Will of George Frideric Handel
Introduction George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) wrote his will over a number of years and with a number of codicils. Handel created the first version of his will with nine years to live, and completed his will (with the final codicil) three days before his death. Handel's will begins with the following text:
Parts of the will The following table documents the dates of the original will and the four codicils, as well as the witness statements at the conclusion of each part of the will.DatePartWitness statement1 June 1750Original will''In wittness  whereof I have here unto set my hand this 1 day of June 1750. ''GEORGE FREDERIC HANDEL6 August 1756Codicil''In witness whereof I Have hereunto set my hand and seal, this sixth day of August, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six. ''GEORGE FREDERIC HANDEL. ''On the day and year above written, this codicil was read over to the said George Frideric Handel, and was by him signed and published in our presence.''Tho. Harris.John Hetherington.22 March 1757Codicil''In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, the twenty-second day of March, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven. ''GEORGE FREDERIC HANDEL. ''On the day and year above written, this codicil was read over to the said George Frideric Handel, and was by him signed and published in our presence.''Tho. Harris.John Hetherington.4 August 1757Codicil''In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this fourth day of August, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven. ''GEORGE FREDERIC HANDEL. ''On the day and year above written, this codicil was read over to the said George Frideric Handel, and was by him signed and published in our presence.''Tho. Harris.John Maxwell.11 April 1759Codicil''In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this eleventh day of April, 1759.''G. F. HANDEL. ''This codicil was read over to the said George Frideric Handel, and by him signed and sealed, in the presence, on the day and year above written, of us,''A. S. Rudd.J. Christopher Smith.
Handel's will The contents of each part of Handel's will are detailed in the following table. Note that where quotes have been supplied from the will, the original spelling, punctuation and capitalisations have been reproduced. The Item column gives the precise ordering of each bequest in Handel's will.Will dateItemRecipientBequestNotes1 June 17501Peter le Blond"''my Clothes and Linnen''"Peter le Blond was Handel's servant.1 June 17502Peter le Blond300 pounds sterlingBequests to le Blond were not remitted as he died before Handel.1 June 17503Handel's other servants"''a year Wages''"1 June 17504Christopher Smith"''My large harpsichord, my little House Organ, my Musick Books''"1 June 17505Christopher Smith500 pounds sterling1 June 17506James Hunter500 pounds sterling1 June 17507Christian Gottlieb Handel100 pounds sterlingChristian (who lived in Copenhagen) was a grandson of Handel's brother Karl.1 June 17508Magister Christian August Rotth100 pounds sterlingHandel's cousin in Halle.1 June 17509Widow of George Taust Jr.300 pounds sterlingHandel's aunt was the widow of George Taust Jr (pastor of Giebichenstein near Halle). The bequest was never remitted as the widow died before Handel's death.1 June 175010Widow of Taust's six children1,200 pounds sterlingEach of the six children to get 200 pounds. (One child died before Handel's death. )1 June 175011Johanna Fridericia Floerken"''All the rest and residue of my Estate in Bank Annuities, 1746, sft. sub. or whatsoever kind or nature''"Johanna (of Gotha in Saxony—born Michaelsen in Halle) was Handel's niece. The entry in the will also made her sole executor of Handel's will.6 August 175612Peter le Blond200 pounds sterlingIn addition to previous bequest.6 August 175613Christopher Smith1,500 pounds sterlingIn addition to previous bequest.6 August 175614Christian Gottlieb Handel200 pounds sterlingIn addition to previous bequest.6 August 175615Magister Christian August Rotth's widow100 pounds sterlingIn addition to previous bequest. Magister Christian August Rotth had died subsequent to Handel's will of 1750.Handel wrote that if Rotth's widow should die, her children should be given the money.6 August 175616Widow of Taust's five children1,500 pounds sterlingAs the widow and one of her children had died since Handel's will of 1750, Handel requested the original 1,200 pounds (to the children) plus the original 300 pounds (to the widow) be divided amongst the remaining five children (300 pounds each).6 August 175617Thomas Morrell200 pounds sterlingDoctor Thomas Morrell of Turnham Green.6 August 175618Newburgh Hamilton100 pounds sterlingHamilton (of Old Bond Street) assisted Handel in adjusting the words in some of Handel's compositions.6 August 175619George Amyant200 pounds sterlingWith the 1756 codicil, Handel made George Amyant, Esquire, of Lawrence Pountney Hill co-executor (along with Handel's niece) of his will.22 March 175720John Duburk500 pounds sterlingDuburk was Peter le Blond's nephew. As le Blond had recently died, Handel gave the previously allocated 500 pounds to Duburk.22 March 175721Thomas Bramwell30 pounds sterlingBramwell was Handel's servant. Handel stipulated that the money was only to be paid if Bramwell was still living with Handel at the time of Handel's death.4 August 175722Christianna Sussanna Handel300 pounds sterlingChristian Gottlieb Handel had recently died, so Handel bequeathed his already allocated 300 pounds to Christianna (who lived at Goslar).4 August 175723Rahel Sophia Handel300 pounds sterlingRahel was another sister of Christian Gottlieb Handel, and lived at Pless near Teschen in Silesia.4 August 175724John Rich, Esquire"''my great organ that stands at the Theatre Royal, in Covent Garden''"4 August 175725Charles Jennens, Esquire"''two pictures, the old man's head and the old woman's head, done by Denner''"Balthasar Dennar painted several portraits of Handel, but nothing is known of the paintings mentioned in Handel's will.4 August 175726— Granville, Esquire"''the landskip, a view of the Rhine, done by Rembrandt, and another, by the same hand, which he made me a present some time ago''"The first name is illegible, but is Bernard Granville of Holles Street and Calwich Abbey, Staffordshire.4 August 175727Foundling Hospital"''a fair copy of the score, and all parts of my oratorio called the Messiah''"11 April 175928Governors or trustees of the Society for the Support of Decayed Musicians and their Families1,000 pounds sterling"''to be disposed of in the most benenficial manner for the objects of that charity''".11 April 175929George Amyant200 pounds sterlingIn addition to previous bequest.11 April 175930Thomas Harris, Esquire300 pounds sterlingThomas Harris of Lincolns Inn Fields.11 April 175931John Hetherington100 pounds sterling"''John Hetherington, of First Fruits Office, in the Middle Temple''".11 April 175932James Smyth500 pounds sterlingJames Smyth of Bond Street was present at Handel's funeral and wrote a long account of it to another of Handel's friends, Bernard Granville.11 April 175933Mathew Dubourg100 pounds sterlingMathew Dubourg was a musician.11 April 175934Thomas Bramwell70 pounds sterlingIn addition to previous bequest.11 April 175935Benjamin Martyn50 guineas11 April 175936John Belchar50 guineasJohn Belchar of Sun Court Threadneedle Street was a surgeon.11 April 175937John de Bourk"''all my wearing-apparel''"John de Bourk was Handel's servant.11 April 175938John Cowland50 pounds sterlingJohn Cowland of New Bond Street was an apothecary.11 April 175939600 pounds sterling (maximum)For use by the will's executor to build a monument to Handel in Westminster Abbey.11 April 175940Mrs Palmer100 pounds sterlingThe widow of Mr Palmer of Chelsea.11 April 175941Handel's maid-servantsOne year's wages"''over and above what shall be due to them at the time of my death''".11 April 175942Mrs Mayne50 guineasMrs Mayne was a widow and the sister of the late Mr. Batt.11 April 175943Mrs Downalan50 guineasMrs Downalan or Donnellan of Charles Street Berkeley Square, one of two daughters of Nehemiah Donnellan, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland, and his wife Martha.11 April 175944Mr Reiche200 pounds sterlingMr Reiche was the Secretary of the affairs of Hanover.
Handel's funeral In the final codicil to his will (item 39 in the above table), Handel expressed a desire to be buried in the following manner:Handel was buried in the south wing of Westminster Abbey, and his funeral took place on Friday 20 April 1759.The funeral service was performed by Dr. Zachary Pearce (Bishop of Rochester), and took place in the presence of more than 3,000 visitors. The choirs of the Chapel Royal, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey sang the Funeral Anthem of William Croft.
See also *George Frideric Handel*Letters and writings of George Frideric Handel
References