Water Music

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Lore & Background

The first performance of the Water Music is recorded in The Daily Courant, the first British daily newspaper. At about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 17 July 1717, King George I and several aristocrats boarded a royal barge at Whitehall Palace, for an excursion up the Thames toward Chelsea. The rising tide propelled the barge upstream without rowing. Another barge, provided by the City of London, transported about 50 musicians who performed Handel's music. Many other Londoners also took to the river to hear the concert. According to The Courant, 'the whole River in a manner was covered' with boats and barges. On arriving at Chelsea, the king left his barge, then returned to it at about 11 p.m. for the return trip. The king was so pleased with Water Music that he ordered it to be repeated at least three times, both on the trip upstream to Chelsea and on the return, until he landed again at Whitehall. Handel's orchestra is believed to have performed from about 8 p.m. until well after midnight, with only one break while the king went ashore at Chelsea.

Reader's Guide

The Water Music opens with a French overture and includes minuets, bourrées, and hornpipes. It is divided into three suites: Suite in F major (HWV 348) with nine movements, Suite in D major (HWV 349) with five movements, and Suite in G major (HWV 350) with four movements. There is evidence for the different arrangement found in Chrysander's Gesellschaft edition of Handel's works (in volume 47, published in 1886), where the movements from the 'suites' in D and G were mingled and published as one work with HWV 348. This sequence derives from Samuel Arnold's first edition of the complete score in 1788 and the manuscript copies dating from Handel's lifetime. Chrysander's edition also contains an earlier version of the first two movements of HWV 349 in the key of F major composed in 1715 (originally scored for two natural horns, two oboes, bassoon, strings, and continuo), where in addition to the horn fanfares and orchestral responses, the original version contained an elaborate concerto-like first violin part. The music in each of the suites has no set order today. In 1920 Hamilton Harty made an arrangement of some of the movements for the modern orchestra. Such re-orchestrations were normal at the time. According to the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham: 'The original Handelian orchestra was composed of a handful of strings and about a dozen reed wind instruments, mainly oboes and bassoons, with an occasional reinforcement of horns, trumpets, and drums, restricted by necessity to the somewhat monotonous repetition of tonic and dominant. This makes hard going for any audience asked to listen to it with the opulent sound of a latter-day orchestra well in its ears.' There are many recordings. The Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749), composed 32 years later for another outdoor performance (this time, for George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London's Green Park, on 27 April 1749), has often been paired with the Water Music on recordings. Hamilton Harty's re-orchestration was used in some earlier recordings of the Water Music. In 1956 the conductor Charles Mackerras recorded this version, but he later changed his approach to Handel turning to the composer's original orchestration (his 1959 recording of the Music for the Royal Fireworks being seen as something of a watershed). There is a chamber version of the score known as the Oxford Water Music. The title comes from the location of the manuscript rather than the assumed place of performance: the arrangement was possibly intended by Handel for performance at Cannons by the band of his patron the Duke of Chandos. It has been recorded on the Avie label.

Did You Know?

• The first performance of the Water Music is recorded in The Daily Courant, the first British daily newspaper.
• The rising tide propelled the king's barge upstream without rowing on 17 July 1717.
• The king ordered the music to be repeated at least three times during the trip.
• Chrysander's 1886 edition mingled movements from the D and G suites into one work with HWV 348.
• A chamber version called the Oxford Water Music exists, possibly intended for performance at Cannons by the Duke of Chandos's band.

The Royal Thames Premiere

The first performance of the Water Music is recorded in The Daily Courant, the first British daily newspaper. At about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 17 July 1717, King George I and several aristocrats boarded a royal barge at Whitehall Palace, for an excursion up the Thames toward Chelsea. The rising tide propelled the barge upstream without rowing. Another barge, provided by the City of London, transported about 50 musicians who performed Handel's music. Many other Londoners also took to the river to hear the concert. According to The Courant, 'the whole River in a manner was covered' with boats and barges. On arriving at Chelsea, the king left his barge, then returned to it at about 11 p.m. for the return trip. The king was so pleased with Water Music that he ordered it to be repeated at least three times, both on the trip upstream to Chelsea and on the return, until he landed again at Whitehall. Handel's orchestra is believed to have performed from about 8 p.m. until well after midnight, with only one break while the king went ashore at Chelsea.

Structure and Musical Architecture

The Water Music opens with a French overture and includes minuets, bourrées, and hornpipes. It is divided into three suites: Suite in F major (HWV 348) with nine movements, Suite in D major (HWV 349) with five movements, and Suite in G major (HWV 350) with four movements. There is evidence for the different arrangement found in Chrysander's Gesellschaft edition of Handel's works (in volume 47, published in 1886), where the movements from the 'suites' in D and G were mingled and published as one work with HWV 348. This sequence derives from Samuel Arnold's first edition of the complete score in 1788 and the manuscript copies dating from Handel's lifetime. Chrysander's edition also contains an earlier version of the first two movements of HWV 349 in the key of F major composed in 1715 (originally scored for two natural horns, two oboes, bassoon, strings, and continuo), where in addition to the horn fanfares and orchestral responses, the original version contained an elaborate concerto-like first violin part. The music in each of the suites has no set order today.

Orchestration and the Question of Authentic Sound

In 1920 Hamilton Harty made an arrangement of some of the movements for the modern orchestra. Such re-orchestrations were normal at the time. According to the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham: 'The original Handelian orchestra was composed of a handful of strings and about a dozen reed wind instruments, mainly oboes and bassoons, with an occasional reinforcement of horns, trumpets, and drums, restricted by necessity to the somewhat monotonous repetition of tonic and dominant. This makes hard going for any audience asked to listen to it with the opulent sound of a latter-day orchestra well in its ears.' Hamilton Harty's re-orchestration was used in some earlier recordings of the Water Music. In 1956 the conductor Charles Mackerras recorded this version, but he later changed his approach to Handel turning to the composer's original orchestration (his 1959 recording of the Music for the Royal Fireworks being seen as something of a watershed).

Legacy, Recordings, and the Oxford Water Music

There are many recordings. The Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749), composed 32 years later for another outdoor performance (this time, for George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London's Green Park, on 27 April 1749), has often been paired with the Water Music on recordings. There is a chamber version of the score known as the Oxford Water Music. The title comes from the location of the manuscript rather than the assumed place of performance: the arrangement was possibly intended by Handel for performance at Cannons by the band of his patron the Duke of Chandos. It has been recorded on the Avie label.