Handel House Museum

Magazine Antiques, Dec, 2001 by Miriam Kramer

George Frideric Handel was one of many Germans attracted to London during the early years of Hanoverian rule. It was an easy decision for him to move since he was the director of music for the elector of Hanover, who became George I in 1714. Handel settled into a newly built house at 25 Brook Street, Mayfair, in 1723 and lived there until his death in 1759. It was in this house that he composed most of the oratorios (including his Messiah), operas, and musical dramas, as well as the Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks.

In the century and a half after Handel's death, the house was occupied by residential and commercial tenants, and it was not until about ten years ago that the idea of a museum devoted to Handel was germinated.

Last month the Handel House Museum opened. It occupies the upper floors of 23 and 25 Brook Street, which have been painted and decorated in a style that would be recognized by the composer. According to the museum's director, Jacqueline Riding, paint analysis showed that the original color scheme was gray walls with chocolate brown trim. In most rooms, this has been reproduced.

None of Handel's furnishings or possessions are known to survive, but the museum has secured the loan of paintings and objects that help to re-create the atmosphere of his time. Handel was an avid collector who owned more than eighty paintings and many prints, and this is reflected in the present decoration of the public rooms. A replica of Handel's harpsichord has a prominent place in the room in which he entertained his friends, rehearsed, and performed. The plan is to hold concerts in this room.

A handbook to the museum, written by the director.