Composer of the Week: Handel

Donald Macleod explores Handel's relationships with the powerful figures who shaped his caree. In Italy, the young composer made his name among aristocratic and ecclesiastical patrons, navigating a world of salons, academies and private performances. Rome offered opportunity despite restrictions on opera, while figures such as Cardinal Ottoboni and the Marchese Ruspoli provided both platforms and protection. Handel's independence, however, remained striking, and even while relying on patronage, he avoided being tied too closely to any single employer. Handel: Dixit Dominus. The Sixteen, Harry Christophers (conductor). Tu fedel? Tu costante?: Recitative and aria. Carlotta Colombo (soprano), Fantazyas. Rodrigo - Overture, recitative and aria. Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis (conductor). Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno - Overture. Le Concert d'Astrée, Emmanuelle Haïm (conductor). Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno - Pure del cielo. Sabine Devieilhe (soprano), Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon (conductor). La Resurrezione - excerpts. Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski (conductor).