The Life of Handel (continued)

Return to Germany

When Agrippina finished in February 1710, Handel returned to Germany, passing through the Austrian city of Innsbruck. By June, he had been appointed Kapellmeister to the Elector of Hanover, George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, soon to become George I of Great Britain.

The generous terms of his Hanoverian appointment can be gauged by the fact that Handel was able to travel to Düsseldorf in July. Here he remained for several weeks as the guest of the Electress, Anna Maria de’ Medici. From Düsseldorf, Handel travelled on to Halle where he saw his mother and his first teacher, Zachau.

In Germany that year, he completed the cantata Apollo e Dafne which he had begun in Italy.

By the Autumn, Handel was on his way to England, via Holland.

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