premises next to the King's Arms tavern at Fleet Bridge in London. The newspaper consisted of a sing ...
'', the first British daily newspaper. At about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 17 July 1717, King George I and several aristocrats boarded a
royal barge
A royal barge is a ceremonial barge that is used by a monarch for processions and transport on a body of water.
Royal barges are currently used in monarchies such as the United Kingdom, Sweden and Thailand.
Traditionally the use of royal barges ...
at
Whitehall Palace
The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Hen ...
, for an excursion up the Thames toward
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. The rising
tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide t ...
propelled the barge upstream without rowing. Another barge, provided by the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, transported about 50 musicians who performed Handel's music. Many other Londoners also took to the river to hear the concert. According to ''The Courant'', "the whole River in a manner was covered" with boats and barges. On arriving at Chelsea, the king left his barge, then returned to it at about 11 p.m. for the return trip. The king was so pleased with ''Water Music'' that he ordered it to be repeated at least three times, both on the trip upstream to Chelsea and on the return, until he landed again at Whitehall.
King George's companions in the royal barge included
Anne Vaughan, Duchess of Bolton,
Harriet Pelham-Holles, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull
Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, (c. 16655 March 1726) was an English aristocrat, the third son of Robert Pierrepont of Thoresby, Nottinghamshire, and his wife Elizabeth Evelyn (daughter of John Evelyn), and the grandson of ...
,
Sophia von Kielmansegg, Countess of Darlington
Sophia Charlotte von Kielmansegg, Countess of Darlington and Countess of Leinster (1675–1725) was a German-born courtier. A half-sister of George I of Great Britain, to whom she was close, she moved to England in 1714 shortly after the Hanoverian ...
,
Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough
Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough (19 July 1681 – 24 October 1733) was the daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, general of the army, and Sarah Jennings, Duchess of Marlborough, close friend and business manager of ...
, and
George Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Order of the Thistle, KT (9 February 1666 – 29 January 1737), styled Lord George Hamilton from 1666 to 1696, was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British soldier and ...
.
Handel's orchestra is believed to have performed from about 8 p.m. until well after midnight, with only one break while the king went ashore at Chelsea.
It was rumoured that the ''Water Music'' was composed to help
King George refocus London's attention from his son and heir (later
George II of Great Britain
, house = Hanover
, religion = Protestant
, father = George I of Great Britain
, mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle
, birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683
, birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...
), who, worried that his time to rule would be shortened by his father's long life, threw lavish parties and dinners to compensate for it; the ''Water Music's'' first performance on the Thames was the King's way of reminding London that he was still there and showing he could carry out gestures even grander than his son's.
Subsequent performances
The ''Water Music'' is scored for a relatively large orchestra, making it suitable for outdoor performance. It is also performed in indoor concerts and has been regularly programmed.
In 1920 the Irish musician
Hamilton Harty
Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (4 December 1879 – 19 February 1941) was an Irish composer, conductor, pianist and organist.
After an early career as a church organist in his native Ireland, Harty moved to London at about age 20, soon becoming a w ...
made an arrangement of some of the movements for the modern orchestra.
[
Holden, R. (2011, May 19). Retrieved 16 Feb. 2019 (subscription or UK public library membership required)][Kennedy, Michael]
"Harty, Sir Hamilton"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford Music Online, accessed 15 December 2011
Such re-orchestrations were normal at the time. According to the conductor Sir
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...
:
In recent years, performers have tended to avoid versions such as that of Hamilton Harty, being influenced by ideas regarding
historically informed performance
Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...
.
Legends
Legend has it that Handel composed ''Water Music'' to regain the favour of King George I. Handel had been employed by the future king George while he was still
Elector of Hanover
The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...
, before he succeeded to the British throne. The composer supposedly fell out of favour for moving to London during
Queen Anne's reign. This story was first related by Handel's early biographer
John Mainwaring
__NOTOC__
John Mainwaring (1724 – 15 April 1807) was an English theologian and the first biographer of the composer Georg Friedrich Händel in any language. He was a Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, and parish priest, and later a prof ...
; although it may have some foundation in fact, the tale as told by Mainwaring has been doubted by some Handel scholars.
Another legend has it that the Elector of Hanover approved of Handel's permanent move to London, knowing the separation between them would be temporary. Both were aware the Elector of Hanover would eventually succeed to the British throne after Queen Anne's death.
Popular culture and the media
Many portions of ''Water Music'' have become familiar in popular culture.
From 1958 to 1988, this was featured as the theme music for
Anglia Television
ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...
, a regional franchise for the East of England by
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
.
Captain Peter Pulcer of the
SS Edmund Fitzgerald
SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America ...
from 1966 to 1971 was noted for playing this tune over the ship's
public address system
A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
as it passed through
locks
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
in the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
and connecting canals.
From 1977 to 1996,
Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
featured movements from both installments of ''Water Music'' as the background music for the
Electrical Water Pageant
The Electrical Water Pageant is a show that takes place every evening (weather permitting) on Walt Disney World's Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. It features 14 floats with lights that depict images of sea creatures. Though it has changed somewh ...
, a parade of sea creatures lit up with electric lights off the coast of the Magic Kingdom.
From 1983 to 1997, a movement of the music (Bourrée) was used as the theme music to the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
television show
''The Frugal Gourmet''.
A performance of ''Water Music'' plays a major role in the movie ''
The Madness of King George
''The Madness of King George'' is a 1994 British biographical historical comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own 1991 play '' The Madness of George III''. It tells the true story of George III of G ...
'', in which
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
exhibits very erratic and inappropriate behavior at a concert, yelling at the orchestra to play louder (and eventually taking the place of the harpsichordist, playing very badly), culminating in a physical altercation with the Prince of Wales, leading to the Prince of Wales asking to be named Regent.
The “Water Music” appears prominently in the 2003
Baby Einstein
Baby Einstein (stylized as baby einstein) is an American franchise and line of multimedia products, including home video programs, CDs, books, flashcards, toys, and baby gear that specialize in interactive activities for infants and toddle ...
video
Baby Neptune.
Recordings
There are many recordings. The ''
Music for the Royal Fireworks
The ''Music for the Royal Fireworks'' ( HWV 351) is a suite in D major for wind instruments composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 under contract of George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London's Green Park on 27 April 1749. The ...
'' (1749), composed 32 years later for another outdoor performance (this time, for
George II of Great Britain
, house = Hanover
, religion = Protestant
, father = George I of Great Britain
, mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle
, birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683
, birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...
for the fireworks in London's
Green Park
Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Maryleb ...
, on 27 April 1749), has often been paired with the ''Water Music'' on recordings.
Hamilton Harty's re-orchestration was used in some earlier recordings of the ''Water Music''. In 1956 the Australian conductor
Charles Mackerras
Mackerras in 2005
Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Eng ...
recorded this version, but he later changed his approach to Handel turning to the composer's original orchestration (his 1959 recording of the ''Music for the Royal Fireworks'' being seen as something of a watershed).
Recent recordings are generally influenced by
historically informed performance
Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...
.
There is a chamber version of the score known as the Oxford Water Music. The title comes from the location of the
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
rather than the assumed place of performance: the arrangement was possibly intended by Handel for performance at
Cannons
A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during ...
by the band of his patron the
Duke of Chandos
The Dukedom of Chandos is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. First created as a barony by Edward III in 1337, its second creation in 1554 was due to the Brydges family's service to Mary I during Wyatt's rebellion, wh ...
. It has been recorded on the
Avie label.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Water Music (Handel)
Suites by George Frideric Handel
European court festivities
1717 compositions
Culture associated with the River Thames