Category Archives: The Handel Seminar Continues

A continuation of topics and dialogues introduced in The Handel Letters: A Biographical Conversation, by Sandra K. Dolby.

Losing our elders

April 19, 2020The Handel Seminar Continuescoronavirus, elders, nursing homesSandra Dolby

Handel blog 13*

Remember me when I am gone away
Gone far away into the silent land
When you can no more hold me by the hand.
~Christina Rossetti

From Katherine: Each day of this pandemic brings more and more losses of older Americans, especially those living in nursing homes. You can read some discussion of the statistics here. Most heartbreaking, in many ways, are the deaths that occur with no friends or family there to say goodbye, no loving hand to hold, no one to respond to the eyes that say, “I love you. Remember me.” That line from Christina Rossetti’s poem has always tugged at my heart. I remember some of our discussion of the anguish Handel felt when his mother died and he was unable to be there or even to attend her funeral.

Chapter in which we learn Handel’s mother has died in Halle

From Peter: Yes, I have seen a couple of recent articles lamenting exactly that—the sadness that comes with not being able to see a dying friend or relative. I’ll share this one and this one. I know such distressing stories will be the subject of valuable collections in many newspapers and museums across the country. Such a sad way to be remembered. We need to have more than just cold offices holding death records.

From Rebecca: Museums, archives. local history centers, maybe even personal diaries—these will all serve to preserve the stories of people taken during this pandemic. Perhaps we will learn something from their reports. Perhaps we will know how to respond more quickly and believe those who warn us of dangers that come when we send away the watchdogs. How many could we have saved if we had listened to our doctors and researchers earlier?

From Katherine: I expect we will hear many more stories of the vulnerable who succumb as well as those who have risked infection on a daily basis—the nurses, doctors, grocers, delivery people, trash haulers, and cashiers. On a more positive note, perhaps we will finally pay people a living wage and offer them universal health care. Perhaps something good will come from this time of loss. Good things did follow the Plague years in Europe. Handel gained much from being a part of the great push to rebuild and renew after Halle’s many deaths. May we garner some good, and may the sad losses end soon. Let us think of some promising signs for our next exchange. I need some emotional sunshine.

*All posts listed as “Handel blog” are texts that use the fictional characters in my book The Handel Letters: A Biographical Conversation. As in that book, the posts will often reference things from Handel’s life or time period as starting points. And the post will cite a page or paragraph in the book when it seems relevant. Find The Handel Letters.

No chance to mourn

April 15, 2020Sparks from Science and Society, The Handel Seminar Continuesmemorials, postponed funeralsSandra Dolby

Handel blog 11*

From Katherine: Several times, in our phone conversations, Forella has expressed her gratitude at having Angela and Annie and Randolph there with her in her roomy townhouse while this pandemic oozes around outside. Ross has adhered to the advice not to visit her, and she sees the wisdom in that, she admits. But, Ross, you should know that she worries about you there alone in that big house with no other to keep company. She knows you have many online friends, but she worries nonetheless, as mothers do. She said it was ok to share this worry, so, Ross, what say you?

From Ross: Well, I expect several of us are in the same boat—stuck at home all alone. It sounds bad, but truthfully, I am glad I have a place to call home, a place I feel safe. And I’m glad my mother does, too, and especially glad she has people there at her home, glad she isn’t in a retirement home or something. As for me, I can take a walk on my grounds or along the canal, pick up a garlic chicken dinner at Sahm’s, and go home to my place and watch movies or Zoom with friends. It’s not so bad. But I am a “privileged elite” as they say—and they are right. I feel sorry for those poor souls with no home to go to or a makeshift place with six people to a room. I feel infinitely more safe than our country’s less fortunate—occasional loneliness or not.

From Wait: It is good to have someone with you, there’s no denying that. I would say that even if my wife weren’t looking over my shoulder. 🙂 But here is the thing—it is really something to worry about if you have a relative in a nursing home. If the virus gets a toehold there—look out! And if, God forbid, they die—don’t expect to be able to hold a funeral. Don’t expect to see them before they die.

From Katherine: Yes, it is true. One of the many sad consequences of this pandemic is the number of people who die separated from their families and denied the honor of a wake or funeral that brings together the people who loved them. Often they haven’t had time to write a will or indicate what they would like to have happen should they die suddenly. They may not have decided on a burial plot or grave marker. Handel had at least known for some time that he was losing ground. He had made out a will, and he had his servants there in his last hours. He knew that he would be memorialized in a fine sculpture at Westminster Abbey. Maybe we will say more about such important markers next time.

Masks: Death Mask

April 14, 2020The Handel Seminar Continuesdeath mask, Handel, life mask, musicSandra Dolby

Handel blog 10*

From Katherine: There has been much talk of the need for cloth or surgical masks during this pandemic. And we considered the role of the Doctor’s mask during the last of the Plague years in Europe. Our Handel discussion raises the issue of yet another kind of mask. Two hundred sixty-one years ago on this day (April 14, 1759), George Frideric Handel died at his Brook Street home in London. Some biographers claim that a “death mask” was cast of his face and that this mask was used as a model in creating the monument erected in his honor at Westminster Abbey. Others dispute this claim, saying it was instead a “life mask,” one created while he was still alive. Either way, it poses the question of just what such a mask is and how it would have been fashioned from the face of a person, living or dead.

From Clara: I didn’t know there was a “death mask” of Handel, but –and I know you will all find this a bit bizarre—I have followed some blogs that talk about death masks or life masks. I find the idea of recording a person’s features through a cast rather than by photography fascinating. You can see a fun, yes, fun, discussion of the topic here. I think some other famous people have had death masks or life masks. If you watch the YouTube video I mentioned by Caitlin Doughty, you will see how difficult it would be to actually create such a thing, especially a life mask.

From Peter: I found a source that challenges the idea that the “mask” of Handel was made as a cast of his face at all. The author of this article says the supposed mask was more likely made from a sculpted likeness, a statue of Handel made by an artist. You can read his argument here.

From Brad: So, some 260 years ago today was the day our man Handel died. At least he was in his own home. And I suppose his death wasn’t entirely unexpected. Not like Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper—wiped out in a plane crash. Still, I guess we could say that for people in Handel’s time, it was sort of “the day the music died,” right?

From Katherine: I suppose so, Brad. Fortunately, Handel’s scores of music survive. But Handel was also an outstanding musician. I imagine those who heard him play the organ or harpsichord would agree that losing Handel the performer was a major loss even though Handel the composer lives on. Creating music has many dimensions. Thanks for joining us on this April 14^th—Handel’s death day.