Handel (Master Musicians) [Hardcover]

Donald Burrows (Author)

Book Description

Series: Master Musicians | Publication Date: October 1995

Although such works as Messiah and the Water Music have remained firmly in the repertory since their composition, only recently have the delights of Handel's operas been rediscovered: his lyrical arias, sublime choral style and large-scale musical canvasses. Centring on Handel's pre-eminence as a composer of opera and oratorio, Donald Burrow's comprehensive and accessible study also covers all other important genres, such as the concerto and church music. Taking account of the most modern scholarship, and drawing on his experience as an editor, performer and conductor, Donald Burrows charts the interaction of life and music, from handel's childhood and student years, through his successive professional activities in Germany and Italy, to his establishment as Georgian England's greatest composer. This book is intended for musicians, general music lovers, students of music from A-level onwards, university music departments, opera lovers, performers of church music and oratorios.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Master Musicians series, which provides an in-depth, and admirably accessible survey of the lives and music of great composers, has become something of a classic in the music biography genre. There is a wide-ranging detailed analysis of Handel's operatic style ... Donald Burrows' Handel is a welcome addition to what has already proved itself to be an excellent, authoritative series of musical biographies."--Judith Eagle, Classical Music

"Burrows makes a valuable contribution towards restoring the balance...Burrows skilfully interweaves Handel's 'outward' biography with the 'inner' one of his creative life, linking the two aspects chronologically in irregularly alternating chapters. In this way the reader can conveniently use the book either as biography or as a commentary on the music...this is a considerable achievement. Burrows's study of Handel,...provides us with a deeply informative and well-balanced composition."--BBC Music

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Donald Burrows is Professor of Music at The Open University. He serves on the board of the Georg-Friedrich-Handel-Gesellschaft, and is the editor of many editions of Handel's music (some published by OUP's music dept.).
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 503 pages
• Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019816470X
• ISBN-13: 978-0198164708
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,150,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Painfully tedious..., March 13, 2009

By 

Redmond Geek - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handel (Master Musicians Series,) (Paperback)

Professor Burrows' book consists of chapters enumerating the events of Handel's life during specific time periods, alternating with chapters analyzing the music he wrote in those periods.

The biographical information is really more of a concordance of other Handel sources than a true biography. Much of the content is commentary on the origins of some particular (tiny) fact, and endless discussions of inconsistencies between one source and another.

What's missing is any sense of the historical context in which the events of Handel's life took place. Or conjectures/inferences about why he might have made the choices he made. What's missing is any kind of narrative flow.

I get the sense that Burrows is writing for other Handel scholars rather than for a general audience. The result is that his book reads more like a train schedule than a biography.

So, if you're looking for an exhaustive (and exhausting) academic reference work, this is the book for you. If you want something of a more general nature, you'd be advised to look elsewhere...