Handel wrote over 100 cantatas, compositions for voice and
instruments that describe the joy and pain of love. In "Handel as
Orpheus," the first comprehensive study of the cantatas, Ellen
Harris investigates their place in Handel's life as well as their
extraordinary beauty.
The cantatas were written between 1706 and 1723--from the time
Handel left his home in Germany, through the years he spent in
Florence and Rome, and into the early part of his London career. In
this period he lived as a guest in aristocratic homes, and composed
these chamber works for his patrons and hosts, primarily for
private entertainments. In both Italy and England his patrons moved
in circles in which same-sex desire was commonplace--a fact that is
not without significance, Harris reveals, for the cantatas exhibit
a clear homosexual subtext.
Addressing questions about style and form, dating, the relation
of music to text, rhythmic and tonal devices, and voicing, "Handel
as Orpheus" is an invaluable resource for the study and enjoyment
of the cantatas, which have too long been neglected. This
innovative study brings greater understanding of Handel, especially
his development as a composer, and new insight into the role of
sexuality in artistic expression.
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