Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks
by An interesting history of the premiere of a hallmark piece of Baroque music.
In 1749, King George II of Great Britain wanted a celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. This document had been agreed upon in the previous October and brought an end to the War of the Austrian Succession. This was a greatly politicized event, surrounding an unpopular monarch. However, the public saw right through it and looked forward to the event anyway. The celebration was to include a tremendous fireworks display set off from a custom-built “Temple” which were to be accompanied by a new work from George Frideric Handel. Despite the anticipation, the party was doomed to fail from the start.
As per the “request” from the king, Handel was to compose the music in a “martial” style, using only winds and timpani. The king wanted this military sound, but Handel was reluctant, desiring to include strings in the composition. Recognizing his responsibilities to his patron, Handel gave in and composed the work for an arrangement of wind instruments and timpani. However, the king had yet another request; he wanted Handel to have a public rehearsal of the new work six days prior to the official celebration. Again, Handel reluctantly gave in to the King’s desires and held the rehearsal in London’s Vauxhall Gardens. Just for this rehearsal, 12,000 people were in attendance, causing unbelievable carriage traffic in London. Three deaths were reported from the mass confusion.
Now the stage was set, literally, for the main event in Green Park. The band was ready, the fireworks were in place, and the “Temple” was erected and appropriately decorated. The show started and everything seemed to be going as planned, that is, until about halfway through when the sizeable bas relief of the king fell over and started a chain reaction of pyrotechnic explosions. The wooden “Temple” inevitably caught fire and prematurely ended the celebration, preventing the music from being performed in its entirety at the official premiere. However, I doubt that was the primary concern at the time.
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