A messiah ( Arabic language مسيح ''Masih'' “anointed”) is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world.

Messiahs appear in many religions including Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the Hebrew Bible messiahs are priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25. In later Jewish messianic tradition and eschatology, messiah refers to a leader anointed by God, and in some cases, a future King of Israel, physically descended from the Davidic line, who will rule the united tribes of Israel and herald the Messianic Age of global peace. In Judaism, the Messiah is not considered to be God or a Son of God.

The translation of the Hebrew word '''' as Χριστός (''Khristós'') in the Greek Septuagint became the accepted Christian designation and title of Jesus of Nazareth, indicative of the principal character and function of his ministry. Christians believe that prophecies in the Hebrew Bible (especially Isaiah) refer to a spiritual savior and believe Jesus to be that Messiah (Christ).

Islamic tradition holds the view that Jesus (Isa), son of Mary, was indeed the promised prophet and Messiah (Masih), sent to the Semitic Jewish tribes living in Israel. He will again return to Earth in the end times and descend from heaven to defeat the "great deceiver", the Dajjal (false messiah/antichrist).

Etymology

The (Greek) Septuagint version of the Old Testament renders all thirty-nine instances of the Hebrew word for "anointed" ('''') as Χριστός (''Khristós''). The New Testament records the Greek transliteration Μεσσίας, ''Messias'' twice in John.

Messiah (; in modern Jewish texts in English sometimes spelled ''Moshiach''; Aramaic: , Greek: , Syriac: , , , , Latin: ''Messias'') literally means "anointed (one)". In standard Hebrew, The Messiah is often referred to as מלך המשיח, (in the Tiberian vocalization pronounced ), literally meaning "the Anointed King."

In Hinduism, an Avatar, Sanskrit for "descent" [viz., from heaven to earth]) is a deliberate descent of a deity from heaven to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation", but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation". The title Avatar describes a fully freed soul incarnating directly from God on this physical planet or elsewhere. An Avatar fulfills a highly spiritual task in the name of God and returns to God after accomplishing his task. His Love for God and his creation is beyond description and imagination, his faith in God absolute as there is no difference between an Avatar and God.

Judaism

Belief in the eventual coming of a future messiah is a fundamental part of Judaism, and is one of Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith. The term Messiah is derived from the Hebrew "Mashiach", which means "the anointed one," and refers to the ancient practice of anointing future kings with oil. The Messiah is the one who will be anointed as king in the End of Days.

The Torah describes the advent of the Messiah in the portion of Balak, couched in poetic prophetic prose: "I see him, but not now. I perceive him, but he is not near. There shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel... From Jacob shall issue out and destroy the remnant of the city", which Jewish Biblical scholars expound refers to the Messiah's victory over Israel's enemies.

There are many references to the Mashiach and to the End of Days throughout the Tanakh, especially in the section of the Nevi'im (prophets).

The Talmud is replete with references and anecdotes about the Messiah and the Messianic era, and also provides exegesis of scriptural verses which illustrate the events that will occur at that time. For example, resurrection of the dead, which is exegetically supported by a verse in Exodus 15: "Az Yashir Moshe..." - "Then [Moses] will sing...", from which is derived that "then" (in the Messianic Era) Moses will arise and once again sing as he did at the time of the Exodus.

The Messianic Age is described as follows by Maimonides: :"And at that time there will be no hunger or war, no jealousy or rivalry. For the good will be plentiful, and all delicacies available as dust. :The entire occupation of the world will be only to know God... the people Israel will be of great wisdom; they will perceive the esoteric truths and comprehend their Creator's wisdom as is the capacity of man. As it is written (Isaiah 11:9): "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea." "

Maimonides describes the identity of the Messiah in the following terms:

:"And if a king shall arise from among the House of David, studying Torah and occupied with commandments like his father David, according to the written and oral Torah, and he will impel all of Israel to follow it and to strengthen breaches in its observance, and will fight Hashem's [God's] wars, this one is to be treated as if he were the anointed one. :If he succeeded and built the Holy Temple in its proper place and gathered the dispersed ones of Israel together, this is indeed the anointed one for certain, and he will mend the entire world to worship the Lord together, as it is stated: "For then I shall turn for the nations a clear tongue, so that they will all procalim the Name of the Lord, and to worship Him with a united resolve (Zephaniah 3:9)."

The concept of the coming of The Messiah was held in the highest regard by pre-Christian Judaism. The Talmud records: "All the prophets prophesied [all the good things] only in respect of the Messianic era." In another folio, the Talmud says, "The Jews are destined to eat [their fill] in the days of the Messiah," and "The world was created only...for the sake of the Messiah."

A prominent Judaism Web site claims:

The literal translation of the word, messiah (moshiach), is “anointed,” which refers to a ritual of consecrating someone or something by putting holy oil upon it. It is used throughout the Jewish Bible in reference to a wide variety of individuals and objects; for example, a Jewish king, Jewish priests, and prophets, the Jewish Temple and its utensils, unleavened bread, and a non-Jewish king (Cyrus king of Persia).

A common modern rabbinic interpretation is that there is a ''potential'' messiah in every generation. The Talmud, which often uses stories to make a moral point (''aggadah''), tells of a highly respected rabbi who found the Messiah at the gates of Rome and asked him, "When will you finally come?" He was quite surprised when he was told, "Today." Overjoyed and full of anticipation, the man waited all day. The next day he returned, disappointed and puzzled, and asked, "You said messiah would come 'today' but he didn't come! What happened?" The Messiah replied, "Scripture says, 'Today, 'if you will but hearken to His voice.'"

Modern, rabbinical Judaism asserts that a unique future physical messiah will usher in the messianic age of peace to the world.

In Judaism today, as always, the fervent—in the words of Rambam—"believe in the coming of the Messiah and await it daily although it may be delayed." As religious Jews were herded into the gas chambers by the Nazis, a song arose as if to proclaim that no force can wreck their trust in the Messianic future, to the words of the Rambam.

Particularly the Chabad movement—the largest and most influential Jewish outreach movement today [promoting Judaism and morality to Jews and gentiles] has a fervent hope that the Messianic age is manifesting through the radical positive changes occurring, for example the miraculous turnaround in Russian policy to free her Jews. Whereas such cataclysmic regime changes necessitated bloodshed [of epic proportions] in the past, miraculously Michael Gorbachav of his own accord freed the Jews whom were subject to the harshest of torment, exile, and imprisonment for over seventy years. Furthermore as if to underscore the Messianic notion in play, hundreds of thousands of these Jews emigrated to Israel—fulfilling the Biblical Prophecy "even if you will be in the farthest places of earth I will return you (to Israel)."

However, it must be emphasized that for the most part the world will not change, Newtons three laws will still hold firm and ecosystems will not experience any drastic change. As Maimonides says 'the world will remain as it is' and the various verses in the Old Testament such as those in Isaiah 11:6-7 'The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb...' are a metaphor'. Furthermore, the Messiah does not have to perform any miracles such as resurrection for him to be believed.

The Messiah must also be a person from that generation, meaning that he cannot be a person that is already dead. As is evident from Bar Kochba,when he was killed no one believed that he was spiritually alive or that he would one day have resurrection and therefore he could be the Messiah.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, Kalki is the tenth and final Maha Avatar(Messiah or Incarnation) of Lord Vishnu who will come to end the present age of darkness and destruction known as Kali Yuga. The name Kalki is often a metaphor for eternity or time. The origins of the name probably lie in the Sanskrit word "Kalka" which refers to mud, dirt, filth, or foulness and hence denotes the "destroyer of foulness," "destroyer of confusion," "destroyer of darkness," or "annihilator of ignorance."[1] Other similar and divergent interpretations based on varying etymological derivations from Sanskrit - including one simply meaning "White Horse" - have been made.

Hindu traditions permit numerous interpretations of what avatars are and to what purpose they act. Avatara means "descent" and indicates a descent of the divine awareness into manifestations of the mundane form. The Garuda Purana lists ten avatars, with Kalki being the tenth. The Bhagavata_Purana initially lists twenty-two avatars, but mentions an additional three for a total of twenty-five avatars. He is presented as the twenty-second avatar in this list. Popular images depict him riding a white horse with wings known as Devadatta (God-given.) In these images, Kalki is brandishing a sword in his left hand and is intent on eradicating the corrupt destitution and debauchery of Kali Yuga.

The Agni Purana explains that when the evil men who pose as kings begin to feed on human beings and try to destroy the righteous, Kalki, as the son of Vishnuyasha, and Yajnavalkya as his priest and teacher, will destroy these evil men with His weapons. He will establish moral law in the form of the fourfold varnas, or the suitable organization of society in four classes. After that people will return to the path of righteousness. (16.7-9) The Agni Purana also relates that Hari, after giving up the form of Kalki, will go to heaven. Then the Krita or Satya Yuga will return as before. (16.10)

The Vishnu Purana also explains that, "When the practices taught in the Vedas and institutes of law have nearly ceased, and the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being who exists of His own spiritual nature, and who is the beginning and end, and who comprehends all things, shall descend upon earth. He will be born in the family of Vishnuyasha, an eminent Brahmana of Shambhala village, as Kalki, endowed with eight superhuman faculties. By his irresistible might he will destroy all the mlecchas (Barbarians) and thieves, and all whose minds are devoted to iniquity. He will re-establish righteousness upon earth, and the minds of those who live at the end of the Kali age shall be awakened, and shall be as clear as crystal. The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who will follow the laws of the Krita age or Satya Yuga, the age of purity. As it is said, 'When the sun and moon, and the lunar asterism Tishya, and the planet Jupiter, are in one mansion, the Krita age shall return.'" (Book Four, Chapter 24)

The Padma Purana relates that Lord Kalki will end the age of Kali and will kill all the wicked mlecchas and, thus, destroy the bad condition of the world. He will gather all of the distinguished brahmanas and will propound the highest truth. He will know all the ways of life that have perished and will remove the prolonged hunger of the genuine brahmanas and the pious. He will be the only ruler of the world that cannot be controlled, and will be the banner of victory and adorable to the world. (6.71.279-282)

The Bhagavata Purana states, "At the end of Kali Yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen , and when the power of government is transferred to the hands of ministers elected from the evil men, and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrifice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser. (2.7.38) It further describes Lord Kalki's activities as follows: "Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift white horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings." (12.2.19-20)

The Kalki Purana combines all of the elements from the puranas above. He is one who has power to change the course of time stream in the favour of the good. He will be one to whom the power to change the destiny of the world will be given.It states the evil family of the demon Kali will spring from the back of Bramha. They will descend to earth and cause mankind to turn towards depravity. When man stops offering yagna to the gods, Vishnu himself will descend to earth to rid the world of evil. He will be reborn as Kalki to noted Brahmin family in the city of Shambhala. As a young man, He will be mentored in the arts of war by Parashurama, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu.[5] He will then set out across the world battling evil kings and false prophets. He finally defeats Kali and brings about the Satya Yuga. Having completed His mission, He will assume his four-armed form and return to heaven as Vishnu.

Christianity

Christianity emerged early in the first century AD as a movement among Jews and their Gentile converts who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. The name "Christian" was first coined by the Jews in Antioch. The Greek word for 'Messiah' is ''khristos'' (χριστος). Christians commonly refer to Jesus as either the "Christ" or the "Messiah." In Christian theology the two words are synonymous.

Christians believe Jesus to be the Messiah that Jews were expecting:

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

The Christian concept of the Christ/Messiah as "the Word made Flesh" (see also Logos) is fundamentally different from the Jewish and Islamic. The majority of historical and mainline Christian theologies, as seen within the Nicene Creed, consider Jesus to be God or God the Son.

Christians believe that Daniel (Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל, or Daniyyel) was a prophet and gave an indication of when the Messiah, the prince ''mashiyach nagiyd'', would come in the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks. Daniel's prophecies refer to him as a descendant of King David, a Son of Man, who will rebuild the nation of Israel, destroy the wicked, and ultimately judge the whole world.

In Christian theology, the Christ/Messiah serves a number of roles. The Nicene Creed of 325 and 381 A.D. provides a convenient framework:

He suffers and dies to make reconciliation with God. He was raised from the dead on the third day after He was crucified to prove that He has defeated death and the power of Satan, thus enabling those that receive Him as their Savior to live under God's grace. He ascended to heaven where He currently reigns over the world at God's right hand and from where he will return

He serves as the pioneer and embodiment of the culture and living presence of the kingdom of God

When he returns he will judge the world and reign over a new creation. Christian believers are invited to spend eternity in this new world. (The exact order of these things differs according to the preferred theological framework of Millennialism used to interpret the passages) He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and he came to earth as a human. : ''In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.'' 14a ''And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.'' : ''Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.''

In the New Testament, Jesus often referred to himself as 'Son of Man' which Christianity interprets as a reference to (KJV): }}

Because Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that he claimed to be the Son of Man referred to by Daniel, Christianity interprets as a statement of the Messiah's authority and that the Messiah will have an everlasting kingdom. Jesus' use of this title is seen as a direct claim to be the Messiah.

Some identified Jesus as the Messiah, his opponents accused him of such a claim, and he is recorded at least twice as asserting it himself directly.

Christianity interprets a wide range of biblical passages in the Old Testament (Hebrew scripture) as predicting the coming of the Messiah (see Christianity and Biblical prophecy for examples), and believes that they are fulfilled in Jesus' own explicit life and teaching:

Will be born in Bethlehem The root of Jesse ...to whom the Gentiles will seek. He said to them..."Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." "Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

The Gospel of Matthew repeatedly says, "This was to fulfill the prophecy…."

Psalm 22 describes the actions of the crucifixion in John 19

Christians believe the Messianic prophecies were fulfilled in the mission, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and seeks to spread throughout the world its interpretation that the Messiah (Jesus) is the only God, and that Jesus will return to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy.

Islam

The Qur'an states Jesus the Son of Mary (Arabic: ''Isa ibn Maryum'') was the Messiah or "Prophet" sent to the Jews, and Muslims believe Jesus is alive in Heaven and will return to Earth to defeat the Antichrist (''Arabic: Dajjal'').

A hadith in Abu Dawud () says:

Narrated Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus. He will descend (to the earth). When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish hair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill the swine, and put an end to war (in another Tradition, there is the word Jizyah instead of ''Harb'' (war), meaning that he will abolish jizyah); God will perish all religions except Islam. He [Jesus] will destroy the Antichrist whom will live on the earth for forty days and then he will die. The Muslims will pray behind him.

Both Sunni and Shia Muslims agree al-Mahdi will arrive first, and after him, Jesus. Jesus will proclaim that the true leader is al-Mahdi. A war, literally Jihad (Jihade Asghar) will be fought—the Dajjal (evil) against al-Mahdi and Jesus (good). This war will mark the approach of the coming of the Last Day. After Jesus slays al-Dajjāl at the Gate of Lud, he will bear witness and reveal that Islam is indeed the true and last word from God to humanity as Yusuf Ali's translation reads: "And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness against them." He will live for several years, marry, have children and will be buried in Medina.

A hadith in Sahih Bukhari () says: : Allah's Apostle said "How will you be when the son of Mary descends amongst you and your Imam is from amongst you."

Very few scholars outside of mainstream Islam reject all the quotes (Hadith) attributed to Prophet Muhammad that mention the second return of Jesus, the Dajjal and Imam Mahdi, believing that they have no Qur'anic basis. However, Quran emphatically rejects the implication of termination of Jesus’ life when he was allegedly crucified. Yusuf Ali’s translation reads "That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";― but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.― (157) Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise. (158) Verses imply that Jesus was not killed physically but it was it made to appear. Verse "So Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)"! implies that Jesus will die someday. The unified opinion of Islam maintains that the bodily death of Jesus will happen after his second coming.

Many classical commentators such as Ibn Kathir, At-Tabari, al-Qurtubi, Suyuti, al-Undlusi (Bahr al-Muhit), Abu al-Fadl al-Alusi (Ruh al-Maani) clearly mention that verse of the Qur'an refers to the descent of Jesus before the Day of Resurrection, indicating that Jesus would be the Sign that the Hour is close.

: And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour)...

Those that reject the second coming of Jesus argue that the knowledge of the Hour is only with God, and that the Hour will come suddenly. They maintain that if the second coming of Jesus were true, whenever it happens, billions of people would then be certain the Hour is about to come. The response given to this is that signs that the Last Hour is near have been foretold and given, including that of the second coming of Jesus, as signs indicating the Last Hour is near. They will not clarify when it is to come in any specific sense, and hence do not reveal it.

Allama Iqbal while commenting on the second coming of Jesus said, "It is the basic idea of Magian religion, for it contains implicitly the conception of the world-historical struggle between Good and Evil, with the power of Evil prevailing in the middle period, and the Good finally triumphant on the Day of Judgement. If this view of the prophetic teaching is meant to apply to Islam it is obviously a misrepresentation. The point to note is that the Magian admitted the existence of false gods; only they did not turn to worship them. Islam denies the very existence of false gods."

Ahmadiyya Islam

In Ahmadiyya Islam, the terms "Messiah" and "Mahdi" are synonymous terms for one and the same person. The term "Mahdi" means ''guided'' by God, thus implying a direct ordainment by God of a divinely chosen individual. According to Ahmadiyya thought, Messiahship is a phenomenon through which a special emphasis is given on the transformation of a people by way of offering suffering for the sake of God instead of giving suffering (i.e. refraining from revenge). Ahmadis believe that this special emphasis was given through the person of Jesus and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad among others.

Ahmadis hold that the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, were in fact to be fulfilled in one person who was to represent all previous prophets. The prophecies concerning the Mahdi or the Second Coming of Jesus are seen by Ahmadis as metaphorical and subject to interpretation. It is argued that one was to be born and rise within the dispensation of Muhammad, who by virtue of his similarity and affinity with Jesus, and the similarity in nature, temperament and disposition of the people of Jesus' time and the people of the time of the promised one (the Mahdi) is called by the same name.

Numerous hadith are presented by the Ahmadis in support of their view, such as one from Sunan Ibn Majah which says, ''There is No Mahdi but Jesus son of Mary''.

Ahmadis believe that the prophecies concerning the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus have been fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(1835–1908), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. Contrary to mainstream Islam, the Ahmadis do not believe that Jesus is alive in heaven, but that he survived the crucifixion and migrated towards the east where he died a natural death and that Ghulam Ahmad was only the promised spiritual second coming and likeness of Jesus, the promised Messiah and Mahdi.

Other traditions

Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, claimed to be the figure prophesied in the scriptures of the world's religions.

Li Hong, a messianic figure in Taoist eschatology prophesied to appear at the end of the world cycle

Maitreya, a bodhisattva in Buddhist eschatology prophesied to appear at a time when the Dharma will have been forgotten.

Maitreya (Theosophy), a being that Theosophists believe will physically manifest sometime in the 21st century and who will be the Messiah all rolled into one expected by various religions.

Saoshyant, a figure in Zoroastrian eschatology who it is said will initiate the final renovation of the world

See also

False messiah

Jewish Messiah claimants

List of messiah claimants

People claiming to be the Mahdi

Year 6000

Notes

References

Kaplan, Aryeh. ''From Messiah to Christ,'' 2004. New York: Orthodox Union.

External links

Messiah in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica

Jewish Encyclopedia: Messiah

The Qur'anic Verses That Mention the Title "Messiah"

The Concept of Messiah in Islam

The Concept of Messiah in Messianic Judaism

Category:Religious terminology Category:Christian theology Category:Early Christianity and Judaism Category:Jewish theology Category:Judeo-Christian topics Category:Messianism Category:Islamic theology

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Sir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE (born 25 September 1927) is an English conductor. His repertoire is broad, but among the composers with whom he is particularly associated are Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett.

He studied as a clarinettist, but was intent on becoming a conductor. After struggles as a freelance conductor from 1949 to 1957, he gained a series of appointments with orchestras including the BBC Scottish Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has been associated with the London Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years, including over ten years as its principal conductor. He has also held the musical directorships of Sadler's Wells Opera and the Royal Opera House, where he was principal conductor for over fifteen years. His guest conductorships include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Dresden Staatskapelle, among many others.

As a teacher, Davis holds posts at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and the Carl Maria von Weber High School of Music in Dresden. He made his first gramophone recordings in 1958, and his discography built up in the succeeding five decades is extensive, with a large number of studio recordings for Philips Records and a growing catalogue of live recordings for the London Symphony Orchestra's own label.

Biography

Early years

Davis was born in Weybridge, Surrey, the youngest of three sons among seven siblings, to Reginald George and Lillian Davis. The family was musical, and Davis was exposed to music from his early years. He recalled, "I can still see Sargent conducting the first concert I ever attended. I can still hear Melchior in the final scene of ''Siegfried'' – an old 78 playing on my father's gramophone. … I can also remember the moment I decided to make music my life. I was 13 or 14 at the time and the performance was of Beethoven's Eighth. Doors were suddenly opened. I became totally involved, even obsessed by music, although I was frightfully enclosed by my likes and dislikes. Today I'm game for anything."

Davis was educated at Christ's Hospital and then won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied the clarinet with Frederick Thurston. As a clarinettist he was overshadowed by his fellow-student Gervase de Peyer, but he had in any case already set his mind to conducting. He was, however, not eligible for the conducting class at the college, because he could not play the piano.

His ambitions to conduct were further disrupted by compulsory military service, which was in force in Britain at that time. After leaving the college, Davis served as a clarinettist in the band of the Household Cavalry. Stationed at Windsor he had continual opportunities to attend concerts in London under conductors including Sir Thomas Beecham and Bruno Walter. After completing his military service, he launched himself in 1949 into what he later described as the "freelance wilderness", where he remained until 1957. His first conducting work was with the Kalmar Orchestra, which he co-founded with other former students of the Royal College. He made a good impression and was invited to conduct the recently-founded Chelsea Opera Group in ''Don Giovanni''. In the early years of his career he also took some engagements as an orchestral clarinettist. What seemed at first to be a full-time conducting appointment, for the Original Ballet Russe in 1952, came to an abrupt end after three months, when the company collapsed. In between sparse conducting engagements, Davis worked as a coach and lecturer, including spells at the Cambridge University Musical Society and the Bryanston Summer School, where a performance of ''L'enfance du Christ'' awakened his love of Berlioz's music.

BBC and Sadler's Wells

His first breakthrough came in 1957, when at his third attempt he secured the post of assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Orchestra (now the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra). The chief conductor of the orchestra generally chose to conduct the standard repertoire pieces himself, leaving Davis with modern works and non-standard repertoire works including those of Berlioz. By 1959 he had developed to the extent that, after a concert of Stravinsky and Mozart with the London Mozart Players, the chief music critic of ''The Observer'', Peter Heyworth, wrote, "Mr Davis conducted two works in a manner that showed that he is not only outstanding among our younger conductors, but probably the best we have produced since Sir Thomas Beecham, his senior by forty-eight years."

Davis first found wide acclaim when he stood in for an ill Otto Klemperer in a performance of ''Don Giovanni'', at the Royal Festival Hall in 1959. A year later, Beecham invited him to collaborate with him in preparing ''The Magic Flute'' at Glyndebourne. Beecham was taken ill, and Davis conducted the opera. After the ''Don Giovanni'', ''The Times'' wrote, "A superb conductor of Mozart declared himself last night at the Festival Hall…. Mr Davis emerged as a conductor ripe for greatness." Neville Cardus in ''The Guardian'' was less enthusiastic but nevertheless considered that Davis "had his triumphs" in the performance. After ''The Magic Flute'', ''The Times'' called Davis "master of Mozart's idiom, style and significance", although Heyworth in ''The Observer'' was disappointed by his tempi, judging them to be too slow.

In 1960 Davis made his début at the Proms in a programme of Britten, Schumann, Mozart and Berlioz. In the same year, he was appointed chief conductor of Sadler's Wells Opera, and in 1961 he was made musical director of the company, with whom he built up a large repertoire of operas, conducting in London and on tour. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' wrote of this period, "He excelled in ''Idomeneo'', ''The Rake's Progress'' and ''Oedipus rex'', and ''Fidelio''; his Wagner, Verdi and Puccini were less successful. He introduced Weill's ''Mahagonny'', and Pizzetti's ''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' to the British public and conducted the première of Bennett's ''The Mines of Sulphur'' (1965)." Together with the stage director Glen Byam Shaw, he worked to present operas in a way that gave due weight to the drama as well as the music. In his early years, Davis was known as something of a firebrand with a short fuse in rehearsals, and his departure from Sadler's Wells in 1965 was not without acrimony.

After he left Sadler's Wells it was widely expected that he would be offered the chief conductorship of the London Symphony Orchestra, but the post went to István Kertész. Soon afterwards Davis was offered the post of chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, though the appointment was not effective until September 1967. At first, so far as the public was concerned, his tenure was overshadowed, at least during the orchestra's most conspicuous concert seasons, the Proms, by the memory of Sir Malcolm Sargent, who had been an immensely popular figure as chief conductor of the Proms until 1966. Sargent had been "a suave father figure" to the promenaders, and it took some time for the much younger Davis to be accepted. The BBC's official historian of the Proms later wrote, "Davis never really identified himself with the Proms in the way that Sargent had done. Davis was uncomfortable with the traditional hullabaloo of the Last Night of the Proms and attempted, unsuccessfully, to modernise it. The BBC's Controller of Music, William Glock, was a long-standing admirer of Davis, and encouraged him to put on adventurous programmes, with a new emphasis on modern music, both at the Proms and throughout the rest of the orchestra's annual schedule.

Covent Garden

In 1970, Sir David Webster, who ran the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet companies at Covent Garden, invited Davis to succeed Georg Solti as principal conductor of the opera. At about the same time, the Boston Symphony Orchestra invited him to become its musical director, but Davis felt that if Covent Garden needed him, it was his duty to take on the post. Webster's vision was that Davis and the stage director Peter Hall, formerly of the Royal Shakespeare Company, would work in equal partnership as musical director and director of productions. After early successes together, including the première of Michael Tippett's ''The Knot Garden'' in December 1970, Hall left to succeed Laurence Olivier as director of the National Theatre. Webster had retired by that time, leaving Davis, together with Webster's successor as General Administrator, John Tooley, to run the Royal Opera.

Davis's early months in charge at Covent Garden were marked by dissatisfaction among some of the audience, and booing was heard at a "disastrous" ''Nabucco'' in 1971, and his conducting of Wagner's ''Ring'' was at first compared unfavourably with that of his predecessor. Among his successes were Berlioz's massive ''Les Troyens'' and ''Benvenuto Cellini'', Verdi's ''Falstaff'', the major Mozart operas, and, as one critic put it, he "confirmed his preeminence as a Britten and Stravinsky interpreter" with productions of ''Peter Grimes'' and ''The Rake's Progress''. Davis conducted more than 30 operas during his fifteen-year tenure, but "since people like Maazel, Abbado and Muti would only come for new productions", Davis yielded the baton to these foreign conductors, giving up the chance to conduct several major operas, including ''Der Rosenkavalier'', ''Rigoletto'' and ''Aida''.

In addition to the standard operatic repertoire, Davis conducted a number of atonal and other modern operas, including Alban Berg's ''Lulu'' and ''Wozzeck'', Tippett's ''The Knot Garden'' and ''The Ice Break'' (of which he is the dedicatee), and Alexander Zemlinsky's ''The Dwarf'' and ''Eine Florentinische Tragödie''. With later stage directors at Covent Garden, Davis preferred to work with those who respected the libretto: "I have a hankering for producers who don't feel jealous of composers for being better than they are, and want to impose their, often admittedly clever, ideas on the work in hand." Davis hoped that Goetz Friedrich, with whom he worked on Wagner's ''Ring'' cycle, would take on the role of principal producer vacated by Hall, "but it seemed that nobody wanted to commit themselves."

During his Covent Garden tenure, Davis was also principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1971 to 1975 and of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1972 to 1984. Another guest conducting engagement was in 1977, when he became the first English conductor to appear at Bayreuth, where he conducted the opening opera of the festival, ''Tannhäuser''. Despite the Bayreuth habitués' suspicion of newcomers, Davis's ''Tannhäuser'' was "highly successful". He debuted at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, in 1969, the Vienna State Opera in 1986 and the Bavarian State Opera in 1994.

Bavarian Radio Symphony and London Symphony Orchestras

From 1983 to 1993, Davis was chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, with whom he developed his concert hall repertoire, including symphonies by Bruckner and Mahler. He was offered but declined the chief conductorships of the Cleveland Orchestra in succession to Maazel and the New York Philharmonic in succession to Zubin Mehta. As a principal guest conductor he was associated with the Dresden Staatskapelle, which appointed him honorary conductor (''Ehrendirigent'') in 1990, the first in the orchestra's 460-year-history. From 1998–2003, he was principal guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic.

In 1995, Davis was appointed principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. It was the culmination of a long association with the orchestra. He had first conducted the LSO in 1959, and in 1964 he headed the orchestra's first world tour. He became principal guest conductor in 1975 and was at the helm in the LSO's first major series at its new home, the Barbican Centre, in a Berlioz/Tippett festival in 1983. In 1997 he conducted the LSO's first residency at Lincoln Center in New York City. Davis was the longest-serving principal conductor in the history of the LSO holding the post from 1995 until 2006, after which the orchestra appointed him President of the LSO, an honour previously held only by Arthur Bliss, William Walton, Karl Böhm and Leonard Bernstein. On 21 June 2009, 50 years to the day after his first LSO performance, a special concert was given at the Barbican, at which present-day players were joined by many past members of the orchestra. Davis's programme for the concert was Mozart's Symphony No 40 in G minor, and Brahms's Piano Concerto No 2, with Nelson Freire as soloist.

During his time with the LSO, both as principal conductor and later as president, Davis has conducted series and cycles of the music of Sibelius, Berlioz, Bruckner, Mozart, Elgar, Beethoven, and Brahms, and in 2009 began presenting a cycle of the symphonies of Carl Nielsen. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' wrote, "He conducted a Sibelius cycle in 1992 and a concert performance of ''Les Troyens'' the following year, both of which have become the stuff of legend. More recently he has added grand performances of Bruckner, Richard Strauss and Elgar, the première of Tippett's last major work, ''The Rose Lake'' (1995), and a Berlioz cycle begun with ''Benvenuto Cellini'' in 1999 and crowned by an incandescent ''Les Troyens'' in December 2000, all confirming his partnership with the LSO as one of the most important of its time."

Teacher

Davis is president of the Landesgymnasium für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" in Dresden, and holds the International Chair of Orchestral Studies at the Royal Academy of Music, London. Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, principal of the academy, wrote of Davis, "As the Academy's International Chair of Conducting over 25 years, Sir Colin has helmed six opera productions and over sixty concerts, classes and chamber music projects. Such extraordinary generosity from a major international conductor is surely unique. He has inspired a whole generation here, as did Henry Wood and John Barbirolli before him."

Recordings

Davis's discography is extensive. He made his first records in 1958 for the World Record Club: three Mozart symphonies and the Oboe Concerto with Leon Goossens. He made several records for the small independent label L'Oiseau Lyre, including a 1960 ''L'enfance du Christ'' and a 1962 ''Béatrice et Bénédict'' which, at January 2010, were both still available on CD. For EMI he made both operatic and orchestral recordings, the former with Sadler's Wells forces, including excerpts from ''Carmen'' and a complete ''Oedipus Rex'', and the latter including ''Harold in Italy'' with Yehudi Menuhin, and what remains one of his best-known recordings, a 1961 Beethoven Seventh Symphony.

Philips and RCA

In the 1960s, Davis signed as an exclusive artist for Philips Records, with whom he made an extensive range of recordings in the symphonic repertoire and a large number of operatic recordings, including the major Mozart operas; operas by Tippett, Britten, Verdi and Puccini; and a comprehensive survey of the operas of Berlioz, culminating in an award-winning first recording of the complete ''Les Troyens'' issued in May 1970.

Davis's 1966 Philips recording of Handel's ''Messiah'' was regarded as revelatory at the time of its issue for its departure from the large-scale Victorian-style performances that had been customary before then. Other Philips recordings included a 1982 set of Haydn's twelve London Symphonies with the Concertgebouw Orchestra "distinguished by performances of tremendous style and authority, and a sense of rhythmic impetus that is most exhilarating"; and a 1995 Beethoven symphony cycle with the Dresden Staatskapelle, of which ''The Gramophone'' wrote, "There has not been a Beethoven cycle like this since Klemperer's heyday."

Davis made a number of records with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Philips, including the first of his three Sibelius cycles, which remains in the CD catalogues. They also recorded works by Debussy, Grieg, Schubert, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky.

For RCA, Davis recorded complete symphony cycles of Sibelius (with the LSO), Brahms (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, 1989–98), and Schubert (Dresden Staatskapelle, 1996).

LSO Live

Davis's terms as chief conductor, and latterly president, of the LSO have coincided with the orchestra's decision to launch its own record label, issuing live recordings (patched where necessary with takes from rehearsals) at budget prices. Davis's recordings on the LSO Live label include Beethoven's opera ''Fidelio'' (2006), a wide range of Berlioz works, including a second recording of ''Les Troyens'' (2000), ''La Damnation de Faust'' (2000), ''Roméo et Juliette'' (2000), ''Béatrice et Bénédict'' (2000), ''Harold en Italie'' (2003), and the ''Symphonie Fantastique'' (2000); Britten's ''Peter Grimes'' (2004); Dvořák's Symphonies Nos. 6–9 (1999–2004); five Elgar sets: the ''Enigma Variations'' (2007) and the ''Introduction and Allegro for Strings'' (2005), the three symphonies (2001), and ''The Dream of Gerontius'' (2005); Handel's ''Messiah'' (2006); Haydn's ''Die Schöpfung'' (2007); Holst's ''The Planets'' (2002); James MacMillan's ''St John Passion'', (2008) ''The World's Ransoming'' and ''The Confession of Isobel Gowdie'' (2007); Mozart's Requiem (2007); Nielsen's Symphonies Nos. 4-5 (2011); a third Sibelius symphony cycle (2002–2008); Smetana's ''Má vlast'' (2005); Tippett's ''A Child of our Time'' (2007), Verdi's ''Falstaff'' (2004), Requiem (2009), and ''Otello'' (2010); and Walton's First Symphony (2005).

Awards

Davis was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1965 New Year Honours. He was knighted in the 1980 New Year Honours and appointed Companion of Honour in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours. He was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society's gold medal in 1995, the Queen's Medal for Music, 2009, and has numerous international awards, including Commendatore of the Republic of Italy, 1976; Commander's Cross, Order of Merit (Germany), 1987; Commandeur, l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France), 1990; Commander, Order of the Lion (Finland), 1992; Order of Merit (Bavaria), 1993; Officier, Légion d'Honneur (France), 1999 (Chevalier, 1982); Order of Maximilian (Bavaria), 2000.

Other awards include Pipe Smoker of the Year in 1996, Male Artist of the Year in the Classical Brit Awards 2008, and the Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Opera for his LSO Live recording of Verdi's ''Falstaff''.

Personal life

In 1949, Davis married the soprano April Cantelo. They had two children, Suzanne and Christopher. Their marriage ended in 1964, and in that same year, Davis married Ashraf Naini, known as Shamsi. To satisfy both the Iranian and British authorities, the couple were married three times, once in Iran and twice in the UK, in the Iranian Embassy as well as in a regular UK civil ceremony; they had five children. One of their children is the conductor Joseph Wolfe, who chose a different surname, because he wanted to "create some space to grow and develop my own identity as a musician." Lady Davis died in June 2010.

Notes

References

Blyth, Alan. ''Colin Davis'', Ian Allan, Shepperton, 1972

Cox, David. ''The Henry Wood Proms''. BBC, London, 1980. ISBN 0-563-17697-0

Haltrecht, Montague.''The Quiet Showman: Sir David Webster and the Royal Opera House'', Collins, London, 1975 ISBN 0-00-211163-2

Morrison, Richard. ''Orchestra – The LSO: A Century of Triumph and Turbulence'', Faber and Faber, London, 2004. ISBN 0-571-21584-X

Orga, Ateş. ''The Proms'', Book Club Associates, 1975

Further reading

External links

Category:1927 births Category:Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Academics of the University of Cambridge Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Music Category:BBC Symphony Orchestra Category:Christ's Hospital Old Blues Category:English conductors (music) Category:Music directors (opera) Category:Living people Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Members of the Bavarian Order of Merit Category:Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:Commanders of the Order of the Lion of Finland Category:Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Category:Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Recipients of the Queen's Medal for Music Category:People from Weybridge Category:London Symphony Orchestra principal conductors Category:Members of the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art

ca:Colin Davis (músic) de:Colin Davis et:Colin Davis es:Colin Davis fr:Colin Davis it:Colin Davis (direttore d'orchestra) he:קולין דייוויס nl:Colin Davis ja:コリン・デイヴィス pt:Colin Davis ru:Дэвис, Колин simple:Colin Davis fi:Colin Davis (kapellimestari) sv:Colin Davis zh:科林·戴维斯

Mark Padmore is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera.

Born in London 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, England, Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral scholarship to King's College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1982 with an honours degree in music.

He was first recognised as a singer with potential by William Christie and Philippe Herreweghe, with whom he sang several pieces written by Bach. His operatic experience is well-rounded and extensive, performing songs from such operas as ''Don Giovanni'', ''Jephtha'', and ''Platée''. He has performed at various festivals, including the Edinburgh Festival and the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.

References

Artist's website, accessed 25 January 2010

Management webpage, accessed 25 January 2010

New York Times review by Steve Smith (February 26, 2009), accessed 25 January 2010

Classical Archives Interview

Category:Operatic tenors Category:English opera singers Category:Living people Category:1961 births Category:British performers of early music Category:People educated at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys

pl:Mark Padmore

Coordinates	30°19′10″N81°39′36″N
name	Chris Tomlin
background	solo_singer
birth name	Christopher Dwayne Tomlin
born	May 04, 1972
origin	Grand Saline, Texas U.S.
instrument	Piano Guitar
genre	CCMContemporary worship music
occupation	Singer, songwriter, instrumentalist worship leader
years active	1998–present
label	sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Records
website	www.christomlin.com
notable instruments	}}

Christopher Dwayne "Chris" Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American Christian Contemporary Music artist, worship leader, and songwriter from Grand Saline, Texas, United States. He is a former staff member at Austin Stone Community Church and is signed to EMI's sixstepsrecords. Tomlin also leads worship at many Passion events. Some of his most well-known songs are "How Great Is Our God", "Jesus Messiah", "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)", and the recent song "Our God" which he co-wrote with Matt Redman, Jesse Reeves and Jonas Myrin. He is currently a lead worshipper at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia with Louie Giglio and Christy Nockels.

He was awarded Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2006, 2007, and 2008 GMA Dove Awards. He was also named Artist of the Year in 2007. Tomlin released his seventh studio album, ''And If Our God Is for Us...'', on November 16, 2010. He is one of the members of Compassionart, a charity founded by Martin Smith (and Smith's wife, Anna) of the band Delirious?.

Early life

Tomlin was born in Grand Saline, Texas in 1972 to Connie and Donna Tomlin. He has two younger brothers, Ryan and Cory. Tomlin received his first guitar from his father at the age of eleven after contracting a case of mono. Chris Tomlin first learned how to play the guitar by playing along side Willie Nelson records.

Tomlin wrote his first worship song at age fourteen. He entered college planning to study physical therapy, but ended up not pursuing that career, as he has stated that he felt God's calling to something else.

In the mid-1990s Tomlin was a worship leader at the Dawson McAllister Youth Conferences, as well as at various church camps in Texas.

After attending Tyler Junior College and Texas A&M; University, Tomlin continued to play and write songs, and in 1997, youth speaker Louie Giglio asked if he would be interested in working with the Passion Conferences. Tomlin has played a key role in the movement ever since.

Musical career

His first nationally released solo project, titled ''The Noise We Make'', was released in 2001, featuring the songs "Forever," "Be Glorified", and "Kindness", all of which made the top 200 in the CCLI 2005 top 500 worship songs. He also released the live EP ''545'' in 2002, and the studio album ''Not to Us'' (2002). His 2004 album ''Arriving'' is considered his breakout album as it produced the #1 hits "Indescribable" (written by Laura Story), "Holy Is the Lord", "How Great Is Our God", and "The Way I Was Made". Two other tracks from the album–"On Our Side" and "Mighty is the Power of the Cross", written with Shawn Craig of Phillips, Craig, and Dean–landed in the 2005 top 500 worship songs according to Christian Copyright Licensing International. ''Arriving'' was certified platinum by the RIAA in 2008. A year after ''Arriving'', Tomlin released his first solo live album, titled ''Live From Austin Music Hall'', and in 2006, his fourth studio album, ''See the Morning'', which was nominated for two Grammy Awards, been certified Gold by the RIAA, and has helped him win 6 Dove Awards in 2007, including a second consecutive "Artist of the Year" win. The three singles off this album have all been top #5 songs on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs Chart, and have all reached the number one position on the R&R;' Christian AC Chart.

Although he is a solo artist, Tomlin travels around with a consistent band lineup. He also writes many of his songs with the members of his band. His band, in which he performs vocals, acoustic guitar, and piano, consists of Daniel Carson (electric guitar, backup vocals), Jesse Reeves (bass guitar, backup vocals), Travis Nunn (drums), and Matt Gilder (piano, keys). Tomlin and the band developed while working with the Harvest Ministry at The Woodlands United Methodist Church in The Woodlands, Texas in the late 1990s.

According to Christian Copyright Licensing International's list of the top 25 worship songs in the US in August 2007, Tomlin held 5 spots with songs he has either written or co-written with other songwriters: "How Great Is Our God" (#1), "Forever" (#5), "Holy Is the Lord" (#7), "We Fall Down" (#12), and "Indescribable" (#22). In 2008, Tomlin held 6 spots on ''20 The Countdown Magazine'''s top 20 praise and worship songs: "We Fall Down" (#14), "Forever" (#10), "Holy is the Lord" (#8), "Indescribable" (#6), "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" (#3), and "How Great is our God" (#1).

Tomlin has toured with several prominent contemporary Christian music artists, such as opening for Delirious? during his first ever tour, and as a supporting act of Steven Curtis Chapman during his ''All Things New'' Tour. Tomlin has also headlined several tours, such as headlining the Chris Tomlin Indescribable Tour, which featured world renowned worship artist Matt Redman, and speaker Louie Giglio, and headlining the ''See the Morning'' Tour. From April to October 2007, Tomlin toured with Louie Giglio and Matt Redman on his "How Great Is Our God" tour. In 2008, Tomlin toured with Passion Conferences on its world tour. In early 2009, he headlined the ''Hello Love'' tour with Israel Houghton and New Breed. In summer of 2010, he co-headlined the "Hello Tonight" tour with TobyMac.

Tomlin has also been featured at many conferences and music festivals. Among these, he has played at Grand Saline's annual Salt Festival. Hillsong's 2007 conference, and the 2008 Compassionart International Songwriting retreat, which was dedicated to writing songs whose revenue would support charities serving the poorest of the world's poor. Other prominent songwriters included were Matt Redman, Martin Smith, Stuart Garrard, and Steven Curtis Chapman. In 2009, Tomlin played at the Harvest Crusade at Anaheim Angels Stadium.

At the end of 2006, Tomlin launched an online music website resource called Frequency which Tomlin described as "a place to serve God and his people in worship." In 2007, he partnered with Larry Tardy to create a new site under a similar name, Frequency Worship. The original site featured chord charts for some of Chris' songs, some instructional videos for those songs, and a message board meant for worship leaders. Since the updated launch in August 2008, Frequency has included chord charts for many popular worship songs, instructional videos, planning software for worship leaders, articles written by other artists, and more, branching out into all of worship music.

On June 14, 2007, Tomlin's version of the song "Indescribable" was used as the official wake-up call for Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester on Space Shuttle mission STS-117.

In May 2008, it was announced that Tomlin and his band would move from The Austin Stone Community Church, the church he helped plant with senior pastor Matt Carter in Austin, Texas to start a new church with Louie Giglio in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2009, Tomlin released a Christmas album, ''Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship''. It includes three original Christmas songs and features duets with Matt Redman, Christy Nockels, and Audrey Assad. The album peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 list and at #1 for Holiday albums.

In March 2010, Tomlin and his band announced through their Twitter accounts the recording of a new studio album slated for a November 2010 release. On August 30, Tomlin announced on his Twitter that the title would be ''And If Our God Is for Us...'' The first single "I Will Follow" was released to radio on August 23.

Personal life

Tomlin married his girlfriend of two years, Lauren Bricken, on November 9, 2010.

In May 2011, Tomlin announced to his hometown that he and Lauren are expecting their first child.

Discography

1995: ''Inside Your Love''

1998: ''Authentic''

1998: ''Too Much Free Time'' with Ross King.

2001: ''The Noise We Make''

2002: ''Not to Us''

2004: ''Arriving''

2006: ''See the Morning''

2008: ''Hello Love''

2009: ''Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship''

2010: ''And If Our God Is for Us...''

;Passion event albums

''Live Worship From The 268 Generation'' (1998)

''Better Is One Day'' (1999)

''The Road To One Day'' (2000)

''One Day: Live'' (2000)

''The Noise We Make'' (2001)

''Our Love is Loud'' (2002)

''Sacred Revolution: Songs From OneDay 03'' (2003)

''Hymns: Ancient and Modern'' (2004)

''How Great Is Our God'' (2005)

''Everything Glorious'' (2006)

''The Best of Passion (So Far)'' (2006)

''Live From Passion 07 Pts. 1 & 3'' (2007)

''God of This City'' (2008)

''Awakening'' (2010)

''Here for You'' (March 8, 2011)

;Non-album songs

"Whisper My Name" [Forefront] - ''Eterne: Never Be the Same'' (2000)

"Salvation" - ''Pour Over Me - Worship Together Live 2001'' (2001)

"Give Us Clean Hands" - ''Pour Over Me - Worship Together Live 2001'' (2001)

"Satisfied" [Forefront] - ''Secrets Of The Vine: Music... A Worship Experience'' (2002)

"Lord, I'm Gonna Love You" [Sparrow] - ''Your Love Broke Through'' (2002)

"Expressions of Your Love" (duet w/ Rebecca St. James) [Sparrow] - ''It Takes Two: 15 Collaborations & Duets'' (2003)

"Where the Streets Have No Name" [Sparrow/EMI CMG] - ''In the Name of Love: Artists United for Africa'' (2004)

"You're The One" [Disney/EMI CMG] - ''Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'' (2005)

"Angels We Have Heard On High" [Word] - ''WOW Christmas: Green'' (2005)

"Mighty to Save" [Integrity] - ''Bonus disc included with Fruitcake and Ice Cream DVD'' (2008)

Charts

Albums - Billboard (North America)

Year	Album	Peak Chart Positions	RIAA certifications
		! Top Christian Albums	Billboard 200>Billboard 200 Albums
	align="left" valign="top"

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year	Title	Peak Chart Positions	Album
Top Heatseekers>US Heat	! Hot Christian Songs
2004			2
			2
style="text-align:left"	14	1
2006			1
			2
		2
2008			2
		50	2
		6
style="text-align:left"		28
		9	1
	14	2
			11

¹ Currently active on the charts

Music videos

"Expressions of Your Love" (With Rebecca St. James) (2004)

"Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)" (2007)

"I Lift My Hands" (2011)

Awards

GMA Dove Awards

Throughout his career, Chris Tomlin has been nominated to 32 Dove Awards (6 of them, collaborative efforts) and won 17 of them.

Year	! Award	! Result
!rowspan="1"	Praise & Worship Album of the Year (''Arriving'')
!rowspan="10"	Artist of the Year
Male Vocalist of the Year
Song of the Year ("Holy Is the Lord")
Worship Song of the Year ("Holy Is the Lord")
Worship Song of the Year ("How Great Is Our God")
Worship Song of the Year ("Indescribable")1
Special Event Album of the Year ("WOW Christmas: Green")*
!rowspan="9"	Artist of the Year
Male Vocalist of the Year
Song of the Year ("Made to Worship")
Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Made to Worship")
Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year (''See The Morning'')
Worship Song of the Year ("Holy Is the Lord")
Worship Song of the Year ("Made to Worship")
Praise & Worship Album of the Year (''See The Morning'')
!rowspan="6"	Artist of the Year
Male Vocalist of the Year
Song of the Year ("Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)")
Worship Song of the Year ("Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)")
Worship Song of the Year ("How Great Is Our God")
Special Event Album of the Year ("Music Inspired By the Motion Picture Amazing Grace")*
!rowspan="7"	Artist of the Year
Male Vocalist of the Year
Song of the Year ("Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)")
Worship Song of the Year ("Jesus Messiah")
Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year ("How Great Is Our God")2
!rowspan="4"	Song of the Year ("I Will Rise")
Worship Song of the Year ("I Will Rise")
Christmas Album of the Year (''Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship'')
!rowspan="5"	Artist of the Year
Male Vocalist of the Year
Song of the Year ("Our God")
Worship Song of the Year ("Our God")
Special Event Album of the Year (''Passion: Awakening'')*

*Denotes a collaborative effort or a song contribution to a "Various artists" album.

¹ The song was performed by Tomlin, but written and produced by Laura Story.

² The song was performed by LaRue Howard, but written by Tomlin.

Others

Tomlin was nominated for two 2009 Visionary Award: Male Entertainer of the Year and Song of the Year for "Jesus Messiah".

Bibliography

Chris Tomlin, ''The Way I Was Made: Words and Music for an Unusual Life'', Multnomah, 2004. ISBN 978-1590523278

References

External links

Official site

Austin Stone Community Church

Article in Time Magazine

One Million Can

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George Frideric Handel (German: Georg Friedrich Händel; ) (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music. He received critical musical training in Halle, Hamburg and Italy before settling in London (1712) and becoming a naturalised British subject in 1727. By then he was strongly influenced by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.

Within fifteen years, Handel, a dramatic genius, started three commercial opera companies to supply the English nobility with Italian opera, but the public came to hear the vocal bravura of the soloists rather than the music. In 1737 he had a physical breakdown, changed direction creatively and addressed the middle class. As ''Alexander's Feast'' (1736) was well received, Handel made a transition to English choral works. After his success with ''Messiah'' (1742) he never performed an Italian opera again. Handel was only partly successful with his performances of English Oratorio on mythical or biblical themes, but when he arranged a performance of ''Messiah'' to benefit the Foundling Hospital (1750) the critique ended. The pathos of Handel's oratorio is an ethical one, they are hallowed not by liturgical dignity but by the moral ideals of humanity. Almost blind, and having lived in England for almost fifty years, he died a respected and rich man.

Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, not only because of his ''Water Music'', and ''Music for the Royal Fireworks''. But since the late 1960s, with the revival of baroque music and original instrument interest in Handel's opera seria has revived too. Handel composed forty operas in about thirty years; some are considered as masterpieces, with many sweeping arias and much admired improvisations. His operas contain remarkable human characterization, by a composer not known for his love affairs.

Early years

Handel was born in 1685 in Halle, Duchy of Magdeburg, to Georg Händel and Dorothea Taust. His father, 63 when his son was born, was an eminent barber-surgeon who served to the court of Saxe-Weissenfels and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. According to Handel's first biographer, John Mainwaring, he "had discovered such a strong propensity to Music, that his father who always intended him for the study of the Civil Law, had reason to be alarmed. He strictly forbade him to meddle with any musical instrument but Handel found means to get a little clavichord privately convey'd to a room at the top of the house. To this room he constantly stole when the family was asleep". At an early age Handel became a skilful performer on the harpsichord and pipe organ.

Handel and his father travelled to Weissenfels to visit either Handel's half-brother, Carl, or nephew, Georg Christian, who was serving as valet to Duke Johann Adolf I. Handel and the duke convinced his father to allow him to take lessons in musical composition and keyboard technique from Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, the organist of the Lutheran Marienkirche. He learned about harmony and contemporary styles, analysed sheet music scores, learned to work fugue subjects, and to copy music. In 1698 Handel played for Frederick I of Prussia and met Giovanni Battista Bononcini in Berlin.

From Halle to Italy

In 1702, following his father's wishes, Handel started studying law under Christian Thomasius at the University of Halle; and also earned an appointment for one year as the organist in the former cathedral, by then an evangelical reformed church. Handel seems to have been unsatisfied and in 1703, he accepted a position as violinist and harpsichordist in the orchestra of the Hamburg Oper am Gänsemarkt. There he met the composers Johann Mattheson, Christoph Graupner and Reinhard Keiser. His first two operas, ''Almira'' and ''Nero'', were produced in 1705. He produced two other operas, ''Daphne'' and ''Florindo'', in 1708. It is unclear whether Handel directed these performances.

According to Mainwaring, in 1706 Handel travelled to Italy at the invitation of Ferdinando de' Medici, but Mainwaring must have been confused. It was Gian Gastone de' Medici, whom Handel had met in 1703-1704 in Hamburg. Ferdinando tried to make Florence Italy's musical capital, attracting the leading talents of his day. He had a keen interest in opera. In Italy Handel met librettist Antonio Salvi, with whom he later collaborated. Handel left for Rome and, since opera was (temporarily) banned in the Papal States, composed sacred music for the Roman clergy. His famous ''Dixit Dominus'' (1707) is from this era. He also composed cantatas in pastoral style for musical gatherings in the palaces of cardinals Pietro Ottoboni, Benedetto Pamphili and Carlo Colonna. Two oratorios, ''La Resurrezione'' and ''Il Trionfo del Tempo'', were produced in a private setting for Ruspoli and Ottoboni in 1709 and 1710, respectively. ''Rodrigo'', his first all-Italian opera, was produced in the Cocomero theatre in Florence in 1707. ''Agrippina'' was first produced in 1709 at Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, the prettiest theatre at Venice, owned by the Grimanis. The opera, with a libretto by cardinal Vincenzo Grimani, and according to Mainwaring it ran for 27 nights successively. The audience, thunderstruck with the grandeur and sublimity of his style, applauded for ''Il caro Sassone''.

Move to London

In 1710, Handel became ''Kapellmeister'' to German prince George, Elector of Hanover, who in 1714 would become King George I of Great Britain. He visited Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici and her husband in Düsseldorf on his way to London in 1710. With his opera ''Rinaldo'', based on ''La Gerusalemme Liberata'' by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, Handel enjoyed great success, but it is difficult to see why he lifted from old Italian works unless he was in a hurry. This work contains one of Handel's favourite arias, ''Cara sposa, amante cara'', and the famous Lascia ch'io pianga. In 1712, Handel decided to settle permanently in England. He received a yearly income of £200 from Queen Anne after composing for her the ''Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate'', first performed in 1713.

One of his most important patrons was the young and wealthy Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington. For him Handel wrote ''Amadigi di Gaula'', a magical opera, about a damsel in distress, based on the tragedy by Antoine Houdar de la Motte.

The conception of an opera as a coherent structure was slow to capture Handel's imagination and he renounced it for five years. In July 1717 Handel's ''Water Music'' was performed more than three times on the Thames for the King and his guests. It is said the compositions spurred reconciliation between the King and Handel.

Cannons (1717–18)

In 1717 Handel became house composer at Cannons in Middlesex, where he laid the cornerstone for his future choral compositions in the twelve ''Chandos Anthems''. Romain Rolland stated that these anthems were as important for his oratorios as the cantatas were for his operas. Another work he wrote for the Duke of Chandos, the owner of Cannons, was ''Acis and Galatea'': during Handel's lifetime it was his most performed work. Winton Dean wrote, "the music catches breath and disturbs the memory".

In 1719 the Duke of Chandos became one of the main subscribers to Handel's new opera company, the Royal Academy of Music, but his patronage of music declined after he lost money in the South Sea bubble, which burst in 1720 in one of history's greatest financial cataclysms. Handel himself invested in South Sea stock in 1716, when prices were low and sold before 1720.

Royal Academy of Music (1719–34)

In May 1719 Lord Chamberlain Thomas Holles, the Duke of Newcastle ordered Handel to look for new singers. Handel travelled to Dresden to attend the newly-built opera. He saw ''Teofane'' by Antonio Lotti, and engaged the cast for the Royal Academy of Music, founded by a group of aristocrats to assure themselves a constant supply of baroque opera or opera seria. Handel may have invited John Smith, his fellow student in Halle, and his son Johann Christoph Schmidt, to become his secretary and amanuensis. By 1723 he had moved into a Georgian house at 25 Brook Street, which he rented for the rest of his life. This house, where he rehearsed, copied music and sold tickets, is now the Handel House Museum. During twelve months between 1724 and 1725, Handel wrote three outstanding and successful operas, ''Giulio Cesare'', ''Tamerlano'' and ''Rodelinda''. Handel's operas are filled with da capo arias, such as ''Svegliatevi nel core''. After composing ''Silete venti'', he concentrated on opera and stopped writing cantatas. ''Scipio'', from which the regimental slow march of the British Grenadier Guards is derived, was performed as a stopgap, waiting for the arrival of Faustina Bordoni.

In 1727 Handel was commissioned to write four anthems for the coronation ceremony of King George II. One of these, ''Zadok the Priest'', has been played at every British coronation ceremony since. In 1728 John Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera'' premiered at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre and ran for 62 consecutive performances, the longest run in theatre history up to that time. After nine years Handel's contract was ended but he soon started a new company.

The Queen's Theatre at the Haymarket (now Her Majesty's Theatre), established in 1705 by architect and playwright John Vanbrugh, quickly became an opera house. Between 1711 and 1739, more than 25 of Handel's operas premièred there. In 1729 Handel became joint manager of the Theatre with John James Heidegger.

Handel travelled to Italy to engage seven new singers. He composed seven more operas, but the public came to hear the singers rather than the music. After two commercially successful English oratorios ''Esther'' and ''Deborah'', he was able to invest again in the South Sea Company. Handel reworked his ''Acis and Galatea'' which then became his most successful work ever. Handel failed to compete with the Opera of the Nobility, who engaged musicians such as Johann Adolf Hasse, Nicolo Porpora and the famous castrato Farinelli. The strong support by Frederick, Prince of Wales caused conflicts in the royal family. In March 1734 Handel directed a wedding anthem ''This is the day which the Lord hath made'', and a serenata ''Parnasso in Festa'' for Anne of Hanover.

Opera at Covent Garden (1734–41)

In 1733 the Earl of Essex received a letter with the following sentence: "Handel became so arbitrary a prince, that the Town murmurs". The board of chief investors expected Handel to retire when his contract ended, but Handel immediately looked for another theatre. In cooperation with John Rich he started his third company at Covent Garden Theatre. Rich was renowned for his spectacular productions. He suggested Handel use his small chorus and introduce the dancing of Marie Sallé, for whom Handel composed ''Terpsichore''. In 1735 he introduced organ concertos between the acts. For the first time Handel allowed Gioacchino Conti, who had no time to learn his part, to substitute arias. Financially, ''Ariodante'' was a failure, although he introduced ballet suites at the end of each act. Alcina, his last opera with a magic content, and ''Alexander's Feast or the Power of Music'' based on John Dryden's ''Alexander's Feast'' starred Anna Maria Strada del Pò and John Beard.

In April 1737, at age 52, Handel apparently suffered a stroke which disabled the use of four fingers on his right hand, preventing him from performing. In summer the disorder seemed at times to affect his understanding. Nobody expected that Handel would ever be able to perform again. But whether the affliction was rheumatism, a stroke or a nervous breakdown, he recovered remarkably quickly . To aid his recovery, Handel had travelled to Aachen, a spa in Germany. During six weeks he took long hot baths, and ending up playing the organ for a surprised audience.

''Deidamia'', his last and only baroque opera without an accompagnato, was performed three times in 1741. Handel gave up the opera business, while he enjoyed more success with his English oratorios.

Oratorio

''Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno'', an allegory, Handel's first oratorio was composed in Italy in 1707, followed by ''La Resurrezione'' in 1708 which uses material from the Bible. The circumstances of ''Esther'' and its first performance, possibly in 1718, are obscure. Another 12 years had passed when an act of piracy caused him to take up ''Esther'' once again. Three earlier performances aroused such interest that they naturally prompted the idea of introducing it to a larger public. Next came ''Deborah'', strongly coloured by the Anthems and ''Athaliah'', his first English Oratorio. In these three oratorios Handel laid foundation for the traditional use of the chorus which marks his later oratorios. Handel became sure of himself, broader in his presentation, and more diverse in his composition.

It is evident how much he learnt from Arcangelo Corelli about writing for instruments, and from Alessandro Scarlatti about writing for the solo voice; but there is no single composer who taught him how to write for chorus. Handel tended more and more to replace Italian soloists by English ones. The weightiest reason for this change was the dwindling financial returns from his operas. Thus a tradition was created for oratorios which was to govern their future performance. The performances were given without costumes and action; the performers appeared in a black suit.

In 1736 Handel came with ''Alexander's Feast''. John Beard appeared for the first time as one of Handel's principal singers and became Handel's permanent tenor soloist for the rest of Handel's life. The piece was a great success and it encouraged Handel to make the transition from writing Italian operas to English choral works. In ''Saul'', Handel was collaborating with Charles Jennens and experimenting with three trombones, a carillon and extra-large military kettledrums (from the Tower of London), to be sure "...it will be most excessive noisy". ''Saul'' and ''Israel in Egypt'' both from 1739 head the list of great, mature oratorios, in which the da capo and dal segno aria became the exception and not the rule. ''Israel in Egypt'' consists of little else but choruses, borrowing from the ''Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline''. In his next works Handel changed his course. In these works he laid greater stress on the effects of orchestra and soloists; the chorus retired into the background. ''L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato'' has a rather diverting character; the work is light and fresh.

During the summer of 1741, the 3rd Duke of Devonshire invited Handel to Dublin to give concerts for the benefit of local hospitals. His ''Messiah'' was first performed at the New Music Hall in Fishamble Street, on 13 April 1742, with 26 boys and five men from the combined choirs of St Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals participating. Handel secured a balance between soloists and chorus which he never surpassed.

The use of English soloists reached its height at the first performance of ''Samson''. The work is highly theatrical. The role of the chorus became increasingly import in his later oratorios. ''Jephtha'' was first performed on 26 February 1752; even though it was his last oratorio, it was no less a masterpiece than his earlier works.

Later years

In 1749 Handel composed ''Music for the Royal Fireworks''; 12,000 people attended the first performance. In 1750 he arranged a performance of ''Messiah'' to benefit the Foundling Hospital. The performance was considered a great success and was followed by annual concerts that continued throughout his life. In recognition of his patronage, Handel was made a governor of the Hospital the day after his initial concert. He bequeathed a copy of ''Messiah'' to the institution upon his death. His involvement with the Foundling Hospital is today commemorated with a permanent exhibition in London's Foundling Museum, which also holds the ''Gerald Coke Handel Collection''. In addition to the Foundling Hospital, Handel also gave to a charity that assisted impoverished musicians and their families.

In August 1750, on a journey back from Germany to London, Handel was seriously injured in a carriage accident between The Hague and Haarlem in the Netherlands. In 1751 one eye started to fail. The cause was a cataract which was operated on by the great charlatan Chevalier Taylor. This led to uveitis and subsequent loss of vision. He died eight years later in 1759 at home in Brook Street, at age 74. The last performance he attended was of ''Messiah''. Handel was buried in Westminster Abbey. More than three thousand mourners attended his funeral, which was given full state honours.

Handel never married, and kept his personal life private. His initial will bequeathed the bulk of his estate to his niece Johanna, however four codicils distributed much of his estate to other relations, servants, friends and charities.

Handel owned an art collection that was auctioned posthumously in 1760. The auction catalogue listed approximately seventy paintings and ten prints (other paintings were bequeathed).

Works

:''Main articles: List of compositions by George Frideric Handel and List of operas by Handel. Handel's compositions include 42 operas, 29 oratorios, more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets, numerous arias, chamber music, a large number of ecumenical pieces, odes and serenatas, and 16 organ concerti. His most famous work, the oratorio ''Messiah'' with its "Hallelujah" chorus, is among the most popular works in choral music and has become the centrepiece of the Christmas season. Among the works with opus numbers published and popularised in his lifetime are the Organ Concertos Op.4 and Op.7, together with the Opus 3 and Opus 6 concerti grossi; the latter incorporate an earlier organ concerto ''The Cuckoo and the Nightingale'' in which birdsong is imitated in the upper registers of the organ. Also notable are his sixteen keyboard suites, especially ''The Harmonious Blacksmith''.

Handel introduced previously uncommon musical instruments in his works: the viola d'amore and violetta marina (''Orlando''), the lute (''Ode for St. Cecilia's Day''), three trombones (Saul), clarinets or small high cornetts (''Tamerlano''), theorbo, horn (''Water Music''), lyrichord, double bassoon, viola da gamba, bell chimes, positive organ, and harp (''Giulio Cesare'', ''Alexander's Feast'').

Handel's works have been catalogued in the ''Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis'' and are commonly referred to by an HWV number. For example, ''Messiah'' is catalogued as HWV 56.

Legacy

Handel's works were collected and preserved by two men in particular: Sir Samuel Hellier, a country squire whose musical acquisitions form the nucleus of the Shaw-Hellier Collection, and abolitionist Granville Sharp. The catalogue accompanying the National Portrait Gallery exhibition marking the tercentenary of the composer's birth calls them two men of the late eighteenth century "who have left us solid evidence of the means by which they indulged their enthusiasm".

After his death, Handel's Italian operas fell into obscurity, except for selections such as the aria from ''Serse'', "Ombra mai fù". The oratorios continued to be performed but not long after Handel's death they were thought to need some modernisation, and Mozart orchestrated a German version of ''Messiah'' and other works. Throughout the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, particularly in the Anglophone countries, his reputation rested primarily on his English oratorios, which were customarily performed by enormous choruses of amateur singers on solemn occasions.

Since the Early Music Revival many of the forty-two operas he wrote have been performed in opera houses and concert halls.

Handel's music was studied by composers such as Haydn , Mozart and Beethoven

Recent decades have revived his secular cantatas and what one might call 'secular oratorios' or 'concert operas'. Of the former, ''Ode for St. Cecilia's Day'' (1739) (set to texts by John Dryden) and ''Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne'' (1713) are noteworthy. For his secular oratorios, Handel turned to classical mythology for subjects, producing such works as ''Acis and Galatea'' (1719), ''Hercules'' (1745) and ''Semele'' (1744). These works have a close kinship with the sacred oratorios, particularly in the vocal writing for the English-language texts. They also share the lyrical and dramatic qualities of Handel's Italian operas. As such, they are sometimes performed onstage by small chamber ensembles. With the rediscovery of his theatrical works, Handel, in addition to his renown as instrumentalist, orchestral writer, and melodist, is now perceived as being one of opera's great musical dramatists.

Handel's work was edited by Samuel Arnold (40 vols., London, 1787–1797), and by Friedrich Chrysander, for the German Händel-Gesellschaft (105 vols., Leipzig, 1858–1902).

Handel adopted the spelling "George Frideric Handel" on his naturalisation as a British subject, and this spelling is generally used in English-speaking countries. The original form of his name, Georg Friedrich Händel, is generally used in Germany and elsewhere, but he is known as "Haendel" in France. Another composer with a similar name, Handl, was a Slovene and is more commonly known as Jacobus Gallus.

Musician's musician

Handel has generally been accorded high esteem by fellow composers, both in his own time and since. Bach attempted, unsuccessfully, to meet with Handel while he was visiting Halle. Mozart is reputed to have said of him, "Handel understands affect better than any of us. When he chooses, he strikes like a thunder bolt." To Beethoven he was "the master of us all... the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head and kneel before his tomb". Beethoven emphasised above all the simplicity and popular appeal of Handel's music when he said, "Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means".

Homages

After Handel's death, many composers wrote works based on or inspired by his music. The first movement from Louis Spohr's ''Symphony No. 6'', Op. 116, "The Age of Bach and Handel", resembles two melodies from Handel's ''Messiah''. In 1797 Ludwig van Beethoven published the ''12 Variations in G major on ‘See the conqu’ring hero comes’ from Judas Maccabaeus by Handel'', for cello and piano. Guitar virtuoso Mauro Giuliani composed his ''Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 107'' for guitar, based on Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major, HWV 430, for harpsichord. In 1861, using a theme from the second of Handel's harpsichord suites, Johannes Brahms wrote the ''Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel'', Op. 24, one of his most successful works (praised by Richard Wagner). Several works by the French composer Félix-Alexandre Guilmant use Handel's themes, for example his ''March on a Theme by Handel'' uses a theme from ''Messiah''. French composer and flautist Philippe Gaubert wrote his ''Petite marche'' for flute and piano based on the fourth movement of Handel's Trio Sonata, Op. 5, No. 2, HWV 397. Argentine composer Luis Gianneo composed his ''Variations on a Theme by Handel'' for piano. In 1911, Australian-born composer and pianist Percy Grainger based one of his most famous works on the final movement of Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major (just like Giuliani). He first wrote some variations on the theme, which he titled ''Variations on Handel's ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’ ''. Then he used the first sixteen bars of his set of variations to create ''Handel in the Strand'', one of his most beloved pieces, of which he made several versions (for example, the piano solo version from 1930). Arnold Schoenberg's Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra in B flat major (1933) was composed after Handel's Concerto Grosso, Op. 6/7.

Veneration

Handel is honored together with Johann Sebastian Bach and Henry Purcell with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on 28 July.

He is commemorated as a musician in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 28 July, with Johann Sebastian Bach and Heinrich Schütz.

Editions

Between 1787 and 1797 Samuel Arnold compiled a 180-volume collection of Handel's works—however it was far from complete. Also incomplete was the collection produced between 1843 and 1858 by the English Handel Society (found by Sir George Macfarren).

The 105-volume Händel-Gesellschaft edition was published in the mid 19th century and was mainly edited by Friedrich Chrysander (often working alone in his home). For modern performance, the realisation of the basso continuo reflects 19th century practice. Vocal scores drawn from the edition were published by Novello in London, but some scores, such as the vocal score to Samson are incomplete.

The still-incomplete Hallische Händel-Ausgabe started to appear in 1956 (named for Halle in Saxony-Anhalt Eastern Germany, not the Netherlands). It did not start as a critical edition, but after heavy criticism of the first volumes, which were performing editions without a critical apparatus (for example, the opera Serse was published with the title character recast as a tenor reflecting pre-war German practice), it repositioned itself as a critical edition. Influenced in part by cold-war realities, editorial work was inconsistent: misprints are found in abundance and editors failed to consult important sources. In 1985 a committee was formed to establish better standards for the edition.

See also

Handel Commemoration

Handel Reference Database

Letters and writings of George Frideric Handel

en.wikisource.org/wiki/Handel/His Life of George Frideric Handel

List of compositions by George Frideric Handel

List of operas by Handel

Publications by Friedrich Chrysander

Valentine Snow

Will of George Frideric Handel

Notes

References

Chrissochoidis, Ilias. "Early Reception of Handel's Oratorios, 1732–1784: Narrative – Studies – Documents" (Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 2004), available through UMI.

Chrissochoidis, Ilias. "Handel at a Crossroads: His 1737–1738 and 1738–1739 Seasons Re-Examined", ''Music & Letters'' 90/4 (November 2009), 599–635.

Chrissochoidis, Ilias. "Handel, Hogarth, Goupy: Artistic intersections in Handelian biography", ''Early Music'' 37/4 (November 2009), 577–596.

Chrissochoidis, Ilias. "'hee-haw ... llelujah': Handel among the Vauxhall Asses (1732)", ''Eighteenth-Century Music'' 7/2 (September 2010), 221–262.

Frosch, W.A., ''The "case" of George Frideric Handel'', New England Journal of Medicine, 1989; 321:765–769, 14 September 1989. content.nejm.org

Harris, Ellen T. (general editor) ''The librettos of Handel's operas: a collection of seventy librettos documenting Handel's operatic career'' New York: Garland, 1989. ISBN 0-8240-3862-2

Harris, Ellen T. ''Handel as Orpheus. Voice and Desire in the Chamber Cantatas'' Harvard University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-674-00617-8

Hogwood, Christopher. ''Handel.'' London: Thames and Hudson, 1984. ISBN 0-500-01355-1

Keates, Jonathan. ''Handel, the man and his music.'' London: V. Gollancz, 1985. ISBN 0-575-03573-0

Leopold, Silke. "Händel die Opern" Bärenreiter 2009, ISBN 978-3-7618-1991-3

Meynell, Hugo. ''The Art of Handel's Operas'' The Edwin Mellen Press (1986) ISBN 0-88946-425-1

External links

Edward Dent's Handel biography from Project Gutenberg

The second volume of Winton Dean for "Handel's Operas" covering the years 1726–1741

Friedrich Chrysander's Handel biography (in German)

Biographical details web site

Handel Houses:

*The Handel House Museum

*The Händel-Haus in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt

References on Handel

Handel Reference Database

Scores and recordings

: includes Complete Works Edition ''(Ausgabe der Deutschen Händelgesellschaft)''

The Mutopia Project provides free downloading of sheet music and MIDI files for some of Handel's works.

Free typeset sheet music of Handel's works from ''Cantorion.org''

Handel cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.

Handel's Sheet Music by free-scores.com

Kunst der Fuge: George Frideric Handel – MIDI files

Water Music, Organ Concertos op. 4, Tamerlano, etc. Creative Commons recordings

Category:1685 births Category:1759 deaths Category:People from Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Category:Opera composers Category:Baroque composers Category:English classical organists Category:English composers Category:English people of German descent Category:German composers Category:German emigrants to the United Kingdom Category:German classical organists Category:Organ improvisers Category:Composers for pipe organ Category:Members of the Royal Society of Musicians Category:People from the Duchy of Magdeburg Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:18th-century German people Category:Walhalla enshrinees Category:Burials at Westminster Abbey Category:Anglican saints Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Category:Classical composers of church music

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