George Frideric Handel (Georg Friedrich Händel)

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), born in Halle in the same year as J.S. Bach, studied in Italy before settling permanently in London in 1712, becoming a naturalized British subject. A charismatic impresario, Handel dominated London's musical life for four decades with his Italian operas (such as Giulio Cesare and Rinaldo) and grand ceremonial works like Water Music and the coronation anthem Zadok the Priest (performed at every British coronation since 1727).

When public taste for Italian opera waned, Handel invented the dramatic English oratorio. Composed in an astonishing twenty-four-day frenzy of inspiration in 1741, his sacred oratorio Messiah premiered in Dublin to universal acclaim; during the 'Hallelujah Chorus', King George II stood up in awe, establishing a worldwide tradition.