Rock bottom: 1737

This week of programmes looks at Handel’s life and work during an important decade of his life. The 1730s saw Handel create some of his best-loved works, but also saw him fall out with singers and patrons in London, endure a stroke and attendant poor mental health, and mourn the death of one of his chief supporters, Queen Caroline.

In this episode, Donald Macleod explores 1737, the year Handel suffered a stroke, losing the use of his right arm, and enduring attendant mental health problems. This threatened his whole way of life, not just as an acclaimed performer but as a composer. To make matters worse, his great patron Queen Caroline died. Handel quickly wrote one of his most affecting pieces, The Ways of Zion do Mourn. He rehabilitated at the vapour-baths of Aix-la-Chapelle and regained much of his strength. Meanwhile, the Opera of Nobility had folded, and he was reunited with singers he had previously worked with.

Opera: Arminio, HWV 36
Aria: Mira il ciel, vendrai d’Alcide (Act 3)
Juan Sancho, tenor (Varus)
Armonia Atenea
George Petrou conductor

Opera: Giustino, HWV 37
Aria: Un vostro sguardo (Act 1)
Duet: Mio bel tesoro! (Act 2)
Dawn Kotoski, soprano (Arminio)
Dorothea Röschmann, soprano (Ariadne)
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Concerto Grosso in E minor, Op. 6 No. 3, HWV 321
Academy of Ancient Music
Andrew Manze, conductor

Oratorio: Il trionfo del Tempo et del Disinganno, HWV 46a
Aria: Lascia la spina
Jennifer Smith (soprano)
Les Musiciens du Louvre
Marc Minkowski, conductor

Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline: The Ways of Zion do Mourn
Introduction and Chorus: The Ways of Zion Do Mourn
Bremen Baroque Orchestra
Wolfgang Helbich, conductor

Produced by Iain Chambers