Handel, George Frideric. ...

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Handel, George Frideric. Autograph manuscript, 1 page (7.25 x 9.12 in.; 184 x 232 mm.), [1 June 1750]; the leaf has one horizontal and two vertical folds, with skillful repair to minor cracks in the folds, not affecting the text. The missing second leaf of the earliest manuscript of Handel's autograph manuscript will, containing three words on the recto and three lines on the verso in his hand. Written on a leaf and tipped to a slightly larger leaf on which is written, in a much later hand: "The following piece is in the handwriting of Handel and is his endorsement on the outside cover of his holograph will which he wrote out in duplicate." The leaf is the original conjugate second leaf of the earliest of the two copies of the will that Handel wrote out on 1 June 1750, forming pages 3 and 4 of the complete document; Handel probably regarded it as a draft, since it contains corrections and additions in his hand. On page 3, Handel has written the words "1746. 1 sub." halfway down the left edge. At the foot appears an ink stain. In the top right portion of page 4, Handel writes: The Original of this is deposited in the hands of Messiers Voguel and Amyand Marchants of London. The first leaf (forming pages 1 and 2 of the document) is in the celebrated Handel collection of Mr. Gerald Coke; it is illustrated in the catalogue of his exhibition commemorating the tercentenary of Handel's birth, where can be seen the mirror image of the ink stain mentioned above. Also apparent from the illustration is the reason for the words "1746. 1 sub." on the recto of this document: the words are the completion of a correction made by Handel to the original draft of the will for which he had insufficient space on page 2. The full text of his correction reads "Bank Annuity's 1746. 1 sub.," which was the title of the stock that Handel decided to bequeath to his niece instead of the "South Sea Annuity's" that he had originally intended and written in. Handel's will has been the subject of two studies by the great Handelian, William C. Smith. He devoted four pages to it in his article "More Handeliana" (Music & Letters, xxxiv/1, January 1953, 15-18) and three further pages in A Handelian's Notebook, 65-67. The second copy of the will, as attested and proved on April 26, 1759, is in the Public Record Office, London. Mr. Smith and others have professed themselves puzzled at the existence of two copies of the will, both in Handel's hand. The present leaf, previously unknown, solves the mystery; for Handel's 3-line note clearly shows that this copy was for his own retention while the other, which he regarded as the "original" (or official) one, was for the files of his close friend and executor, George Amyand (a Hamburg merchant, or "marchant" as Handel put it, based in London). Smith supposed that the two copies were to be kept together, but this is now seen as unlikely to have been the case. Handel autographs are among the rarest of the great composers. Although the present document is only fragmentary, it has the merit of clearing up a minor mystery and adding a fascinating detail to our knowledge of the composer. A previously unknown and unstudied document, only recently discovered.