Handel monument
The Handel Monument in Halle (Saale) is the only monument in Germany in honor of the German-British Baroque composer Georg Friedrich Handel . It was realized there in 1859 on the occasion of the commemoration events for the 100th anniversary of the artist's death in a great joint effort between Germans and British.
Outside of Germany are in London , the two Handel Monuments of Roubiliac (Handel Monument to the Vauxhall Gardens from 1738 and Handel's grave monument in Westminster Abbey ) and in Paris the Handel monument in the entrance foyer of the Opéra Garnier known.
Description and symbolism
The German Handel monument is located opposite Handel's baptistery on the market square in Halle, from where he looks to London , his main place of work and adopted home. A 1500 kg heavy and 3.2 m high bronze statue rises above three granite steps on a 19 t marble pedestal , which shows a mature, corpulent Handel in the costume of his time (tunic, breeches, shoes and stockings, the gallantier sword on the side and a huge curly wig on the head). Imposing he leans on the standing right next to him music stand in the Rococo style , on the score of the Messiah is. One of the three sides of the pedestal bears the year 1741, which recalls the year in which Handel composed his greatest work, the Messiah. On the back there is a representation of Cecilia of Rome playing the organ . On the right and left, the great singer David and the representative of the art of singing and the string playing of the Greek gods, Orpheus, are incorporated as representatives of sacred and secular music . On the front the memorial bears the simple inscription: HAENDEL / 1685 - 1759 , on the reverse the dedication: Erected / by his admirers / in Germany and England / 1859 . The iron ornamental grille around the Handel monument was replaced by a new one with house stones as corner pillars for Handel's 200th birthday, but was later destroyed. A reconstruction has so far caused heated controversy among the citizens of Halle, as many prefer a redesign of the monument base.
The political significance of the existence of a Handel monument in Germany should be emphasized at this point, because until the beginning of the 19th century, honors in monuments were reserved exclusively for kings, rulers and generals. The power to unite people, the size and boldness of Handel's music made the composer appear to many scholars as a pioneering role model for the German people, which, shaped by the period of Vormärz and the revolution of 1848/49, was just about to develop as a nation in the first place . Therefore, the erection of the monument found the approval of the Prussian king , who had refused something like this a few years earlier. In the broadest sense, the teaching of hands in Halle in 1859 was a contribution to strengthening the Germans' national self-esteem and a milestone in the political struggle for emancipation in the process of national unity.
financing
| amount of money donated | sponsor |
|---|---|
| 3,400 Reichstaler | Hallenser [musical. Performances (2168 d.) + Private donations (1204 d.)] |
| 2,492 Reichstaler | England (Her Majesty Queen Victoria) |
| 1,508 Reichstaler + 6 silver groschen | All of Germany [musical performances + private donations] |
| 566 Reichstaler + 20 silver groschen | Prussian royal house (King Wilhelm I.) |
| 7,966 Reichstaler + 26 silver groschen + 1 pfennig | ALL IN ALL |
On the occasion of the upcoming commemoration of the 100th anniversary of GF Handel's death, a Handel Committee founded for this occasion published an appeal to music lovers from all over Germany and Europe on May 1, 1856 in Halle :
... Halle, the city where Haendel was born and where the first impressions of the youth were so important, wishes that a memorial would be built for him within its walls. [...] The proximity of the secular celebration prompts us to ask that all friends of our project hurry up as possible through musical performances, subscriptions and other suitable means to enable it to be carried out on time. We will not fail to give a public account of the progress of the company and the use made of the [...] incoming monetary contributions. We ask for the broadest dissemination of this appeal ...
In addition to Ludwig Wucherer , August Tholuck and Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann , who was elected chairman of the committee , numerous other celebrities signed the appeal. Even Georg Gottfried Gervinus joined as a leading liberal constitutional scholars politicians this call.
The British royal family donated almost a third of the total costs on behalf of England and, along with the Halle residents, made the largest contribution to the construction of this Handel monument.
During the following three years numerous performances for the best of the Handel monument to be erected in Halle were organized throughout Germany , above all with the Singakademie Halle , but also by other music associations in Berlin , Leipzig , Königsberg , Cologne , Stuttgart , Hamburg , Krefeld and Brandenburg and Tübingen , so that with additional private donations, a total of 7,966 Reichstaler , 26 silver groschen and 1 pfennig were collected. The repeated performance of the Messiah (Mozart's arrangement) under Robert Franz and a world star cast by Jenny Goldschmidt-Lind and Otto Goldschmidt or section leader of the Berlin Cathedral Choir on December 15, 1857 in Handel's baptistery alone had 1,355 Reichstaler, 13 silver groschen and 3 Pennies raised for the memorial.
The Comité commissioned in 1843 the Berlin sculptor Hermann Heidel with the draft Handel still image and later the major art foundry Hermann Gladbeck with the bronze casting.
inauguration
The inauguration of the Handel monument in the composer's birthplace was planned for April 14, 1859, the 100th anniversary of the death of George Frideric Handel. As a result of a long illness of the sculptor, however, the celebrations had to be postponed, so that the bronze Handel was only unveiled to the world on July 1, 1859 .
The celebration still followed the courtly culture of jubilation with the pageant as the highlight:
- 7 a.m .: Choral music from the bridge of the Hausmannstürme
- 8.30 a.m .: Parade of the students and the Halle Liedertafel , grouping around the monument
- 9 a.m .: Start of the pageant (city architect, Handel Committee, artists, city authorities, university, clergy, rectors and teachers)
- Choir singing from the balcony of the town hall: See the victorious hero comes (See the conqu'ring hero comes HWV64)
- Ceremonial address by Lord Mayor Franz von Voss
... and everyone joined in a chorale, blown in the music choir, "Now thank all God" ... The windows of all the houses that surround him were occupied by spectators, but not these alone, the people and the galleries even stood on the roofs and balconies of the towers were densely occupied ...
- The festive dinner and the finale at the Hotel Kronprinz with guests such as Franz Liszt , the sculptor Heidel , privy councilor Ludwig Wucherer , conductor Robert Franz and Richard Wagner's niece . The bookseller and publisher Carl Gustav Schwetschke brought the toast on the blackboard to the monument that had just been unveiled.
100th anniversary of GF Handel's death with unveiling of the monument on July 1, 1859
With new decorative grille from 1885
200th anniversary of GF Handel's death on April 14, 1959
250th anniversary of GF Handel's death on April 14, 2009
The Handel memorial stood on the market square in Halle in front of the old town hall and council scales . Both buildings, steeped in tradition, were badly damaged in the bombing raid on the city center on March 31, 1945 and demolished in 1948. The monument lacks a historical background today. Handel was enrolled in the Ratswaage, which at the time was the main building of the Friedrichs University in Halle .
literature
- Bernd Hofestädt: The Handel and Halle family . For the city anniversary of 1200 years of Halle. Ekkehard, New Episode 13 (2006) special issue.
- Holger Brülls, Thomas Dietsch: Architectural Guide Halle on the Saale . Dietrich Reimer, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3496012021 .
- Michael Pantenius: City Guide Halle. Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 1995; ISBN 3811208160 .
- Gerhard Rupp: The Handel monument in Halle by Hermann Heidel. A consideration from the perspective of new sources. In: Ralf Jacob / Verein für Halle Stadtgeschichte (Ed.): Yearbook for Halle Stadtgeschichte 2008, pp. 61–96.
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 51 ° 28 ′ 57.3 " N , 11 ° 58 ′ 12.9" E