Reception of the Music of George Friedrich Händel in 19th century Barcelona

Händel’s music could be heard in Barcelona beyond the time of its creation, in search of the cultural and artistic interest of mid-nineteenth century audiences. The adventure of Händel’s music in Barcelona started on 12 March 1867 with some fragments of Rinaldo and ended at the turn of the twentieth century with a similar repertoire, directed by Matthieu Crickboom. The 30 works heard, 20 of which were vocal and 10 instrumental, were played over 40 performances and represent a polysemic and complex vision which saw the involvement of national performers, including Joaquim Malats, Isaac Albèniz, Pau Casals, Enric Granados, Enrique F. Arbós; as well as international ones such as Eugène Gigout, Gustav E. Kogel, Mathieu Crickboom and Vincent d’Indy, among others. The presence of Händel’s music in Barcelona at the end of the 19th century is accompanied by the work of several international Baroque composers: first, J. S. Bach, 57 of whose short works appear (almost double that of Händel), and complete works of Jean-Baptiste
Lully, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jean-Marie Leclair, Giacomo Carissimi, Domenico Zipoli, Arcangelo Corelli, Antonio Vivaldi, Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Giuseppe Tartini, Gregorio Allegri, Karl Heinrich Graun, Johann Mattheson and Joan Baptista Comes. The validity of the presence around the artistic figure of Händel at the turn of the century gave birth to the specially created Concerts Històrics, thanks to the interest of Felip Pedrell, Carles Vidiella and Joan B. Pujol at the beginning of the 20th century.