HANDEL'S BICENTENARY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 41, Issue 1051, 16 October 1959, Page 4

HANDEL'S BICENTENARY

"\\ HEN Handel died on April 14, "1759, and was buried in Westminster Abbey," wrote Winston Dean recently in a special article for the Handel bicentenary, "he had long been not only an Englishman ... but a national institution. He was revered as such for a century and a half after his death; and in much of England today Messiah is still th® best-loved work in music, if not in any of the arts. Yet of all the great composers he is by far the least understood." This, said Mr Dean, is due to an historical accident. Handel’s oratorios greatly appealed to the rising London middle-class till his reputation as a sacred composer was tarnished by the discovery of the religious masterpieces of J. S. Bach. But Handel in fact never was a great religious composer in the sense that Bach was. He was before all else a dramatist; and the English oratorios, his supreme achievement, with one or two exceptions show "scarcely a trace of Christian feeling." Handel’s music, adds Mr Dean, has been further handicapped by "the deplorable habit" of rewriting his orchestral accompaniments. Listeners in New Zealand will be able to reassess the works of Handel during

the next six weeks when a series of bicentenary programmes is_ broadcast. They will be introduced by C. Foster Browne on Tuesday, October 20, in a talk from YC stations. On October 22 YC stations will broadcast two Handel organ concertos, played by E. Power Biggs with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The big broadcast of the week will be a relay over YC stations on Saturday night (October 24) of a performance in the Wellington Town Hall of Israel in Egypt. ‘Taking part will be the National Orchestra with the Christchurch Harmonic Society, conducted by John Hopkins. The soloists will include the visiting tenor William Herbert. Earlier the same evening YC listeners will hear a Handel Concerto for Orchestra and the Italian Cantata "from the War of Love." The first week’s broadcasts will end with a Sunday night concert from YA and YZ stations by William Herbert. with the National Orchestra. Major broadcasts in succeeding weeks will include Joshua (from Aldeburgh), Julius Caesar (a Handel Society performance), Semele (with the Saint Anthony Singers and the New Symphony Orchestra of London), Joseph and His Brethren (with the London Chamber

Singers and Orchestra), and Acis and Galatea (a Handel Society performance), Among other items of special interest is a performance of the Music for the Royal Fireworks, conductedwith the original instrumentation — by Charles Mackerras. There will be four more Saturday night programmes each with a concerto for or-: chestra and an Italian cantata; several programmes of harpsichord suites played by Janetta McStay; another programme of organ concertos; and a BBC programme which will include two Chandos Anthems and an organ concerto. Playing dates and times will appear in all YA and YC programmes each week till November 29, and full details will be found in programmes for 2YA and Y ', a ‘