Tag Archives: Handel

Masks: Death Mask

The Handel Seminar Continues, , ,

Handel blog 10*

Handel Death Mask

From Katherine:  There has been much talk of the need for cloth or surgical masks during this pandemic.  And we considered the role of the Doctor’s mask during the last of the Plague years in Europe.  Our Handel discussion raises the issue of yet another kind of mask.  Two hundred sixty-one years ago on this day (April 14, 1759), George Frideric Handel died at his Brook Street home in London.  Some biographers claim that a “death mask” was cast of his face and that this mask was used as a model in creating the monument erected in his honor at Westminster Abbey.  Others dispute this claim, saying it was instead a “life mask,” one created while he was still alive.  Either way, it poses the question of just what such a mask is and how it would have been fashioned from the face of a person, living or dead.

From Clara:  I didn’t know there was a “death mask” of Handel, but –and I know you will all find this a bit bizarre—I have followed some blogs that talk about death masks or life masks.  I find the idea of recording a person’s features through a cast rather than by photography fascinating.  You can see a fun, yes, fun, discussion of the topic here.  I think some other famous people have had death masks or life masks.  If you watch the YouTube video I mentioned by Caitlin Doughty, you will see how difficult it would be to actually create such a thing, especially a life mask.

From Peter:  I found a source that challenges the idea that the “mask” of Handel was made as a cast of his face at all.  The author of this article says the supposed mask was more likely made from a sculpted likeness, a statue of Handel made by an artist.  You can read his argument here.

From Brad:  So, some 260 years ago today was the day our man Handel died.  At least he was in his own home.   And I suppose his death wasn’t entirely unexpected.  Not like Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper—wiped out in a plane crash.  Still, I guess we could say that for people in Handel’s time, it was sort of  “the day the music died,” right?

From Katherine:  I suppose so, Brad.  Fortunately, Handel’s scores of music survive.  But Handel was also an outstanding musician.  I imagine those who heard him play the organ or harpsichord would agree that losing Handel the performer was a major loss even though Handel the composer lives on.  Creating music has many dimensions.   Thanks for joining us on this April 14th—Handel’s death day.

*All posts listed as “Handel blog” are texts that use the fictional characters in my book The Handel Letters: A Biographical Conversation.  As in that book, the posts will often reference things from Handel’s life or time period as starting points.  And the post will cite a page or paragraph in the book when it seems relevant.   Find The Handel Letters.

And sigh for freedom

The Handel Seminar Continues, ,

Handel blog 5*

From Katherine:  This isolation is definitely beginning to be irksome, even to an introvert like me.  The practice of quarantining people who have a contagious illness and requiring people who are well to isolate themselves is one that became common as the Plague swept through parts of Europe in the mid-1600s, shortly before Handel was born in 1685.  It did help in bringing an end to the spread of the Plague, though that disease was quite different from the current COVID-19.  One of Handel’s most famous arias voiced a longing for freedom—“Lascia ch’io pianga.” Or, as the opening words translate: “Let me weep over my cruel fate and sigh for freedom.” The aria is from Rinaldo, but the beautiful melody is the one our Lydia first heard while Handel was still in Hamburg, before he went to Italy.  Then it became the song she most associated with Handel:  “Lascia la spina—leave the thorn but take the rose.  Such a beautiful piece.” (p. 509) I guess its message–that we should try to avoid the bad and grasp what is good and beautiful–is timely. 

From Clara:  I remember trying to play that melody on my cello back when we first talked about it.  The more popular words from Rinaldo were actually the ones sung by the castrato Farinelli in the movie—remember, where Handel supposedly faints from the sheer beauty of hearing Farinelli sing the aria.  I found a clip of him singing it.  You can hear it here. A friend on campus told me that the voice in the movie was actually a combination of a soprano and tenor rather than a modern countertenor as you might expect.  I may have to watch the movie again.

From Brad:  Isn’t that the movie that had some pretty sexy scenes in it, at least at the beginning?  Here’s some information on the film.  I think I should be able to stream it to my TV.  The night will not be wasted.

From Katherine:  I may have to watch it as well.  Thanks, everyone.  Maybe we will have a collaborative movie review next time.  Stay well.

*All posts listed as “Handel blog” are texts that use the fictional characters in my book The Handel Letters: A Biographical Conversation.  As in that book, the posts will often reference things from Handel’s life or time period as starting points.  And the post will cite a page or paragraph in the book when it seems relevant.   Find The Handel Letters.

Why Would a Folklorist Write a Book about Handel?

Always a Folklorist, ,

    ~Handel ≠ Folklore~

In the “Preface” to The Handel Letters, I cited the field of folklore research for its role in guiding my way of living a life of learning, teaching, and writing. But why exactly would a folklorist choose to study Handel and write a ‘biographical conversation” based on his life? I suspect that those who have studied folklore will be less mystified by this question than those who have not. The great appeal of the field of folklore study is that you really can study just about anything you want and consider it a part of the discipline. But even more than this, the field of folklore study teaches a line of questioning, an approach, a variety of methodologies, a history of research, and a set of tools that can enliven and bring a satisfying relevance to the exploration of any topic. So, the life and music of George Frideric Handel is just another of the many topics a folklorist might choose to study. I feel lucky to have learned early on about this field of study and the people and materials that are its focus.

Still, I agree that the reasons why a folklorist might choose to study Handel may not be immediately apparent. And, in fact, the question might more logically be: What in this book about Handel can be traced in some clear way to the author’s background in the discipline of folklore studies? Yes, that would be a harder question to answer, but let me take a stab at it.

First let me say a little about what popular notions of “folklore” as a topic do not really interfere with writing a book about Handel. Folklorists are not concerned only with a group of people called “the folk.” Folklorists do indeed often study individuals rather than groups of people. Folklorists are not prohibited from studying anything to do with classical rather than folk music. Folklorists must not work only with people who are now living. And folklorists do not necessarily have to do fieldwork, although it is generally a great asset if they can. So, while Handel may not be recognized as a typical subject for a folklorist to take on, the field is in no way so restrictive as to discourage one from writing a book on Handel.

Other folklorists would very likely choose to write about Handel in quite a different way than I have in The Handel Letters—if at all.   Nevertheless, most folklorists will easily see the influences of the field in the book. So, let me point out some of these influences for those not so familiar with the field. Writing a kind of historical fiction is not a typical form of folklore study, but I doubt that any folklorists would consider it a radical departure, more likely simply a rarely invoked mode of writing in the discipline. But, it is this mode of writing that has, in fact, allowed me to include many issues that are typically highlighted by the field of folklore study. By moving back and forth from Handel and his era to some fictional characters and the current time period, I have, I would argue, been able to explore at least seven typical and important themes of folklore research.

Primary among these, for me at least, is the folklorist’s attention to the creative process. Handel, after all, was creating music within a tradition, but even more telling, I think, was his conscious use of earlier musical material that he adapted, reused, and expanded in new musical compositions. While some music critics faulted him for this practice, my folklorist’s antennae were excited to see this “creative use of traditional resources.” In any case, it was a fair point for discussion by people looking back at Handel’s many compositions and considering his creative process.

A second common theme in folklore studies is conflict between differing culture groups—basically us versus them. This theme comes up many times, both in Handel’s day and in ours. A third theme is worldview. Handel was alive during the Age of Reason, the beginnings of the Enlightenment, and yet, of course, Christianity was the dominant belief in his world. Religion and secular belief were at odds then and are yet today. Another very common topic in folklore research is folk medicine, even today with modern medicine making such strides. And yet both then and now, issues tied to health, belief, and behavior abound in daily life. I was surprised to see how prominently the issue of health arose in Handel’s biography.

A fifth topic that is increasingly a part of folklore studies is that of social activism or applied folklore. In Handel’s day, notions of acting against poverty and especially against childhood suffering were just emerging. Handel’s early performances of Messiah were offered as a kind of applied service in support of prisoners. Today, performances of Messiah are often still used to gather food and money for those in need. A sixth topic that might seem surprising is the folklorist’s attention to perceptions of gender. It definitely does show up as a topic in Handel’s life and in his music, and of course it is still an issue for us today.

Finally the abiding question of how an individual—even a famous individual like Handel—learns what he knows, how he came to have the identity he had, what influences were at work in his life—that question arises throughout the book just as it intrigues folklore scholars in every realm yet today. These and many more topics characteristic of the field of folklore study show up in this book on Handel. As a folklorist, I could not escape being drawn to such themes. And that is why this folklorist chose to write a book about Handel.

Thanks for your interest and for dropping by.