George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) - photo 1
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) - photo 2
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) - photo 3
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) - photo 4

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

Lot 80
08.11.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 9 450
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1053194
Lot 80 | George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Estimate value
£ 8 000 – 12 000
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Manuscript of the choruses from the oratorio Messiah, HWV 56, with the libretto in German translation, n.d. [18th century, after 1772]
Handel’s Messiah in an apparently unrecorded German translation; a manuscript presumably prepared for one of the early performances of the oratorio in Germany in the final decades of the 18th century.

Choruses and four movements for soloists notated in full score in dark brown ink on two to three systems of four to ten staves per page. 276 pages, 355 x 225mm, thick paper hand-ruled with 16-19 staves per page, occasionally sloppily ruled, no watermark visible, titled on p.1 (‘Overtüre […] di Händel’), movements marked in Italian, libretto in German throughout in an 18th-century hand, the final seven pages comprising an appendix containing two movements mistakenly omitted during the writing of the manuscript. Contemporary German binding, marbled paper over boards.

Provenance:
(1) Bernard Quaritch; purchased June 2011.

(2) Schøyen Collection, MS 5498.

Michael Arne, son of the composer and Handel contemporary Thomas Augustine Arne, introduced parts of Messiah – with English text – to Germany at a private concert in Hamburg on 15 April 1772. Afterwards it was sung in German in Hamburg, with the Klopstock-Ebeling translation, conducted by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in 1775, and at Mannheim under Vogler in 1777. Goethe and Herde discussed and wrote extensively about the oratorio – Herder went so far as to provide his own translation of the libretto into German, which was used in Weimar under Kapellmeister Wilhelm Wolf in 1780 and 1781. Most 18th-century German performances of the Messiah comprised heavily edited versions, either simplified to a selection of arias and choruses or ambitiously re-orchestrated to suit contemporary tastes with added instrumentation. Our manuscript – with the libretto in an 18th-century hand – should be considered in the context of this tradition: the score omits most of the arias and recitatives, apart from two arias (‘He shall feed his flock’/‘Es wird seine Herde weiden’ and ‘Why do the nations rage’/‘Warum toben die Heiden’), one recitative (‘All they that see him’/‘Und die Ihn sehen’) and one duet (‘Oh death!’/‘O Tod’). One of the choruses (‘Lift up your heads’/‘Hoch thut euch auf’) is recorded here in a cut-down form.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
02.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
03.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
04.11.2023 12:00 – 17:00
05.11.2023 12:00 – 17:00
06.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
07.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

Händel,G.F.
Händel,G.F.
€360
Händel , G, F,
Händel , G, F,
€75
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and others
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and others
£100
Händel,G.F.
Händel,G.F.
€80
Händel,G.F.
Händel,G.F.
€240
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
£20 000

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>