Handel & Hendrix in London

Wonderful experience for anyone who is a musician! Loved the tour. Fantastic guides to give information and answer questions.

Last weekend, on my sister’s instigation (she’s a musician) we decided to check out the Handel House Museum. I quite like a bit of Georg Friedrich myself from time to time, so I built up a certain level of expectations. To add to the intrigue is the fact that Jimi Hendricks lived in the same building in 1968 – 69, as the blue plaque outside the building demonstrates. Now, where else can one include in the same snapshot picture the blue plaques of two musical geniuses?
Anyway, the expectations were very soon quenched once we walked through the door. There were 2 small rooms on the second floor and 3 on the first floor that we could visit. An audiovisual presentation welcomed us but it wasn’t particularly informative. The rooms are very plain and rather empty: no memorabilia, no autographic letters, or other relevant items. A few drawings and paintings adorn the walls: the portraits of Farinelli, Faustina Bordoni and other dudes and dudesses somehow linked to GFH. There is the bed in which he allegedly died. The room in which his manservant helped him put on and off his coat, and — I guess — his wig. There is the concert room, with a replica of a harpsichord that may or may not resemble the one that the man used. And the dark (empty) room where he composed his celebrated masterpieces. Now, if you’re a worshipper of the dude you may want to spend some time there breathing in the air with your eyes closed. And you might get excited thinking that the squeaking floorboards are probably making the same noise that they made nearly 300 years ago when the composer was pacing up and down and thinking of a nice way to open his Messiah.
Allegedly activities, lectures and concerts are a regular feature at the museum, and talks take place on a Saturday. Well, not that Saturday!
So, all in all a bit of a disappointment. I wouldn’t give it a bad review if it were free, but to visit this baby you pay the same entrance fee you would fork out to visit the entire Courtauld Gallery!

Marvellous concerts take place here
in the rooms where Handel himself
lived & worked. I cant praise them
highly enough. A gem of a place in
the heart of London. Beautiful Georgian
house too. It was here that Handel lived
& composed such great works as his
Messiah from 1723 till his death in1759

Last week I knew absolutely nothing about George Frideric Handel. But now, I know that he composed 42 operas, 29 oratorios and more than 120 cantatas, he slept in a big red canopied bed, and Jimi Hendrix lived in a flat in the attic of his former home.
The Handel House museum was Handel’s actual home from 1723 until the time of his death. The museum takes you through the upper floors of the house where the sitting room and bedrooms are. Here you will find paintings of Handel’s composer buddies, a recreation of his bedroom and a small tribute to Jimi Hendrix who lived in the flat above the house. Sadly, the flat is now used as an office and we were not able to go up and check out Jimi’s digs. But, there were some lovely photos of Jimi in his living room and quotes about how much he enjoyed living there.
Downstairs is the composition room where Handel composed many of his pieces, including Messiah. Recitals and concerts take place here throughout the week, including the day we visited. The music floating through the rooms was a nice touch while browsing the exhibition rooms.
As a museum junkie, I found this museum very interesting, and it was a good way to get my culture fix for awhile!
Photography is not allowed in the museum except for one room where you can try on various pieces of clothing of the period. Jackets, wigs, dresses – and of course there is a large mirror where you can see how lovely you look. You can also listen to Handel’s pieces on headphones or fool around with composing your own works on a small keyboard. There’s a very small giftshop on the first floor as well that carries the usual gift shop type stuff along with the numerous Handel recordings. Admission is £6 for the museum tour.

Once you’ve found your way to this, you’ll be amazed you didn’t discover it before, as it’s only a few twists and turns from Oxford Street. i love little museums, and Handel’s music, so for me this was the ideal place to find out more about the composer and his divas (special exhibition on at the time I visited). Most interesting — the sound clips are great and the museum staff let you listen as long as you like, give out factsheets and know lots about Handel’s life and works into the bargain. A shade expensive, perhaps, but this is the kind of museum you’d probably only visit once anyway. Be warned — there isn’t very much for young children to do or look at here: it’s essentially for adults.

Nice little museum hidden at the corner of Brook Street and Bond Street, in the lovely Lancashire Court. Quiet, beautifully done, and it was the residence of Handel during his days in London, and he died here too. They hold some concerts for a reasonable price, classical music as you expect. And the surrounding is just right for Handel’s music of course. Strangely it is also Jimi Hendrix’s flat upstairs. So they do have something which suits the Hendrix fans from time to time. They tried their best to recreate the Georgian town house feel to it, and it makes a nice trip away from the hustle bustle on Bond Street. It feels like you fall into a different century, a different world, when you walk inside.