Michael Tippett’s “Fantasia on a Theme of Handel”: An Homage to the Baroque
As one of music history’s greatest melodists, George Frideric Handel left behind ripe material for later composers. For example, consider the way allusions to the iconic Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah resurfaced in the music of composers such as Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Mahler. Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel is based on the Aria con variazioni which concludes Handel’s Suite in B-flat Major, HWV 434 for solo keyboard. With this monumental piece, the …