Handel's Life

George Frideric Handel was born in Germany in 1685 (the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach's birth). A proficient organist by the age of 12, Handel was also a violinist and composer for the Hamburg Opera Theatre. He lived in Italy from 1706 to 1710, and then returned to Germany for a short time before moving to England in 1712. He remained in England for the rest of his life, living in a house on Brook Street in London.

In 1741 a friend, clergyman, and librettist Charles Jennens (1707-1773) presented him with a libretto based on the life of Christ, taken primarily from the King James translation of the Bible. Having received a commission from a Dublin charity to compose a work for a benefit performance, Handel set to work on the "Messiah". He began composing it on 22 August, finishing it within just 24 days.

The "Sacred Oratorio" was first performed on 13 April 1742, in Dublin for the charity which had sponsored its composition. In March 1743 Handel conducted a performance at Covent Garden in London. This was the famous performance when King George II rose to his feet during the Hallelujah Chorus, setting the precedent still followed today. Handel conducted more than 30 performances of the "Messiah" during his lifetime, many of which were for charity. Handel passed away on 14 April 1759.

On the Web

A quick search on the web brought up 28,000 pages, of which I've only looked at a few. The following have some information that seems worthwhile:

http://gfhandel.org/messiah.htm

http://gfhandel.org/43to100.htm#HWV56

http://www.messiahcd.com/Information/about_The_Messiah/about_the_messiah.html

List of his works with dates:
http://www.karadar.com/Operas/handel.html

Handel House Museum, London
http://www.handelhouse.org/index.htm

Textual equivalents in the NIV, and excerpts to hear from the "Messiah":
http://music.mpr.org/features/9912_messiah/