116: Music for the Royal Fireworks

 In 1749, George II was the second king to commission George Frederick Handel to write him something grand and pompous for an outdoor celebration. The first had been his father, George I, who asked Handel to write music for a concert that would take place on barges floating down the Thames. That concert took place about 30 years prior, and the anniversary of that concert is in mid-July, so the article about Water Music will come out then. This second collection, then, the Music for the Royal Fireworks, is often seen as Water Music’s twin, since both were written by Handel commissioned by British monarchs for outdoor, celebratory performances.

Water Music was written for no particular reason—not a birthday, not an anniversary, not the birth of an heir or a royal wedding. The King simply wanted a concert on a barge floating down the river, and what the King wants, the King gets. George II, meanwhile, had a more obvious purpose behind his commission: to commemorate the signing of a treaty to end the War of Austrian Succession, which involved most of Europe’s big powers. It certainly wasn’t a decisive victory for the UK, but the King wanted something to commemorate the signing of the treaty of Aachen, and so we got this collection. 


The most famous movement, I would say, is the Rejoissance (“Rejoicing” in French). Here are some recordings:

1. In Barcelona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5jgSVw3nms&list=RDp5jgSVw3nms&start_radio=1

2. The whole set, at the BBC Proms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNqJ8mED1VE&list=RDfNqJ8mED1VE&start_radio=1

3. With a Corno da Caccia (the same instrument that is featured in the “Quonian” in the Mass in B minor): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syuM9BL3Zo8&list=RDsyuM9BL3Zo8&start_radio=1

4. The whole set conducted by Jordi Savall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJUSn0OiMSQ&list=RDUJUSn0OiMSQ&start_radio=1 

5. For organ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZRQF_eu3VU&list=RDvZRQF_eu3VU&start_radio=1 


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