Happy birthday, George Frideric Handel! I concede it’s a little unorthodox to celebrate Handel’s genius by way of one of Sir Thomas Beecham’s arrangements of selections from his operas into a work he would have scarcely recognized, but at least it isn’t the “Water Music.”
Does anyone else think Sir Thomas would have made a terrific Colonel Sanders?
I like this even better. I’ve got it on CD. Beecham really conducts the hell out of the battle music.
If anything, once we’ve all damaged our retinas trying to view today’s solar eclipse, we’ll have developed a heightened appreciation for our remaining, unimpaired sense of hearing. Bask in the warm afterglow of today’s syzygy by joining me on The Classical Network for a playlist curated from a wide repertoire of works inspired by the sun, the moon, and the heavens.
Highlights will include “Hymn to the Sun” from Pietro Mascagni’s opera “Iris,” ballet music from Jacques Offenbach’s operetta “Voyage to the Moon,” Kenneth Fuchs’ horn concerto, “Canticle to the Sun,” reflective of St. Francis of Assisi’s appreciation of Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and George Frideric Handel’s “Total Eclipse” from the oratorio “Samson.” There will also be musical responses to the mythological figures of Apollo (the sun god), Helios (the personification of the sun), and Phaeton (Helios’ son, ill-equipped to handle his father’s blazing chariot).
Make us the bright spot of your day, as we celebrate the eclipse, from 4 to 7 pm EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Well, I’ve got egg on my face. How could I, who own practically two shelves full of his operas and oratorios, do a five hour radio show and not salute George Frideric Handel on his birthday? The sad fact of the matter is that my head is full of arcane composer birthdays, but Handel’s is not one of them. So I apologize, Georg. It’s not quite belated yet, but too late to give you the kind of gift you deserve.
I hope this overlaid saxophone quartet (with cute dogs) makes things better.
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