One of my favorite things about homeschooling is being able to incorporate the fine arts into our school. I teach piano (including my own kids) and my kids also study other instruments (violin, cello, harp, guitar, flute and bagpipes) with their individual private teachers, so music is a huge part of our daily life.
Studying specific composers more in-depth and listening to their music during our school and throughout the day has greatly enriched our musical studies. It has inspired my kiddos in their own music.
Every Christmas I love to teach my kids (and my piano students) about George Frideric Handel and his Oratorio, Messiah. The Messiah is one of the most glorious pieces of music ever written, and a true fixture of the Christmas season.
I’ve created this Unit Study, with over 14 pages of notebooking, copywork, music appreciation activities and writing prompts over the years and wanted to share it with my homeschooling readers so you can use it, too.
A few of the activities are only included in the free, printable pdf. You can download the lesson plan in PDF form (free!) at the bottom of this post.
George Friedric Handel, Germany, 1685-1759
Biography:
Georg Friedrich Händel was born in 1865, in Halle, Germany. But since he spent most of his professional life in England, he’s better known as George Frederick Handel.
As a child, Handel was very interested in music, but his father, a barber-surgeon was not. There’s a rumor that Handel smuggled a clavichord into the house so that he could practice in secret. Handel’s father insisted that his son become a lawyer, until the day that Handel sat down at the keyboard and dazzled a duke. The duke convinced Handel’s father to let his son study music.
Handel produced his first opera at the age of 20. Many called Handel both a great composer and also a ‘dramatic genius of the first order’.
During the summer of 1717, Handel premiered one of his greatest works, Water Music,in a concert on the River Thames. The concert was performed by 50 musicians playing from a barge positioned closely to the royal barge from which the King listened. It was said that King George I enjoyed it so much that he requested the musicians to play the suite three times during the trip!
In April of 1737, Handel suffered a stroke which paralyzed his right arm and left him unable to perform or conduct music. He also complained of blurred vision. At the same time, he lost a fortune in the opera business and fell into debt.
Shortly after these trials, Handel came across a libretto composed by Charles Jennens, which was comprised of scriptures from the Old Testament. Handel was deeply affected and inspired by the libretto and felt compelled to compose an oratorio based on it.
During the summer of 1741, Handel worked tirelessly to compose the Messiah. He completed the entire 259-page score in just 24 days! His servants were not allowed to enter the room where Handel was working, so they would leave his meals on trays outside the door. Later, they would remove the trays, untouched. It’s said that Handel did not leave his work for days at a time.
At one point, when Handel was working on the Hallelujah Chorus, his concerned assistant opened the door and found Handel in tears, exclaiming, “I did think I saw heaven open, and saw the very face of God!” When he completed the Messiah, Handel signed it S.D.G. which stands for Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone the glory).
The Messiah was first performed in Dublin, during the Easter season in 1742. The premiere was anticipated to be so crowded that female patrons were advised to leave their hoop skirts at home. It was then performed in London to multiple sold-out crowds.
The Messiah has become a Christmas tradition throughout most of the world, with just the first two parts of the Oratorio performed, followed by the Hallelujah chorus, during which the entire audience stands.
Following the first London performance of Messiah, a patron congratulated Handel on the “excellent entertainment.” “My lord, I should be sorry if I only entertained them, “ Handel humbly replied. “I wish to make them better.”
On April 6, 1759, Handel conducted his last performance of the Messiah and returned home in poor health. He died on April 14, 1759 and was buried in Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey in London, England. More than 3000 people attended his funeral.
Educational Activities:
Literature:
- George Frideric Handel, Composer of Messiah (Sowers) by Charles Ludwig. A child prodigy and musical genius, he was inspired by God to write “The Messiah.”
- George Handel(Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers) by Mike Venezia. This is an easy-to-read biography of George Frideric Handel.
- Handel at the Court of Kings by Opal Wheeler and Mary Greenwalt. This biography will capture the imagination of your children, beginning with the composer’s own childhood and awakening love of music. The illustrations, black-and-white, are lively and engaging. Music for many of his compositions is included if you have a budding pianist in the house.
Copywork: available in the free download
Writing Prompts: available in the free download
Geography: Printable maps included in the free download.
History:
Activity Sheets for the Messiah: available in the free download
Music Appreciation:
- Listen to Handel’s Water Music.
- Listen to Handel’s Messiah. (you could just listen to the hallelujah chorus if 2 hours feels too long for your kiddos)
- Listen to Baroque music samples and talk about Baroque musical style.
- Attend a Messiah sing along in your community.
- Harpsichord, Clavichord, Organ, Piano.
- Learn the difference between operas, oratorios, anthems, librettos and concertos.
- Opera is a form of theater where music takes a leading role and the parts are played by singers.
- Oratorios are like operas, but they do not use acting, costumes or scenery. They are performed with everyone on stage, including the orchestra, and the soloists stand out in front. Oratorios are usually based on bible stories, but aren’t suitable for church like a cantata would be, because they are over 2 hours long. Handel’s oratorios included Judas Maccabeus, Israel in Egypt, and Saul.
- An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, such as the anthem of a nation.
- A libretto consists of the lyrics of a composition, but it lacks the music.
- A concerto is a piece of music written for a solo instrument with an orchestra.
- Simplified versions of Handel’s Water Music and the Messiah are included in the free download.
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Hi, I cannot seem to find the unit study after entering my details. Please help
Hi there, I downloaded this unit but I’m not sure how to access it.
My download came in an email, but I have to check my junk folder as that is where it ended up.