Halle (dpa/sa) - The life and work of Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759) attracted around 60,000 people from Germany and abroad to Halle last year. Among them were around 40,000 music lovers who came to the birthplace of the Baroque composer to mark the 100th anniversary of the Handel Festival. Around 20,000 guests visited exhibitions and events in the Handel House Museum and in the Wilhelm Friedemann Bach House, as the Handel House Foundation announced on Wednesday. The months with the most visitors were the festival and summer months. According to the information, the Handel House Foundation offered 153 events in 2022. These included concerts, music and museum educational offers for children and lectures.
The number of museum visitors increased in 2022 compared to 2021 (8,000 visitors) and 2020 (10,000 visitors). However, before the start of the corona pandemic, around 30,000 people came to the exhibitions of the Handel House Foundation every year. The pandemic arrived in Saxony-Anhalt in March 2020. In order to curb the spread of the corona virus and to avoid contagion, museums in Germany were closed. Performances of the Handel Festival were canceled or offered digitally.
In Halle, the Handel House shows exhibitions on the life of the composer and historical musical instruments from his time. Handel was born in the building complex in 1685. After various posts such as in Italy, he lived in London, where he died in 1759 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Among the famous works in the composer's rich opera and oratorio oeuvre are the church music piece "Messiah" with the world-famous choir "Hallelujah", the "Fireworks Music" and the "Water Music". In the former home of the composer and organist Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784), the Handel House Foundation in Halle is showing an exhibition on the city's musical history.
