1 00:00:07,374 --> 00:00:12,311 a comedy historical and tragic 2 00:00:12,412 --> 00:00:14,243 OR 3 00:00:14,381 --> 00:00:18,681 a tragedy comic and historical 4 00:00:18,852 --> 00:00:21,184 OR 5 00:00:21,354 --> 00:00:25,723 Whatever you want... 6 00:00:25,859 --> 00:00:27,884 for the true story of 7 00:00:27,994 --> 00:00:30,554 Mr. G.F. HAENDEL... 8 00:00:30,730 --> 00:00:34,826 ...or almost. 9 00:00:55,555 --> 00:00:58,115 And titled... 10 00:00:58,391 --> 00:01:00,256 AT 11 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,487 DlABLE 12 00:01:02,595 --> 00:01:04,620 TUNBRIDGE 13 00:01:04,764 --> 00:01:06,527 WELLS! 14 00:01:22,582 --> 00:01:26,382 That evening, that evening in particular, 15 00:01:26,519 --> 00:01:30,319 I was at a performance of Messiah, 16 00:01:36,096 --> 00:01:40,624 of my Messiah, if I may call him that, 17 00:01:40,767 --> 00:01:43,429 and I think I can, 18 00:01:43,536 --> 00:01:50,408 representation given by the Club of amateur music from Tunbridge Wells, 19 00:02:09,629 --> 00:02:12,291 An event and a gathering 20 00:02:12,432 --> 00:02:18,029 of such overwhelming banality,,, 21 00:02:18,138 --> 00:02:24,771 I could have feigned imminent death, if she hadn't already been so close, 22 00:02:24,911 --> 00:02:29,177 So overwhelming, therefore, that the illusion would have been superfluous, 23 00:02:43,696 --> 00:02:46,790 Mediocrity is a great comfort, 24 00:02:46,900 --> 00:02:52,964 so why would it be mine to deprive them of their luxury? 25 00:02:53,540 --> 00:02:59,638 Nothing will disabuse them, them or their peers, 26 00:03:00,079 --> 00:03:03,446 of their absurd negligence, 27 00:03:30,777 --> 00:03:36,943 Rage! A word that I returned to the English, so that they may study it, 28 00:03:47,527 --> 00:03:51,588 To hell with Tunbridge Wells! 29 00:03:54,467 --> 00:03:58,198 Its waters and its cursed squeaky fiddlers 30 00:03:59,472 --> 00:04:02,737 have never brought me anything but misfortune. 31 00:04:08,114 --> 00:04:11,481 My principle has always been, 32 00:04:12,118 --> 00:04:16,521 even when I was a little boy at the court of Weissenfels, 33 00:04:16,623 --> 00:04:20,923 to never fart deliberately in front of the ladies. 34 00:04:22,562 --> 00:04:25,190 From now on, I can only offend myself. 35 00:04:25,331 --> 00:04:30,997 I'm going to go to bed right now, 36 00:04:32,405 --> 00:04:36,205 in this deserted bed and undeniably filthy, 37 00:04:37,243 --> 00:04:40,007 yes, that's for sure. 38 00:04:41,681 --> 00:04:47,984 I had no intention to go and collapse there so quickly, 39 00:04:48,121 --> 00:04:53,081 but the events, of such absurdity, 40 00:04:53,192 --> 00:04:56,593 caused the loss of my good mood. 41 00:04:56,696 --> 00:05:02,657 However, many will tell you, lasted most of my life. 42 00:05:04,437 --> 00:05:08,464 The wig? Pier. 43 00:05:09,742 --> 00:05:12,905 These old curls are no longer in fashion for a long time. 44 00:05:13,012 --> 00:05:17,949 The young people only wear braids, 45 00:05:18,051 --> 00:05:21,680 and I cannot claim these attributes. 46 00:05:22,955 --> 00:05:29,190 This bed is a rich dump, and who else would climb in today? 47 00:05:29,295 --> 00:05:33,061 Before, it was different. Yes. 48 00:05:33,966 --> 00:05:39,529 The most beautiful. I remember it. Sleep. 49 00:05:41,507 --> 00:05:45,910 Sleeping in my filthy bed. 50 00:05:47,046 --> 00:05:51,710 No more angels now, if not in my head... But so be it. 51 00:05:53,152 --> 00:05:55,086 And that's a good thing. 52 00:05:56,589 --> 00:06:00,252 I couldn't ask for anything worse. 53 00:06:00,393 --> 00:06:05,660 Oh, harmony. Heavenly harmony. 54 00:06:06,499 --> 00:06:12,301 "If God is with us, Who can be against us?” 55 00:06:22,048 --> 00:06:26,985 I don't think I was truly venal, 56 00:06:27,086 --> 00:06:33,184 I could have been, yes, and I had a pagan spirit, 57 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:40,063 But I always knew that religion was more sincere than politics, 58 00:06:40,166 --> 00:06:43,226 More true, too, 59 00:06:43,336 --> 00:06:49,104 “He knew that God would deliver him,” 60 00:06:56,182 --> 00:06:59,208 Dear Weissenfels, 61 00:06:59,452 --> 00:07:05,516 The Duke, His palace, His lackeys, 62 00:07:06,225 --> 00:07:11,527 His priests, My father, court surgeon, 63 00:07:14,767 --> 00:07:19,500 Luck was with me, I never hid it, 64 00:07:28,314 --> 00:07:30,680 Even my friends said it, 65 00:07:30,817 --> 00:07:34,981 and who could blame them their benevolent honesty? 66 00:08:11,757 --> 00:08:17,593 The Daim, that's the nickname that they gave me, At the time, already, 67 00:08:18,998 --> 00:08:22,331 The charming Little Deer, 68 00:08:22,435 --> 00:08:26,201 The charm is little present now, my brave friends, 69 00:08:26,339 --> 00:08:29,740 without wig and without eyes, 70 00:08:32,311 --> 00:08:35,576 And we will be changed, 71 00:08:35,681 --> 00:08:39,117 And we have been changed, haven't we? 72 00:08:52,365 --> 00:08:58,429 The duke, his servants, everyone loved the Little Deer so much, 73 00:08:58,571 --> 00:09:04,806 that they made sure,,, That they did everything so that I play on the organ of Halle, 74 00:09:50,022 --> 00:09:55,961 Halle! This is a place from which I had to withdraw, 75 00:09:56,062 --> 00:10:00,260 Not because of the noise, nor the priests, nor the duke, 76 00:10:00,399 --> 00:10:04,165 but where could Halle be? 77 00:10:04,270 --> 00:10:06,670 This, my friends, is the problem, 78 00:10:15,381 --> 00:10:19,283 Halle-sur-mer? Bognor Hall? 79 00:10:19,385 --> 00:10:21,785 Halle-under-Wychwood? 80 00:10:26,926 --> 00:10:31,920 Born in Halle, February 23, 1685, 81 00:10:32,765 --> 00:10:35,757 Died in Halle a few years later, 82 00:10:38,938 --> 00:10:43,841 Became a notable of Halle, 83 00:10:43,943 --> 00:10:47,310 Wrote Trio Sonatas in Halle, 84 00:10:48,347 --> 00:10:54,513 Traveled a lot, to Dresden, about 30 km away, 85 00:10:54,620 --> 00:10:58,420 to return to Halle, 86 00:11:01,427 --> 00:11:06,797 Which is extraordinary, my father was already in his sixties, 87 00:11:06,899 --> 00:11:12,895 when he fathered me, which proves that I was a damn miracle from the start, 88 00:11:14,707 --> 00:11:19,644 We all turned towards one's own practice, 89 00:11:19,745 --> 00:11:23,681 I never forgot Halle or Germany, 90 00:11:24,650 --> 00:11:27,619 But being English suited me better, quite simply, 91 00:11:27,753 --> 00:11:31,587 It suited me perfectly, 92 00:11:31,691 --> 00:11:34,455 My clavichord still exists, I was told, 93 00:11:34,593 --> 00:11:38,085 certainly to be preserved in a museum, 94 00:11:39,198 --> 00:11:42,395 Should I be embalmed, too? 95 00:11:49,375 --> 00:11:52,435 My principle has always been, 96 00:11:52,545 --> 00:11:57,005 even when I was young and I lived in Lübeck, 97 00:11:57,149 --> 00:12:04,021 never deliberately be exploited by young girls, 98 00:12:05,424 --> 00:12:09,383 I was a young man who, so to speak, made his way, 99 00:12:09,495 --> 00:12:16,424 In Hamburg, Italian opera infiltrated, while snoring, our sensitivities, 100 00:12:16,535 --> 00:12:21,529 But it was in Lübeck that I discovered life, 101 00:15:05,671 --> 00:15:10,335 “See you in the desert without delay!” I was devastated, 102 00:15:11,610 --> 00:15:16,445 Bloodied in my youth, The Deer is bloody! 103 00:15:21,553 --> 00:15:26,354 The Deer is bloody! The Suede! 104 00:15:27,526 --> 00:15:31,053 The Suede! 105 00:15:31,897 --> 00:15:35,526 Now it seems let them call me the Old Deer. 106 00:15:36,735 --> 00:15:41,399 "The voice that cries in the desert, clear the way!” 107 00:15:41,507 --> 00:15:46,069 Fortunately, overwhelmed by the torture of gout, 108 00:15:46,211 --> 00:15:49,374 a disease that no one dares to smile about. 109 00:15:49,481 --> 00:15:55,442 The Old Deer, ulcerated, feverish, paralyzed twice, 110 00:15:55,554 --> 00:16:01,151 only partially, blind for ten years, 111 00:16:01,293 --> 00:16:03,022 that is to say not seeing. 112 00:16:03,162 --> 00:16:08,099 Although I doubt it, none of this appeals more attention than my overweight, 113 00:16:08,667 --> 00:16:13,229 because we say that I have a large and ungrateful constitution. 114 00:16:13,973 --> 00:16:18,376 The worms destroy this body. 115 00:16:18,477 --> 00:16:21,878 Impetuous, harsh, peremptory. 116 00:16:21,981 --> 00:16:25,109 Have I been all that? 117 00:16:26,185 --> 00:16:29,848 Yes, even now. 118 00:16:35,027 --> 00:16:41,762 Buxtehude was the organist in Lübeck, 119 00:16:42,501 --> 00:16:47,768 Famous, big, and famous for its size, 120 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:54,078 Retirement concerns the majority, and Buxtehude wanted to retire, 121 00:16:58,584 --> 00:17:04,750 This scoundrel from Leipzig, this Bach with a thousand preludes, 122 00:17:04,857 --> 00:17:07,587 He and his hundred children, playing with its harmony 123 00:17:07,726 --> 00:17:09,660 without ever thinking of the melodies of God, 124 00:17:09,795 --> 00:17:14,528 I had heard that Bach, Johann Sebastian, was going to propose 125 00:17:14,633 --> 00:17:20,037 to relieve the aging Buxtehude of his need to praise God on the organ, 126 00:17:20,139 --> 00:17:23,939 with mechanical rhythm of a damn merchant's clock, 127 00:17:24,076 --> 00:17:28,069 So with a friend, I laid my hands on the said Buxtehude, 128 00:17:28,180 --> 00:17:31,638 offering my services, prostrating my talent, 129 00:17:31,750 --> 00:17:35,777 and flattening myself to the ground, 130 00:17:35,921 --> 00:17:39,084 "Perfectly", said the great Buxtehude, truffant 131 00:17:39,191 --> 00:17:42,388 the choir stalls of his words, “Perfectly,” 132 00:17:43,028 --> 00:17:44,586 And the organ with many pipes 133 00:17:44,696 --> 00:17:47,164 accompanies of another divine reward, 134 00:17:47,266 --> 00:17:52,226 The organ, the big girl in the shape of a Buxtehude barrel, 135 00:17:52,337 --> 00:17:54,828 If you take one, you take the other! 136 00:18:04,750 --> 00:18:08,311 With an almighty fart, or something else of the sort, 137 00:18:08,420 --> 00:18:12,823 I was going to throw myself into hell strawberry color of terrible agitation, 138 00:18:12,958 --> 00:18:19,830 or something like that, but ultimately, I had neither the desire nor the energy, 139 00:18:19,932 --> 00:18:24,926 and I graciously withdrew towards the place from which I came, 140 00:18:28,607 --> 00:18:33,237 Break my bonds into pieces, Mr. Buxtehude! 141 00:18:33,545 --> 00:18:37,140 Lübeck. Germany. 142 00:18:37,249 --> 00:18:40,343 And now? Blind, in Brook Street. 143 00:18:41,687 --> 00:18:48,149 Even Dr. Sharp, the great surgeon of Guy's Hospital, and its hideous butchery 144 00:18:48,260 --> 00:18:50,956 cannot restore sight. 145 00:18:51,063 --> 00:18:56,524 Yet clarity is in front of me at any time, 146 00:18:57,836 --> 00:19:00,270 even if it doesn't illuminate anything. 147 00:19:01,607 --> 00:19:05,304 What things, such performances. 148 00:19:05,410 --> 00:19:08,140 How dare they do this to me? 149 00:19:08,247 --> 00:19:14,516 Then they come and coax me to their praise, nothing less than their praise. 150 00:19:16,155 --> 00:19:18,248 And the praises of princes. 151 00:19:18,390 --> 00:19:24,056 They should be cursed, for their presumptions and their cold piety. 152 00:19:39,344 --> 00:19:44,179 Florence, that was corruption incarnate, 153 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:14,577 Florence was light, cheerfulness, sun and light, 154 00:20:14,980 --> 00:20:17,346 And my own theater, 155 00:20:33,765 --> 00:20:37,667 I have always felt the light, don't they see it? 156 00:20:37,769 --> 00:20:40,067 Even though I can no longer see her, 157 00:20:42,007 --> 00:20:46,842 No, I'm exaggerating, The trumpet sounds false this time, 158 00:20:48,247 --> 00:20:54,675 Burney, a good friend of the theater, said a lovely thing, 159 00:20:55,621 --> 00:21:00,422 "When he smiled", that is to say I, Handel, 160 00:21:00,659 --> 00:21:04,425 "his ancestor, the sun, appeared through a dark cloud, " 161 00:21:05,864 --> 00:21:11,063 Most saw only the dark cloud, but Burney saw the sun, 162 00:21:12,304 --> 00:21:17,241 "A sudden flash of lightning, which I almost never seen in another, " 163 00:21:25,617 --> 00:21:29,849 The Medici, I met the prince in Hamburg, 164 00:21:30,656 --> 00:21:33,090 To hell with Hamburg, 165 00:21:33,392 --> 00:21:35,019 And Florence, 166 00:21:46,171 --> 00:21:49,663 Why am I furious? 167 00:21:50,509 --> 00:21:53,342 It is a vain initiative, 168 00:21:54,179 --> 00:21:59,981 Oh, heavens, I'm doomed to be surly, I didn't want this, 169 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:06,417 So much effort, partly to please me, but all wasted, 170 00:22:07,592 --> 00:22:10,186 Despised and rejected, 171 00:22:11,496 --> 00:22:15,159 I have been called gifted, but rude, 172 00:22:15,267 --> 00:22:19,465 That was it, talented but crude! 173 00:22:19,604 --> 00:22:22,767 But what I left behind is refined, 174 00:22:22,874 --> 00:22:26,105 refined and fully equipped, 175 00:22:28,046 --> 00:22:31,846 “Arise, shine, for here is your light,” 176 00:22:45,263 --> 00:22:49,131 Oh, the solicitude of innocent lament, 177 00:23:03,515 --> 00:23:08,145 "God cares little of man's work or his gift, 178 00:23:08,286 --> 00:23:13,189 "he who best bears his light yoke serves him best, " 179 00:23:14,159 --> 00:23:19,290 What hypocrisy! Being blind to the Pantiles is not a light yoke, 180 00:23:19,398 --> 00:23:21,332 Not for me, 181 00:23:21,433 --> 00:23:27,167 However, I have always played to the friendly companion, 182 00:23:27,272 --> 00:23:30,764 especially when my pockets empty demanded it, 183 00:23:55,167 --> 00:24:00,366 The Messiah. Great gods, what a huge waste they make of it, 184 00:24:00,772 --> 00:24:05,937 "You certainly like your music, Mr. Handel", they tell me, 185 00:24:06,044 --> 00:24:11,482 as if she didn't come out from my insides, from my guts, 186 00:24:11,616 --> 00:24:14,084 Their supposition would be distressing, 187 00:24:14,186 --> 00:24:18,520 if it did not betray a deep misunderstanding of everything I have created. 188 00:24:18,657 --> 00:24:22,354 The ignorance of scholars, it seems to me, 189 00:24:22,494 --> 00:24:25,156 reveals the whims of divine princes. 190 00:24:25,430 --> 00:24:28,593 I can at least be grateful to them. I always have been. 191 00:24:28,733 --> 00:24:30,724 I always needed to be. To hell with them. 192 00:24:37,909 --> 00:24:41,640 Florence was not Rome, of course, 193 00:24:41,746 --> 00:24:45,910 Rome was rich and overflowing with music, 194 00:24:54,392 --> 00:24:58,829 It's Prince Ruspoli who asked me to participate 195 00:24:58,964 --> 00:25:03,526 in a keyboard competition with master Scarlatti, 196 00:25:05,070 --> 00:25:06,833 Were present ladies and courtiers, 197 00:25:06,972 --> 00:25:10,203 and even if I disapprove of such trivialities, 198 00:25:10,308 --> 00:25:12,503 I won, 199 00:25:13,545 --> 00:25:16,480 In any case, I think I won, 200 00:25:16,581 --> 00:25:21,951 I won, and the applause that I received were well deserved, 201 00:25:23,588 --> 00:25:29,117 I lived with my music as I lived with my friends, the princes and the others, 202 00:25:29,794 --> 00:25:36,723 I had to find compromises, as it always had to be done, 203 00:28:24,669 --> 00:28:30,938 Even when they are tolerable, we must resist princes and prelates. 204 00:28:33,845 --> 00:28:38,976 There are those who will not even hear the last trumpet, 205 00:28:40,485 --> 00:28:43,045 and even less this night. 206 00:28:43,154 --> 00:28:47,818 Even music cannot, or will not, make their intransigence disappear, 207 00:28:48,993 --> 00:28:51,860 even in the sight of God himself. 208 00:28:52,864 --> 00:28:57,597 All the passions of the heart can be possessed in simple harmony, 209 00:28:58,937 --> 00:29:01,565 even without words. 210 00:29:01,673 --> 00:29:07,407 Yes, its harmony, its unity, his order must reign. 211 00:29:08,613 --> 00:29:13,448 Even blind, I see. 212 00:29:13,551 --> 00:29:19,888 No priest, nor any other plague won't make me believe anything else. 213 00:29:24,329 --> 00:29:27,127 But I can't pretend to have been unhappy 214 00:29:27,232 --> 00:29:32,397 when Prince Ruspoli paid for my operas in Venice, 215 00:29:59,664 --> 00:30:05,398 nor when I then went hunting in the falcon, on horseback, at the invitation of the prince, 216 00:30:05,503 --> 00:30:08,495 Hunting, entertainment, 217 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:11,006 everything sounded like music, Everything was enchanting, 218 00:31:08,333 --> 00:31:14,431 The man who would deny his place of birth, Halle Wells, would be strange, 219 00:31:15,139 --> 00:31:18,905 But it was, without a doubt, dreary, 220 00:31:25,383 --> 00:31:28,409 Then, Berlin, Morne, 221 00:31:34,359 --> 00:31:37,851 Hamburg, Italy, Rome, 222 00:31:37,996 --> 00:31:42,296 Finally, Düsseldorf, as Kapellmeister 223 00:31:42,433 --> 00:31:46,893 for the Grand Elector, George Frédéric, 224 00:31:47,038 --> 00:31:50,872 Same first name as me, but it suits me better, 225 00:31:55,179 --> 00:32:00,173 But England was fascinating, 226 00:32:00,618 --> 00:32:05,578 For its flourishing trade, its politics, and above all the freedom it offered, 227 00:32:12,130 --> 00:32:17,966 The air was full of it, and that was nothing with a false trumpet sound of remembrance, 228 00:32:18,169 --> 00:32:20,296 that's what I know, 229 00:32:20,405 --> 00:32:26,571 Freedom was given to me here, in my foreign country,,, 230 00:32:26,711 --> 00:32:29,976 On my own land, my own sea, 231 00:32:40,725 --> 00:32:44,684 "O Lord, how dark are your judgments, 232 00:32:45,063 --> 00:32:48,499 "All hidden from mortal sight, 233 00:32:48,599 --> 00:32:51,932 "All our joys becoming sorrows, 234 00:32:52,070 --> 00:32:55,164 "All our trumpets in mourning, 235 00:32:55,306 --> 00:32:58,332 “As night follows day. 236 00:32:58,443 --> 00:33:02,209 "We mortals do not know here below 237 00:33:02,347 --> 00:33:05,976 "No certain happiness, no solid peace, 238 00:33:06,184 --> 00:33:12,589 "But we will nevertheless obey to this maxim: 'Whatever is, is right.' 239 00:33:12,690 --> 00:33:17,093 Ah, great was the company of preachers. 240 00:33:33,077 --> 00:33:36,638 And London, Saint Paul's Cathedral, 241 00:33:47,692 --> 00:33:54,097 What abundance, what setting for the harmony of man it was, 242 00:34:47,085 --> 00:34:53,149 The rough places were united, those who were crooked were straight, 243 00:34:53,291 --> 00:34:56,658 She lifted us above the stench, corruption, 244 00:34:56,761 --> 00:35:00,288 humiliations and even gout, 245 00:35:15,146 --> 00:35:21,745 Yes, the whim of fashion, the shadow of bankruptcy, 246 00:35:26,090 --> 00:35:29,082 insolvency and poor health, 247 00:35:29,193 --> 00:35:32,185 Surgery without relief nor great hope, 248 00:35:33,164 --> 00:35:39,364 the whims of brokers and the public from the pit, the theater directors 249 00:35:39,470 --> 00:35:41,700 and the despair of foundlings, 250 00:35:42,874 --> 00:35:47,470 Vauxhall, Ranelagh, the Rotunda, the Chinese Gardens, 251 00:35:48,346 --> 00:35:50,678 London, 252 00:35:51,516 --> 00:35:56,852 It was the center and focus of everything, 253 00:35:56,954 --> 00:36:01,823 It was, and it still is today, 254 00:36:07,999 --> 00:36:11,833 “But oh, what art can teach.” 255 00:36:12,637 --> 00:36:14,832 “Oh,” indeed. 256 00:36:15,540 --> 00:36:20,671 "What human voice can reach the praise of the sacred organ? 257 00:36:21,612 --> 00:36:25,048 "The notes inspiring holy love, 258 00:36:25,149 --> 00:36:29,017 "The notes flying towards men, 259 00:36:29,153 --> 00:36:33,249 “To save the heavenly choirs.” 260 00:36:34,859 --> 00:36:38,795 "Who takes away"... 261 00:36:39,730 --> 00:36:46,499 “He who takes away the sins of the world.” 262 00:37:09,327 --> 00:37:12,854 Then, the writers, 263 00:37:18,502 --> 00:37:24,532 Addison, cabbage leaf The Spectator, ignorant and green with envy, 264 00:37:24,675 --> 00:37:30,170 His opera, Rosamunda, is that right? A real disaster! 265 00:37:30,314 --> 00:37:33,943 An example, An ecclesiastical critic with very strong opinions 266 00:37:34,051 --> 00:37:39,250 approached me once, with this haughty attitude, at Vauxhall: 267 00:37:39,390 --> 00:37:42,257 "Like the music they play is miserable, " 268 00:37:42,393 --> 00:37:44,452 “You are right, sir,” I replied, 269 00:37:44,562 --> 00:37:49,522 "She's very weak, that's what I thought also, by composing it, " 270 00:37:53,804 --> 00:37:59,504 The criticisms are bullet points coming from sewers, and they should stay there forever, 271 00:37:59,844 --> 00:38:06,647 What they do, if their scribbles bear witness to their true homes, 272 00:38:06,784 --> 00:38:11,983 I was lucky enough to enjoy a great magnanimity on the part of others, 273 00:38:12,089 --> 00:38:14,080 I can't deny it, 274 00:38:14,225 --> 00:38:18,594 So I'm not complaining to pass time, and I will always admit my mistake, 275 00:38:27,938 --> 00:38:33,240 only when it was demonstrated to me, 276 00:38:34,078 --> 00:38:40,779 I swear no children, and I have none who could stir up this impression,,, 277 00:38:41,252 --> 00:38:46,246 No child, therefore, has been so ungrateful that your criticism, 278 00:38:46,357 --> 00:38:50,691 so vain, full of greed and gin, Clever, 279 00:38:51,295 --> 00:38:56,358 An example, the Spectator of March 6, 1711, 280 00:38:56,500 --> 00:39:00,561 "The opera of M, Handel, Rinaldo, 281 00:39:00,705 --> 00:39:03,936 "is full of thunder and lightning 282 00:39:04,041 --> 00:39:08,808 "that the public will be able to contemplate without risk of catching a cold, 283 00:39:09,213 --> 00:39:12,148 "and without danger of being burned, 284 00:39:12,249 --> 00:39:15,582 "because there are several pieces of equipment filled with water 285 00:39:15,686 --> 00:39:19,019 "and ready to take the stage at the slightest alert, " 286 00:39:26,497 --> 00:39:32,402 As for the public, gentlemen leisure and incorrectness, 287 00:39:32,536 --> 00:39:33,798 and how! 288 00:39:33,938 --> 00:39:38,875 Accustomed to sitting on the stage, among the singers, 289 00:39:39,009 --> 00:39:42,740 “Go away, gentlemen!”, I said to the scoundrels, 290 00:40:11,575 --> 00:40:14,840 They said I was imperious and quick to get angry, 291 00:40:14,945 --> 00:40:19,939 Well yes, I was, especially when it came to my own worth, 292 00:40:20,084 --> 00:40:22,644 I have always been aware of this, 293 00:40:23,687 --> 00:40:28,249 despite mercenaries and pranks like MacSwiney, 294 00:40:28,359 --> 00:40:32,728 director or other of the Queen's Theater in Haymarket, or other,,, 295 00:41:01,392 --> 00:41:04,190 Cursed be your legs! Everyone! 296 00:41:06,831 --> 00:41:10,927 I can tell a tale in four languages at the same time, 297 00:41:11,035 --> 00:41:13,799 but it is a dubious occupation. 298 00:41:13,904 --> 00:41:17,203 I can also swear, eat and drink like this, 299 00:41:17,308 --> 00:41:19,606 which is less negligible. 300 00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:34,885 Despite everything, I managed to compose around forty operas, 301 00:41:35,392 --> 00:41:38,555 Most are forgotten now, 302 00:41:39,196 --> 00:41:42,688 My favorite, Rinaldo, the first one I wrote for London, 303 00:41:42,833 --> 00:41:45,768 was popular at the time, 304 00:41:45,870 --> 00:41:50,102 although the castrati were not very appreciated by the English, 305 00:41:50,241 --> 00:41:53,267 At least they were successful among women, 306 00:43:08,218 --> 00:43:11,244 I loved England, 307 00:43:11,388 --> 00:43:16,485 although I haven't passed everything my time here, not here in this filthy bed, 308 00:43:17,728 --> 00:43:22,461 I followed the carriage routes and I saw them, 309 00:43:23,968 --> 00:43:26,630 The morning sun over Epping Forest, 310 00:43:27,404 --> 00:43:29,531 the gardens of Kent, 311 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:32,905 the great outdoors of Salisbury Plain, 312 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:55,621 The Royal Antiquities of Chester, York and Durham, 313 00:43:55,733 --> 00:43:58,167 Hampshire, angling region, 314 00:43:59,703 --> 00:44:03,332 It was manly, magnificent, 315 00:44:04,908 --> 00:44:08,173 immersed in the contemplation of man, 316 00:44:27,731 --> 00:44:31,690 I've been,,, Yes, I'm a proud man, 317 00:44:31,802 --> 00:44:35,238 but I bowed in front of the poets, the landscapes, 318 00:44:35,372 --> 00:44:39,240 the life of the countryside and that of this city, 319 00:44:39,376 --> 00:44:41,139 I always bow, 320 00:44:41,245 --> 00:44:44,339 There can't be too much pride in this matter, 321 00:44:45,282 --> 00:44:49,309 I contemplated the man and his talents, 322 00:44:49,453 --> 00:44:53,947 I was amazed, and I still am, 323 00:44:55,693 --> 00:44:59,094 England, my England. 324 00:45:00,397 --> 00:45:04,595 "Then they will sober up the eyes of the blind, 325 00:45:04,735 --> 00:45:07,761 “and the ears of the deaf will be opened.” 326 00:45:09,406 --> 00:45:13,866 It's true, I triumphed less easily over his tongue 327 00:45:14,011 --> 00:45:16,741 than his wives, 328 00:45:16,847 --> 00:45:20,044 but I left my own mark there. 329 00:45:21,452 --> 00:45:23,044 Congreve, 330 00:45:23,153 --> 00:45:24,711 Dryden, 331 00:45:24,855 --> 00:45:26,049 Milton, 332 00:45:27,491 --> 00:45:31,757 I served them all, all and even more, 333 00:45:31,895 --> 00:45:34,830 and in particular, the Bible. 334 00:45:34,965 --> 00:45:38,025 Isaiah, the Corinthians, 335 00:45:39,169 --> 00:45:42,730 what gifts they all were. 336 00:45:49,079 --> 00:45:54,312 London was so tempting, oh, so tempting, for a young man, 337 00:45:54,451 --> 00:45:59,718 Young girls, little Mary Granville and their sweet children, 338 00:45:59,823 --> 00:46:03,554 How could I go back in Hanover, so gloomy? 339 00:48:23,567 --> 00:48:26,900 I may have been gifted with a pagan heart, 340 00:48:27,037 --> 00:48:32,737 perhaps I drank immoderately, tickled little girls and caressed to excess, 341 00:48:33,510 --> 00:48:36,877 but I gave myself to God, on the keyboard, on the organ, 342 00:48:36,980 --> 00:48:41,246 and more instruments that most men, I assure you, 343 00:48:41,385 --> 00:48:45,378 But I don't want aux prélats présomptueux, 344 00:48:46,490 --> 00:48:48,981 They sent me the lyrics, mind you, 345 00:48:49,092 --> 00:48:52,493 for the coronation hymns, for my royal paymasters, 346 00:49:03,206 --> 00:49:04,298 Lackey! 347 00:49:08,178 --> 00:49:11,306 I said: "I haven't forgotten German anymore that I didn't learn English, 348 00:49:11,415 --> 00:49:15,249 "and I could very well count on my own Bible 349 00:49:15,385 --> 00:49:18,354 "to compose their hymns, " 350 00:49:19,323 --> 00:49:20,881 That's what I did, 351 00:49:23,460 --> 00:49:25,451 For George ll, later, 352 00:49:25,562 --> 00:49:30,363 I remember we had 47 singers and 160 musicians, 353 00:49:30,500 --> 00:49:32,968 The Archbishop of Canterbury remarked 354 00:49:33,103 --> 00:49:38,336 that it was a ceremonial and not artistic splendor, 355 00:49:38,442 --> 00:49:40,342 This is the crucial point, 356 00:49:40,444 --> 00:49:43,936 The ceremony was in splendor, art was in both, 357 00:49:44,047 --> 00:49:46,277 and he saw neither one nor the other, 358 00:49:47,651 --> 00:49:50,814 For a long time I had the impression 359 00:49:50,921 --> 00:49:55,085 that the clergy and academics hated all the arts, 360 00:49:55,225 --> 00:49:59,559 life, literature, and certainly the music, 361 00:50:11,441 --> 00:50:16,902 One day I was in Oxford for a series of my own concerts, 362 00:50:17,014 --> 00:50:19,778 which was nice for those 363 00:50:19,883 --> 00:50:23,444 who were honest or open to the gifts of this life, 364 00:50:23,587 --> 00:50:26,988 while being extremely profitable for me. 365 00:50:28,058 --> 00:50:31,118 But then it was necessary 366 00:50:31,261 --> 00:50:36,324 that a famous master from a famous school denounces me, 367 00:50:37,300 --> 00:50:41,259 in his academic ignorance, as well as my musicians, 368 00:50:41,371 --> 00:50:44,966 saying: "Handel and his pathetic troupe, 369 00:50:45,075 --> 00:50:49,205 “a bunch of foreign fiddlers!” 370 00:50:54,251 --> 00:50:57,243 I myself am a fiddler from Hanover, 371 00:50:57,354 --> 00:51:02,314 so it was in all simplicity, without great magnificence, 372 00:51:02,459 --> 00:51:05,155 my famous Water Music. 373 00:51:12,602 --> 00:51:18,040 The death of the good queen put me in a bit of a pickle, 374 00:51:18,809 --> 00:51:23,872 Having left my constituent and employer, George Frederick of Hanover, 375 00:51:24,014 --> 00:51:27,211 imagine my embarrassment when the same George 376 00:51:27,317 --> 00:51:32,345 succeeded to the throne of England under the name of George I, 377 00:51:34,524 --> 00:51:37,516 Should I be suspended through toenails? 378 00:51:38,528 --> 00:51:41,497 Was my defection punishable the death penalty? 379 00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:48,638 He's my old trusted friend, Baron Kielmansegge, 380 00:51:48,772 --> 00:51:53,232 The Elector's cavalry master, who suggested that I humiliate myself 381 00:51:53,343 --> 00:51:55,470 in order to make a name for myself again, 382 00:51:55,612 --> 00:51:59,605 although I doubt that even he could have foreseen the outcome, 383 00:52:31,648 --> 00:52:36,142 My music turned out to be a wonderful damper, 384 00:52:37,487 --> 00:52:39,887 We had 50 musicians, 385 00:52:39,990 --> 00:52:43,517 and they flowed in good humor, 386 00:54:07,577 --> 00:54:08,942 The English! 387 00:54:10,614 --> 00:54:15,142 I became above all, it seemed, a Londoner, 388 00:54:16,286 --> 00:54:18,811 The first Londoner, one might say, 389 00:54:18,922 --> 00:54:24,121 that is to say the winner of this city in music. 390 00:54:25,662 --> 00:54:27,789 But I loved the English too. 391 00:54:29,065 --> 00:54:31,761 Wherever I took from others, 392 00:54:31,901 --> 00:54:35,997 I always paid them back with considerably high interest. 393 00:54:49,452 --> 00:54:51,886 The new queen, for example, 394 00:54:52,022 --> 00:54:56,891 awarded me a well-deserved pension £600 per year, 395 00:54:57,027 --> 00:55:01,361 in exchange for a few lessons for his daughters, 396 00:55:18,281 --> 00:55:23,014 The eldest, the Princess of Wales, has always been kind to me, 397 00:55:23,119 --> 00:55:26,486 When the bridesmaids chatted during my concerts, 398 00:55:26,623 --> 00:55:29,023 not only did I insult them, 399 00:55:29,125 --> 00:55:32,720 but I called them all the names that crossed my mind, 400 00:55:33,129 --> 00:55:35,893 And always, the princess intervened, 401 00:55:36,433 --> 00:55:40,995 “Shh,” she said, “Hush, Handel has a fit of passion,” 402 00:55:41,671 --> 00:55:44,139 Handel has a fit of passion, 403 00:55:44,240 --> 00:55:47,835 As if it had ever been outside of me, 404 00:55:47,977 --> 00:55:52,505 whether it is dejection or idle comedy, 405 00:55:52,649 --> 00:55:55,880 I was lenient with princesses 406 00:55:56,019 --> 00:55:59,477 and I was in their good graces, which is quite normal, 407 00:56:09,866 --> 00:56:13,927 Scold yourself, of course, but not to excess. 408 00:56:15,238 --> 00:56:17,172 There is still a way. 409 00:56:18,274 --> 00:56:20,572 In my time, 410 00:56:20,677 --> 00:56:26,047 when I discovered these shores, 40 or 50 years ago, 411 00:56:27,250 --> 00:56:30,242 The English were still learning to be English, 412 00:56:31,354 --> 00:56:33,652 to see the world as belonging to them. 413 00:56:34,924 --> 00:56:38,724 Marlborough, the poets and the merchants, 414 00:56:38,828 --> 00:56:41,490 but also the militia, the gardeners, 415 00:56:41,598 --> 00:56:44,226 the builders of residences and squares... 416 00:56:45,101 --> 00:56:46,966 There was an opportunity, 417 00:56:48,538 --> 00:56:53,908 then wealth, even if, like my great patron, Chandos, 418 00:56:54,444 --> 00:56:58,403 it was obtained through somewhat illegal means, 419 00:57:05,388 --> 00:57:09,916 The Duke's House, Church and Private Theater 420 00:57:10,026 --> 00:57:13,325 gave me intensive exercise, 421 00:57:14,097 --> 00:57:17,589 It was as if no other world existed, 422 00:57:33,950 --> 00:57:38,785 And if I was grateful, was demanding to him, 423 00:57:39,255 --> 00:57:45,558 Music, again and again, without delay, do you see? 424 00:58:12,388 --> 00:58:16,825 So, if I borrowed from others,,, No, if I plundered, 425 00:58:16,926 --> 00:58:20,384 it's because I didn't have time, 426 00:58:39,015 --> 00:58:43,145 I have always worked quickly, 427 00:58:43,253 --> 00:58:48,384 My little opera, Acis and Galatea, was written in two weeks, 428 00:58:48,491 --> 00:58:50,789 At least that's what I tell the Duke, 429 00:58:57,166 --> 00:59:00,363 The Messiah, later, in 21 days, 430 00:59:00,503 --> 00:59:04,872 There is no particular merit ni faux-fuyant dans cet exploit, 431 00:59:04,974 --> 00:59:08,205 It is there, and it must be done, 432 00:59:51,554 --> 00:59:56,457 Heaven can't wait for any of us too long, and me even less, 433 01:00:00,229 --> 01:00:04,222 If the Duke demanded a piece on the organ every Sunday, 434 01:00:04,367 --> 01:00:06,767 The duke had to get his piece, 435 01:01:24,747 --> 01:01:27,113 But heaven couldn't do anything, 436 01:01:27,216 --> 01:01:29,776 when theater directors decamped 437 01:01:29,919 --> 01:01:32,479 with the profits that I had made them make, 438 01:01:40,596 --> 01:01:45,465 or when the Thames froze and the theaters were still closing, 439 01:01:51,708 --> 01:01:54,973 or when the war with Spain broke out, 440 01:01:55,111 --> 01:01:58,877 when there were earthquakes, shocks, rumors, 441 01:02:06,255 --> 01:02:10,282 “Then the word which is written will be fulfilled: 442 01:02:10,426 --> 01:02:14,556 “Death has been swallowed up in victory,” The Messiah? Yes, he is the Messiah. 443 01:02:14,997 --> 01:02:17,522 “O death, where is your victory?” 444 01:02:18,901 --> 01:02:22,462 Faith, I accepted faith with gratitude 445 01:02:22,572 --> 01:02:25,370 and I deprived myself of certainty, 446 01:02:25,508 --> 01:02:28,909 Faith has nothing in common with certainty, 447 01:02:29,011 --> 01:02:33,539 it's something that obtuse orators water towns cannot seize, 448 01:03:02,178 --> 01:03:05,705 Heaven couldn't either protect myself from singers! 449 01:03:12,655 --> 01:03:16,250 The worst was certainly Cuzzoni, 450 01:03:16,359 --> 01:03:20,693 this tiny, hideous Venetian shrew, 451 01:03:20,797 --> 01:03:24,790 who cared so much about her, and so little of me, 452 01:03:24,934 --> 01:03:26,526 Cuzzoni! 453 01:03:26,636 --> 01:03:29,696 Who will pronounce his name when I'm dead? 454 01:03:29,806 --> 01:03:31,398 And Faustina, 455 01:03:31,541 --> 01:03:37,844 Faustina, his poor adversary in Admeto, my success, 456 01:03:38,881 --> 01:03:42,874 What a mistake to write two parts of equal importance, 457 01:03:43,019 --> 01:03:48,286 Prodigality bites the hand like the dissatisfied borrower, 458 01:03:48,891 --> 01:03:53,919 I presented this Cuzzoni in London, 459 01:03:54,030 --> 01:03:56,089 It wasn't necessary, 460 01:03:56,999 --> 01:04:01,936 No one could show off with such brutal ease, 461 01:04:02,038 --> 01:04:03,300 The singers! 462 01:04:04,807 --> 01:04:09,801 Writing their scores came back too often to serve an actor puffed with pride, 463 01:04:10,646 --> 01:04:15,413 Sleeping with an unattractive woman out of kindness rather than desire 464 01:04:15,518 --> 01:04:19,010 only fuels his fury and his desire for revenge, 465 01:04:19,121 --> 01:04:20,884 Abominable harpies! 466 01:04:35,771 --> 01:04:39,468 My depressive state was at its peak, 467 01:04:39,609 --> 01:04:45,445 No one knew she refused to sing the first tune during rehearsal, 468 01:04:45,548 --> 01:04:47,812 Finally, I said: 469 01:04:47,917 --> 01:04:53,321 "Madam, I know that you are a real quarrelsome devil, 470 01:04:53,422 --> 01:04:57,381 “but I am Beelzebub!” 471 01:05:10,072 --> 01:05:13,803 I didn't really have any animosity towards her, 472 01:05:13,910 --> 01:05:19,678 but she was a greedy and selfish queen, 473 01:05:19,782 --> 01:05:21,647 like most ladies, 474 01:05:26,022 --> 01:05:29,082 As for Cuzzoni and Faustina, 475 01:05:29,191 --> 01:05:32,183 The fight and the dissension in the duke's little theater, 476 01:05:32,295 --> 01:05:35,560 the insult, the hissing, like the Whigs against the Tories, 477 01:05:35,665 --> 01:05:39,567 the two cooing gorgons fighting on stage, 478 01:05:39,669 --> 01:05:44,333 and in the presence of the Princess of Wales herself, 479 01:05:44,473 --> 01:05:47,306 who will remember it? 480 01:05:47,443 --> 01:05:49,877 It diminished soon enough, 481 01:08:06,449 --> 01:08:08,747 "As it was at the beginning, 482 01:08:10,553 --> 01:08:11,952 "is today, 483 01:08:13,456 --> 01:08:15,151 "and will remain so forever, 484 01:08:18,094 --> 01:08:20,392 “a world without end.” 485 01:08:22,865 --> 01:08:25,959 Even in Tunbridge Wells. 486 01:08:29,605 --> 01:08:30,902 The shame. 487 01:08:32,808 --> 01:08:34,605 What a shame, 488 01:08:36,645 --> 01:08:42,174 to be taken to court, 489 01:08:45,087 --> 01:08:47,612 to protect my work. 490 01:08:55,297 --> 01:08:58,858 Poor publishers, marauding pirates, 491 01:08:58,968 --> 01:09:02,995 dubious copyrights, How lucky was I? 492 01:09:03,139 --> 01:09:04,902 But I tried, 493 01:09:05,007 --> 01:09:07,737 I tried and I succeeded, here and there, from time to time, 494 01:09:07,843 --> 01:09:11,643 calling them “Grands airs”, 495 01:09:11,780 --> 01:09:16,217 and editing them in the Pocket Companion for gentlemen and ladies, 496 01:09:16,318 --> 01:09:20,982 Gentle ladies and gentlemen not being ready to pay, 497 01:09:21,090 --> 01:09:26,528 or, more often, playing my scores without paying or without permission, 498 01:09:26,662 --> 01:09:29,096 Oh, to hell with them! 499 01:09:29,899 --> 01:09:33,562 It won't do them any good, although it hurt me, 500 01:09:34,236 --> 01:09:36,033 Difficulty, boredom, 501 01:09:36,172 --> 01:09:42,236 they said I had plagiarized a certain Stradella, an obscure Italian, 502 01:09:42,378 --> 01:09:45,643 I remember well having vaguely known 503 01:09:45,781 --> 01:09:47,646 a Signor Stradella, 504 01:09:47,750 --> 01:09:51,516 but was it really the same Stradella? 505 01:10:01,564 --> 01:10:05,933 In short, I was accused of stealing from this Stradella 506 01:10:06,035 --> 01:10:09,596 the music of my Israel in Egypt. 507 01:12:10,025 --> 01:12:16,453 If I have stolen well, and I have done it with glory, I stole from myself, 508 01:12:16,598 --> 01:12:19,931 unlike coos, to politicians, and to all others, 509 01:12:20,069 --> 01:12:22,503 Oh, why pretend? 510 01:12:22,638 --> 01:12:26,438 I used the same music, again and again! 511 01:12:31,280 --> 01:12:34,078 Dear Deborah. "Awaken this ardor in your breast", 512 01:12:34,183 --> 01:12:36,981 “Let not envy conceal it”, 513 01:12:37,119 --> 01:12:41,180 the allegro from my Concerto Grosso, No. 3. 514 01:13:00,743 --> 01:13:05,339 I just went back and forth with the same air, 515 01:13:05,447 --> 01:13:07,347 like an actor's tail! 516 01:13:53,562 --> 01:13:58,932 My music supports repetition, in the appropriate framework, 517 01:14:04,940 --> 01:14:10,105 Only dreary sheet music readers and academics remember, 518 01:14:37,439 --> 01:14:39,202 I told them, 519 01:14:39,341 --> 01:14:43,471 With the South Sea Bubble and the disappearance of my investment, 520 01:14:43,612 --> 01:14:47,912 for my first performance of my Deborah, 521 01:14:48,083 --> 01:14:52,520 I doubled the price of tickets, attempt to save me,,, 522 01:14:52,654 --> 01:14:57,887 And, believe it or not, but Walpole presents its tobacco tax, 523 01:14:57,993 --> 01:14:59,961 that everyone abhors, 524 01:15:27,189 --> 01:15:32,752 As a result, the public flees my poor Deborah, 525 01:15:32,861 --> 01:15:37,389 not because of me, but because of this damn politics! 526 01:15:38,367 --> 01:15:42,360 The Prime Minister and everyone's pockets, 527 01:15:42,471 --> 01:15:43,961 except mine, 528 01:15:45,040 --> 01:15:48,134 Amounts of money spent, wasted, 529 01:15:48,277 --> 01:15:51,440 for this damn mausoleum dedicated to Italian opera, 530 01:15:51,580 --> 01:15:54,276 The Royal Academy of Music! 531 01:15:57,085 --> 01:16:00,885 I will soon be dead, with my name above a door. 532 01:16:01,957 --> 01:16:06,724 There are few profits in the superabundance of excellence. 533 01:16:07,362 --> 01:16:11,355 My sound has toured countries. 534 01:16:12,401 --> 01:16:15,768 And my words went at the bottom of the world. 535 01:16:16,872 --> 01:16:21,400 But they thought more bad of me than Buononcini, 536 01:16:21,510 --> 01:16:25,970 which they praised, as well as Stradella! 537 01:16:39,428 --> 01:16:43,091 After my little excursion before the courts, 538 01:16:43,231 --> 01:16:48,726 where I won, and had my work protected, 539 01:16:49,304 --> 01:16:53,104 I was seized with a mortal weakness, 540 01:16:54,343 --> 01:16:59,280 I was told that a weaker body would have hardly endured 541 01:16:59,381 --> 01:17:01,975 the violence of remedies, 542 01:17:02,117 --> 01:17:06,019 My right arm was of no use to me anymore, 543 01:17:06,154 --> 01:17:08,850 since the paralytic attack, 544 01:17:08,991 --> 01:17:13,894 without forgetting, of course, the little matter from the duel at dawn, when I was young, 545 01:17:24,172 --> 01:17:30,736 I went to the steam baths from Aachen for six weeks, 546 01:17:32,014 --> 01:17:34,312 I was bedridden, very often, 547 01:17:34,416 --> 01:17:37,852 but I refused to stay in bed, 548 01:17:39,187 --> 01:17:42,679 and I returned to London in much better health, 549 01:17:44,526 --> 01:17:47,859 And it's in a spa house 550 01:17:48,897 --> 01:17:55,302 that the blessed light finally appeared, 551 01:18:06,348 --> 01:18:09,340 Opera being too expensive, 552 01:18:09,451 --> 01:18:14,684 or in any case lacking funding, not Italian opera, 553 01:18:14,823 --> 01:18:20,056 but everyone held on so that everything is stupidly English, 554 01:18:28,103 --> 01:18:31,561 And I was English too, in my own way, 555 01:18:31,707 --> 01:18:35,268 unlike opera, where, to avoid these singers, 556 01:18:35,377 --> 01:18:38,312 why not an opera without an opera? 557 01:18:39,548 --> 01:18:41,709 Oratorio and opera, 558 01:18:41,817 --> 01:18:45,412 What absurd war has been waged, 559 01:18:45,520 --> 01:18:50,457 In Rome, I remember, the pope had banned all opera, 560 01:18:50,559 --> 01:18:55,929 In London, opera audiences did not appreciate my oratorios, 561 01:18:56,998 --> 01:19:00,900 It was Dublin which first recognized 562 01:19:01,002 --> 01:19:04,494 my seasickness, 563 01:19:51,019 --> 01:19:52,179 Dublin! 564 01:20:45,440 --> 01:20:49,570 Alone, in 21 days, 565 01:20:51,112 --> 01:20:54,138 Even an opera took three weeks, 566 01:20:55,250 --> 01:20:56,979 But then, rest,,, 567 01:20:57,919 --> 01:21:01,377 I was sick, so, so sick, 568 01:21:02,791 --> 01:21:04,588 But it was a triumph, 569 01:21:05,627 --> 01:21:07,891 Beautiful women, 570 01:21:08,029 --> 01:21:11,965 The representative of the crown in tears during an exceptional performance 571 01:21:12,067 --> 01:21:16,936 and oh so private, 572 01:23:23,031 --> 01:23:25,226 Very pretty tune, I must admit. 573 01:25:02,497 --> 01:25:05,728 But London, what a reappearance! 574 01:25:05,834 --> 01:25:10,794 The special summons of a bishop to denounce me. To hell with them! 575 01:25:12,440 --> 01:25:16,843 I know that my redeemer will redeem me at the last day. 576 01:25:37,799 --> 01:25:43,396 Cursed, cursed, by bishops! 577 01:25:46,141 --> 01:25:49,577 "They walked in darkness, the people,,," 578 01:25:49,677 --> 01:25:53,340 “The people who walked in darkness,” 579 01:26:29,517 --> 01:26:32,452 “Behold, I tell you a mystery: 580 01:26:33,388 --> 01:26:38,052 "We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, 581 01:26:38,593 --> 01:26:43,189 "in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet, 582 01:26:44,199 --> 01:26:51,002 "for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be resurrected incorruptible, " 583 01:28:06,080 --> 01:28:09,243 “Blasphemous,” they said, “Blasphemous,” 584 01:28:09,350 --> 01:28:12,080 My God, it brings happy news, 585 01:28:12,186 --> 01:28:17,283 A religious act unsuitable for the theater, just that! 586 01:28:18,626 --> 01:28:23,188 The best service I have ever provided to God was my work, 587 01:28:23,331 --> 01:28:25,765 It was performed with honesty, 588 01:28:25,900 --> 01:28:27,834 And with faith, 589 01:28:27,969 --> 01:28:32,372 I never waited, not even princes, 590 01:28:33,608 --> 01:28:37,044 And I don't see why I would do it for God, 591 01:29:07,742 --> 01:29:09,209 Total eclipse! 592 01:29:10,378 --> 01:29:13,745 No sun, no moon! 593 01:29:14,716 --> 01:29:18,550 “Everything is dark, in the heat of noon.” 594 01:29:21,723 --> 01:29:26,854 My will... My will and final codicil: 595 01:29:28,563 --> 01:29:32,897 have permission from the dean and chapter 596 01:29:33,034 --> 01:29:37,232 to be buried not in church St. George of Hanover Square, 597 01:29:37,338 --> 01:29:40,466 this name is also a strange coincidence, 598 01:29:40,575 --> 01:29:44,204 but at Westminster Abbey, in private. 599 01:29:46,681 --> 01:29:50,242 I wrote to them, I asked them, I implored them. 600 01:29:52,153 --> 01:29:55,418 What a shame their hearts such a curious instrument. 601 01:29:56,391 --> 01:29:57,915 Whatever. 602 01:29:58,025 --> 01:30:01,358 £20,000, 603 01:30:01,462 --> 01:30:05,023 won for the most part with the oratorios of the last season. 604 01:30:06,033 --> 01:30:09,491 My niece in Germany, £9,000. 605 01:30:10,471 --> 01:30:13,463 To my servants, my cook Waltz, 606 01:30:14,542 --> 01:30:17,102 to other friends and charitable works... 607 01:30:18,279 --> 01:30:22,409 I give and bequeath to Mr. John Smith my little house organ, 608 01:30:22,550 --> 01:30:26,350 my music books and £800. 609 01:30:28,256 --> 01:30:33,592 To my servant, Peter the Blond, I bequeath my clothes, my linen and £300. 610 01:30:35,029 --> 01:30:38,795 To my other servants, one year's wages. 611 01:30:58,786 --> 01:31:01,778 I tried to be generous towards the poor, 612 01:31:02,690 --> 01:31:05,215 It will always be like this, always, 613 01:31:07,195 --> 01:31:12,132 As for my foundlings, I was governor of their asylum, you know, 614 01:31:12,767 --> 01:31:17,466 I was hoping it would be a little remedy against gin, 615 01:31:18,372 --> 01:31:22,138 which reduced women to depravity, 616 01:31:22,276 --> 01:31:25,336 and their poor condemned offspring,,, 617 01:31:27,215 --> 01:31:31,117 I still raised £7,000 with the Messiah. 618 01:31:33,421 --> 01:31:38,358 But after,,, After, they continued in court to have exclusivity,,, 619 01:31:38,459 --> 01:31:42,418 The exclusivity, note well, of the rights, 620 01:31:43,898 --> 01:31:47,857 I stopped them, but they will have a copy of the score, 621 01:31:56,444 --> 01:31:57,672 Alone, 622 01:32:00,047 --> 01:32:02,413 but it's only an appearance, 623 01:32:04,552 --> 01:32:07,680 Old friends, the Shaftesburys,,, 624 01:32:10,825 --> 01:32:12,156 I went there,,, 625 01:32:13,628 --> 01:32:16,256 I even went to Bath, 626 01:32:18,466 --> 01:32:19,899 The waters,,, 627 01:32:22,403 --> 01:32:23,700 Too late, 628 01:32:25,339 --> 01:32:26,601 Too late, 629 01:32:29,143 --> 01:32:31,202 There is no more time, you see, 630 01:32:33,214 --> 01:32:34,613 The places,,, 631 01:32:36,017 --> 01:32:37,780 What places, 632 01:32:46,027 --> 01:32:51,693 I must try to be magnanimous towards Tunbridge Wells, 633 01:32:51,799 --> 01:32:53,323 let him go to hell, 634 01:32:54,669 --> 01:33:00,301 and, very fortunately, may God protect him, 635 01:33:20,728 --> 01:33:24,562 I always managed to be full of spirit, 636 01:33:24,699 --> 01:33:26,530 No, not arranged, 637 01:33:26,667 --> 01:33:32,765 I was, most certainly, full of enthusiasm naturally, 638 01:33:34,041 --> 01:33:38,410 At the same moment when I exercised my rage, the height of passion, 639 01:33:38,546 --> 01:33:41,140 there was also the clamor of peace, 640 01:33:41,248 --> 01:33:42,681 It will come, 641 01:33:45,052 --> 01:33:46,485 I know it, 642 01:34:11,345 --> 01:34:13,370 Was that why? 643 01:34:13,481 --> 01:34:15,642 Was that why? 644 01:34:15,783 --> 01:34:19,981 I rose, rose, 645 01:34:20,454 --> 01:34:26,484 in praise of the Grand Duke of Cumberland, 646 01:34:27,762 --> 01:34:30,993 of Cumberland the butcher, 647 01:34:38,372 --> 01:34:41,102 "But what the English like is an air 648 01:34:41,208 --> 01:34:43,972 "on which they can beat the rhythm", I said, 649 01:34:44,845 --> 01:34:50,408 As in Judas Maccabeus, which I didn't pay much attention to, 650 01:34:52,486 --> 01:34:54,784 The sons of Levi, 651 01:34:55,423 --> 01:34:57,618 Walpole's sons: 652 01:34:59,860 --> 01:35:03,887 "Those who live the land of the shadow of death, " 653 01:36:32,586 --> 01:36:34,213 But harmony, 654 01:36:35,589 --> 01:36:38,558 in this past dissonance, 655 01:36:39,960 --> 01:36:41,723 friendships in pieces. 656 01:36:43,164 --> 01:36:45,928 Some, Smith... 657 01:36:47,434 --> 01:36:50,267 But it will fix itself. I will see to it. 658 01:36:51,572 --> 01:36:57,067 Concealments, impudence, cheating and treachery. 659 01:36:59,547 --> 01:37:02,038 I knew friendship, 660 01:37:03,584 --> 01:37:08,647 and even the gift of love, sometimes. 661 01:37:10,324 --> 01:37:13,816 Although, this great organist, 662 01:37:14,728 --> 01:37:17,288 master Buxtewhohide... 663 01:37:19,033 --> 01:37:23,766 An opportunity of the greatest importance, 664 01:37:23,871 --> 01:37:26,499 for the young man I was. 665 01:37:26,674 --> 01:37:33,011 But I was forced to flee from friendship and admiration for the contract, 666 01:37:34,181 --> 01:37:38,049 who forced me to marry his daughter. 667 01:37:39,820 --> 01:37:45,019 Promises I couldn't keep, even as a young male. 668 01:37:46,360 --> 01:37:50,797 At least, my children found in their asylum 669 01:37:50,898 --> 01:37:53,196 can't blame me for anything. 670 01:38:10,217 --> 01:38:13,983 What didn't I do for the Georges of England! 671 01:38:15,589 --> 01:38:19,582 For the royal fireworks in Vauxhall Gardens, 672 01:38:19,727 --> 01:38:22,924 in front of a crowd of 12,000 people, 673 01:38:23,030 --> 01:38:25,726 The traffic was incredible, 674 01:38:43,417 --> 01:38:48,354 We had our row 30 wind instruments and 18 brass instruments, 675 01:38:48,455 --> 01:38:51,117 three timpani, three snare drums, 676 01:38:54,061 --> 01:38:57,053 The fireworks themselves sparkled, 677 01:39:50,551 --> 01:39:53,884 I can't say that it amused me, 678 01:39:53,988 --> 01:39:55,922 But the music was successful, 679 01:39:57,658 --> 01:39:59,023 What an effort! 680 01:41:19,907 --> 01:41:23,138 My left eye was almost blind, 681 01:41:23,777 --> 01:41:26,974 “Mr, Sharp,” I said to him, 682 01:41:28,182 --> 01:41:32,346 "have you ever read the scriptures? 683 01:41:32,453 --> 01:41:34,353 "Have you forgotten 684 01:41:34,455 --> 01:41:38,755 "that if the blind lead the blind, They will fall into a ditch?” 685 01:41:40,461 --> 01:41:45,455 My 66th birthday, but I felt a little better, 686 01:41:46,667 --> 01:41:50,103 The Old Buck is doing pretty well, 687 01:41:50,204 --> 01:41:55,107 My last oratorio, in this case, Jephtha. 688 01:42:12,593 --> 01:42:14,584 Formerly I was crowded, 689 01:42:15,762 --> 01:42:18,697 but then the walls were empty, 690 01:42:19,433 --> 01:42:21,264 My friends have been loyal, 691 01:42:21,401 --> 01:42:25,565 “Whatever,” I said, "The music will sound better, 692 01:42:25,672 --> 01:42:29,164 "And if you're there next Friday night, 693 01:42:30,110 --> 01:42:32,374 “I will play it for you myself,” 694 01:42:33,280 --> 01:42:37,740 Nevertheless, for my part, if I may say so, 695 01:42:38,552 --> 01:42:41,919 were the evangelists, the Methodists, and all those 696 01:42:42,022 --> 01:42:46,356 who truly hate and basically pleasure, 697 01:42:47,828 --> 01:42:49,693 What mercenaries! 698 01:42:59,139 --> 01:43:02,370 My soul, my heart, 699 01:43:03,944 --> 01:43:08,813 are so heavy, at this hour, 700 01:43:10,984 --> 01:43:12,576 before dawn, 701 01:43:14,955 --> 01:43:17,549 He found no comforter, 702 01:43:19,059 --> 01:43:21,823 Was that why? 703 01:43:23,964 --> 01:43:27,024 The light, the light,,, 704 01:44:17,918 --> 01:44:23,049 Bald, blind and disabled, already. 705 01:44:24,458 --> 01:44:26,926 And that was a long time ago. 706 01:44:27,995 --> 01:44:29,485 That's what it seems. 707 01:44:30,130 --> 01:44:31,859 That's what it seems already. 708 01:44:35,302 --> 01:44:39,500 Paralytic disorder in the head. 709 01:44:43,744 --> 01:44:49,011 The good Lady Shaftesbury wrote to a friend, 710 01:44:49,750 --> 01:44:51,877 then said to me: 711 01:44:51,985 --> 01:44:55,318 "It was a great melancholy pleasure, 712 01:44:56,390 --> 01:44:59,052 "bringing up tears of sadness, 713 01:44:59,192 --> 01:45:03,356 "to see the great, but unhappy Handel, 714 01:45:03,463 --> 01:45:06,523 "dejected, pale and gloomy, 715 01:45:06,667 --> 01:45:09,932 "sitting, not playing the harpsichord, 716 01:45:10,737 --> 01:45:13,729 "and to think that his light had been exhausted 717 01:45:15,075 --> 01:45:18,408 “by overworking oneself for music.” 718 01:45:20,847 --> 01:45:24,908 I have always drifted towards theatricality, 719 01:45:26,353 --> 01:45:30,153 but not at the expense of the truth, No, 720 01:45:31,425 --> 01:45:33,017 The reviews! 721 01:45:34,194 --> 01:45:36,321 And who will remember them? 722 01:45:37,097 --> 01:45:41,295 Buononcini, Galuppi, Lampugnan, 723 01:45:41,435 --> 01:45:44,700 they were the masters, they said. 724 01:45:44,805 --> 01:45:48,605 These were the prosperous people on my side, 725 01:45:48,742 --> 01:45:51,302 and the aristocrats of theirs. 726 01:45:54,648 --> 01:45:55,706 No. 727 01:45:57,017 --> 01:46:01,283 I still prefer to be without a wig, 728 01:46:01,421 --> 01:46:04,219 as they know me at Vauxhall and Ranelagh. 729 01:46:05,325 --> 01:46:07,384 I repeat to myself, 730 01:46:08,662 --> 01:46:13,031 like all musicians, like the seasons themselves. 731 01:46:46,466 --> 01:46:49,731 Oh, fragments of memory, 732 01:46:49,836 --> 01:46:51,929 memory fragments,,, 733 01:46:53,740 --> 01:46:56,903 I am deadpan, they tell me, 734 01:46:57,010 --> 01:46:59,308 which implies that it escapes them, 735 01:48:23,296 --> 01:48:24,854 What places, 736 01:48:25,632 --> 01:48:31,537 Halle, This is a place from which I had to withdraw, 737 01:48:32,606 --> 01:48:36,633 The Continental Courts, Berlin, Florence, even. 738 01:48:37,511 --> 01:48:40,571 Did I say? Yes. 739 01:48:40,680 --> 01:48:43,649 To hell with Tunbridge Wells. 740 01:48:46,720 --> 01:48:47,948 The Messiah, 741 01:48:49,122 --> 01:48:54,492 Dear God, the new arrangements massive in vogue... 742 01:48:55,996 --> 01:49:00,592 People, Sir Willcocks and Master Sargent... 743 01:49:02,435 --> 01:49:05,734 I have placed kings at their feet, 744 01:49:07,107 --> 01:49:10,599 but their lackeys? The blind can open their eyes. 745 01:49:11,878 --> 01:49:17,316 I did my best, and I contributed, a little, 746 01:49:17,450 --> 01:49:23,787 to give to the English their glorious insatiable religion. 747 01:49:25,358 --> 01:49:27,383 There will be no more like it. 748 01:49:29,529 --> 01:49:33,090 My principle has always been, 749 01:49:34,200 --> 01:49:35,667 even when I was... 750 01:49:37,070 --> 01:49:38,401 To never... 751 01:49:39,205 --> 01:49:40,570 To never... 752 01:49:41,708 --> 01:49:46,702 Not in front of ladies! 753 01:49:46,846 --> 01:49:48,313 No! 754 01:49:52,719 --> 01:49:55,688 Don't you hear 755 01:49:55,822 --> 01:50:00,088 Ie angry and thunderous sound 756 01:50:00,794 --> 01:50:02,352 beyond time, 757 01:50:03,330 --> 01:50:07,130 beyond our time? 758 01:50:08,702 --> 01:50:10,636 Forever! 759 01:51:13,733 --> 01:51:17,669 I arrived in England as I swore to do, 760 01:51:17,804 --> 01:51:19,203 on my own behind, 761 01:51:19,973 --> 01:51:22,305 But as for paradise, 762 01:51:22,442 --> 01:51:28,472 the tuning fork getting closer to man, the extent of the notes he plays, 763 01:51:29,082 --> 01:51:31,676 I don't know, we don't know, 764 01:51:32,318 --> 01:51:37,381 mais la trompette doit certainement to make herself heard, She must, 765 01:51:37,524 --> 01:51:39,515 She does it, 766 01:51:39,626 --> 01:51:46,190 I heard, I wrote it myself at the top, 767 01:51:47,934 --> 01:51:52,496 "The trumpet will be,,, It will be heard above, 768 01:51:53,707 --> 01:51:57,541 "The dead will live, the living will die, 769 01:51:58,678 --> 01:52:03,172 "And the music will make the sky a disharmony, "