Christopher Hogwood takes us back to the original Handel, blending the evidence from documents of all kinds -- letters, bills, invitations, press reports, cast lists -- with his judicious biographical observations and with an informative and diverting array of illustrations. The result is a comprehensive and entertaining portrait of the developing character and career of Handel from his early years in Halle and Hamburg, through his apprenticeship in Italy, to the heyday of opera and oratorio in London. The important final chapter 'Handel and Posterity' traces the progress of the Handel legend down to our own time. A chronological table completes a book which is worthy in every respect to mark the tercentenary of the composer's birth. -- From publisher's description.
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