Handel and his widows

The secret love life of Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759) has never been found out.

 


He had no family, no obvious sex life,
and historians have complained about
the absence in his life of scandals;
yet he worked with women all his life,
but only primadonnas, divas, stars of self-obsession,
and he said that ladies thought of nothing but themselves.
And yet he took them on, but not just anyone:
he cared for widows, mothers without men
and children without parents,
instituting even for their care an orphanage
and even caring for the widow of his teacher,
Master Zachow back in Germany.
Widows was his dominant speciality,
he felt at ease with them,
and they were not pretentious,
their relationships were without obligation tensions;
so he was quite happy all his life
with working hard as a paragon workoholic bachelor,
since music, singing above all,
was more than satisfactory
and filling all his life with love
of harmony and melody and beauty.

 

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gerry

Many would think that GFH put all his emotion into his music. Emotion and kindness – two excellent qualities…
gerry.

kipper

Hello again Aurelio. Another interesting insight to one of the musical greats. One of my fondest memory’s during a long life in which music has played an important part, was my last attendance at a production of ‘Messiah’. The M.C. On that occasion let it be known that when it came to the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ the audience would not be required to stand. I am happy to report that, almost as though some Chinese whispering had been spreading the word, when the time came the whole congregation rose to their feet as one. I wonder when you get round to… Read more »