Quiz: Handel

1. Question

Handel’s father forbade the study of music because…

He was afraid his son would shame the family's musical honor.
He believed music, like all arts, was a waste of time for practical people.
He would get fined by the town mayor for promoting music.
He did not want his son to fail as he had.

2. Question

Handel often composed by illustrating a dramatic mental picture with music so that audience members…

Learned a historical lesson.
Shared in the emotion.
Appreciated his genius.
Understood the story.

3. Question

Handel famously exclaimed, “I did think I did see Heaven opened and the great God himself” after the chorus of which of his compositions?

Messiah
Rinaldo
Saul
Israel in Egypt

4. Question

In Saul, there is a massive chorus in which the Jewish people praise God for David’s victory over Goliath. Which three (3) instruments does Handel add to his usual orchestra to convey a scene of national rejoicing?

Drums
Violin
Harpsichord
Trombone
Trumpets

5. Question

What is the strength of an oratorio over an opera?

Actions: Oratorios can picture actions better than operas can
Characters: Characters are better conveyed in oratorios than in operas
Popularity: The general public of the time preferred oratorios to operas
Ideas: Oratorios express underlying thoughts more thoroughly than operas

6. Question

Which two (2) of the following are given as reasons that Handel’s Messiah is universally regarded as his best work?

Dramatic description of events
Perfect use of the oratorio form
Theatric lyricism
Great subject matter

7. Question

Listen to the following selection which demonstrates a characteristic particular to the oratorio form. Which is it?

Mourn, Israel, mourn thy beauty lost,
Thy choicest youth on Gilboa slain!
How have thy fairest hopes been cross’d!
What heaps of mighty warriors strew the plain!

The selection is a musical comment upon a dramatic subject, rather than representing the action via music.
There are diverse instruments.
The text draws from a biblical narrative.
Emotions are evoked by certain effects in the music.

8. Question

Select all of the following that are true about Handel’s operas.

Handel wrote a few operas on a handful of stories.
Handel gave his singers opportunities to display the good qualities of their voices.
Handel’s operas in the Italian style eventually grew less and less popular in England.
Handel didn’t put much work into his operas in England.

9. Question

(True or False) One of Handel’s biographers refer to Messiah as one of the greatest feats in the history of musical compositions

True
False

10. Question

What is an overture?

A chorus at the end of an opera or oratorio
An instrumental piece that opens a larger work
A summary of the composer’s best works
The last piece of a symphony

11. Question

(True or False) Operas are the direct representation of a drama in music, while oratorios are musical commentaries on a dramatic subject.

True
False

12. Question

In which of Handel’s oratorios did he abandon the operatic manner of writing altogether?

Solomon
Jephthah
Saul
Messiah

13. Question

(True or False) Handel devoted most of his time to, and specialized in, instrumental music.

True
False

14. Question

Which of the following did Handel compose for more than two instruments? (Select one or all that apply)

Harpsichord suites
Violin Sonatas
Oboe Concertos
Water Music

15. Question

(True or False) Handel’s Concerti Grossi are similar to Corelli’s Concerti Grossi, but they are not as free or fine in their musical ideas and in their treatment of those ideas.

True
False

The Story of Great Music