Handel, George Frederick (1685-1759)

George Frederick Handel is a German composer from the Baroque Era who is best known for his great choral work Messiah from which his famous Hallelujah Chorus comes. Handel had a great interest in music as a child which his mother supported but his father discouraged. Handel followed his father’s wishes and enrolled in law…

Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is a German Baroque era (1600-1750) composer who is known as the grandfather of modern music theory – his compositions were so well loved and studied, and focused so much on harmonic color, that our rules of music theory are modeled after what Bach did (and avoided) in most of his…

Vivaldi, Antonio (1678-1741)

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is an Italian Baroque Era composer and ordained priest who was know as “the red priest” (likely due to his red hair). His prolific musical output, including nearly 500 concertos, over 70 sonatas, and around 50 operas, illustrate the tendency in the Baroque era of constantly composing new works for concerts and…