Handel and Maurice Greene

Maurice Greene

Maurice Green (1696 - 1755) is one of those contemporaries of Handel that the great composer rather eclipsed. He was appointed Master of King's Musick in 1735, but for most Royal events he was passed over in favour of Handel. Handel seems to have not liked Greene, but then Handel found it difficult to have other composers around him. When it came to composition, he was the least collegiate of me. On December 7 at St. George's Hanover Square, there is the chance to hear some Greene and some Handel in the same concert.


Benjamin Hulett (tenor), Benjamin Narvey (theorbo) and Luke Green (harpsichord) are giving a programme which includes music by Handel, plus Greene's setting of Edmund Spenser's Amoretti from 1738. Spenser's sonnet cycle, Amoretti, was first published in the late 16th century. The 89 sonnets were written to correspond to readings from the Book of Common Prayer on specific dates (for a period of 3 months leading up to the date of Spenser's wedding), though the cycle has rather been undervalued compared to Spenser's other works.

The event starts at 7pm and is part of the London Handel Festival's Winter Season. The performers have a disc of Greene's Amoretti out on Naxos this autumn.

Further details from the London Handel Festival website.