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- Apr 25, 2006
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Thinking of quitting? Don't!
'... Be steadfast ...' 1 Corinthians 15:58
Heard of Handel? These days his music is what your Gran rocks out to on Classic FM but in his day he was like a famous DJ or rock god!
Handel was a musical genius. At 21, he was a musician at the very top of his game.
When he turned to composing, he gained immediate fame and soon was appointed Kapellmeister (in English that means the dude in charge of the tunes) to the guy who would become King George I.
By the time he was forty, he was world-famous. But despite his talent and fame he faced considerable difficulties. Rivalry with other composers was fierce. Audiences were fickle; sometimes they didn't turn out for his performances.
Several times he found himself on the verge of bankruptcy. He suffered a stroke which left his right arm limp and damaged the use of four fingers on his right hand. Although he recovered, it left him battling depression. Finally, at fifty-six, Handel decided it was time to retire.
Discouraged, miserable and consumed with debt, he gave what he considered his last ever concert. Filled with self-pity, he quit.
But later that year, something incredible happened. A friend gave Handel a play to read based on the life of Christ. Immediately the floodgates of inspiration opened. For three weeks Handel wrote almost non-stop. In twenty-four days he had completed the 260-page manuscript of his most famous work: The Messiah. Don't give up!
written by Bob Gass
'... Be steadfast ...' 1 Corinthians 15:58
Heard of Handel? These days his music is what your Gran rocks out to on Classic FM but in his day he was like a famous DJ or rock god!
Handel was a musical genius. At 21, he was a musician at the very top of his game.
When he turned to composing, he gained immediate fame and soon was appointed Kapellmeister (in English that means the dude in charge of the tunes) to the guy who would become King George I.
By the time he was forty, he was world-famous. But despite his talent and fame he faced considerable difficulties. Rivalry with other composers was fierce. Audiences were fickle; sometimes they didn't turn out for his performances.
Several times he found himself on the verge of bankruptcy. He suffered a stroke which left his right arm limp and damaged the use of four fingers on his right hand. Although he recovered, it left him battling depression. Finally, at fifty-six, Handel decided it was time to retire.
Discouraged, miserable and consumed with debt, he gave what he considered his last ever concert. Filled with self-pity, he quit.
But later that year, something incredible happened. A friend gave Handel a play to read based on the life of Christ. Immediately the floodgates of inspiration opened. For three weeks Handel wrote almost non-stop. In twenty-four days he had completed the 260-page manuscript of his most famous work: The Messiah. Don't give up!
written by Bob Gass
