Handel

Rolland, Romain, 1866-1944Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 370K words
Chapters: 37

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Handel by Romain RollandAuthor: Rolland, Romain, 1866-1944,Language: English, Class: ML: Music: Literature of music, Release Date: May 11, 2012

Editor's review

Romain Rolland's biography of Handel is short, yet it combines a survey of music history with a portrait of the man's spirit. The author is not content to list dates and events; he places the composer in the complex world of courts, opera houses, and church music, and discusses the tension between Handel's creative choices and the tastes of his time, while writing in a literary style about a diligent, practical figure with a strong sense of the stage. The analysis of the works leans toward overall character and structure rather than a pile of technical detail, which makes the book friendly to ordinary music lovers. Read it as a side door into the musical world of the late Baroque: you see the rise and fall of oratorio and opera, and how a composer adjusted himself between patronage and the market. It is well suited to reading alongside Handel's works, before or after listening, and as a supplementary text for courses in Western music history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Enthusiasts interested in Baroque music and Handel's works
General readers who want to know about the composer's life and times
Students taking courses in Western music history
Literary readers who enjoy Romain Rolland's biographical style

Not a good fit for

Advanced researchers who need professional score analysis and technical detail
Readers expecting a detailed chronology and archival research
Readers completely new to classical music who need no guidance

Reading tips

Listen to a few of Handel's major works first, then read the corresponding chapters to connect sound and text.
Take notes on the author's judgments about the era as you read, and distinguish factual narrative from personal opinion.
Read the book alongside recordings of Handel's works, taking it chapter by chapter by theme.
If the background feels unfamiliar, read the introductory chapters first, then move on to discussion of specific works.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a rigorous academic biography?

It is closer to a literary intellectual biography, focused on sketching the man's spirit and the atmosphere of his time rather than exhausting archival detail. It works well as an introduction and supplementary reading, but should not replace specialized musicological works.

Can I read it without knowing Handel's works?

Yes, but the book discusses specific works and genres, and understanding suffers without listening experience. It is better to listen to major works such as Messiah first, then read the relevant chapters.

What characterizes Romain Rolland's approach in this book?

He writes about a musician in a literary style, focusing on the relation between character, convictions, and creative environment, and his narrative is evaluative. Readers should note his personal judgments and keep them separate from factual narrative.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Rolland, Romain, 1866-1944 Author

Romain Rolland (1866–1944) was a French writer. The library holds 30 of his works, most notably the various volumes of his novel series Jean-Christophe, including Jean-Christophe I, III, IV, and IX, Jean-Christophe in Paris, and Jean-Christophe: Journey's End. These works follow the life of a musician, depicting his growth, struggles, and spiritual pursuits in a style that combines idealism with realism and carries a strong musical and philosophical quality. Public information is limited, and details of his life, nationality, and exact dates are not clearly recorded in the library, so they are not elaborated here. His writing has had some influence on twentieth-century Chinese readers and is often regarded as a literary expression of the pursuit of spiritual freedom and personal independence.