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Music Quiz - Ten Pieces - George Frideric Handel (Questions)

Meet George Frideric Handel and explore his bold, dramatic music. Listen for powerful melodies, strong rhythms, and how voices and instruments work together to create unforgettable openings.

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Fascinating Fact:

It begins with strings building tension, then the choir enters strongly, which makes the start feel dramatic and sudden.

In KS2 Music, Handel is a brilliant composer to help pupils hear how music can sound grand and ceremonial. His pieces often use clear tunes, repeated patterns, and strong contrasts between quiet and loud sections to make a big impact on the listener.

Key Terms

Choir: A group of singers performing together.
Contrast: A noticeable difference in music, such as loud versus quiet or smooth versus spiky.
Repetition: When a musical idea returns again, helping it sound memorable.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

Who was George Frideric Handel for KS2 music?

George Frideric Handel was a famous composer from the Baroque period who wrote music for orchestras, choirs, and special occasions, often sounding bold and impressive.

What is Handel most famous for?

Handel is famous for large-scale choral and orchestral music with strong melodies, including works written for celebrations and performances that use dramatic contrasts and repeated themes.

How can I describe Handel’s music using musical terms?

You can describe Handel’s music by talking about the melody, the rhythm, repeated patterns, changes in dynamics, and how the orchestra and choir create a grand, powerful sound.

Try These Related Quizzes

1.

Handel's birth-year (1685) happened to be a bit of a 'bumper year' for future musicians in German-speaking Europe. Who else was born that year?

[ ]	Johann Sebastian Bach
[ ]	Franz Josef Haydn
[ ]	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
[ ]	Richard Wagner

2.

Handel came to Britain to settle, 300 years ago in the '17-teens', when his then-boss became King of England. What was this king's regnal name and number?

[ ]	William IV
[ ]	George I
[ ]	Stephen III
[ ]	Henry V

3.

During his long life Handel was famous for many kinds of music-making. Which of these was NOT one of his particular fields?

[ ]	Opera
[ ]	Oratorio
[ ]	Organ Concertos
[ ]	Symphonies

4.

Among Handel's greatest works is the oratorio Messiah, first performed in 1742. Where in the British Isles did it receive its very first performance?

[ ]	London
[ ]	Dublin
[ ]	Bath
[ ]	Edinburgh

5.

Handel was a Governor of London's Foundling Hospital: he donated the money from many performances of Messiah to help with this institution's funding, and left a fair-copy of the full score of the work in his will. What was the specific purpose of the charity?

[ ]	To offer convalescence for people who had been in sea or shipping accidents
[ ]	To look after people who were (as we'd now say) mentally ill
[ ]	To take in and care for abandoned babies and infants
[ ]	To care for sick pets

6.

Which of the following is NOT a work written by Handel?

[ ]	The Water Music
[ ]	Music for the Royal Fireworks
[ ]	The Messiah
[ ]	'Jesu, joy of man's desiring'

7.

Another famous piece by Handel is a splendid set of variations ~ to be played on a keyboard instrument such as a harpsichord ~ based on a tune that he heard a working-man humming or whistling one day. By what title is this piece accordingly known?

[ ]	The Merry Miller
[ ]	The Musical Milkman
[ ]	The Harmonious Blacksmith
[ ]	The Tuneful Tailor

8.

At the first performance of Messiah before royalty, the King himself stood up in awe and honour of one of the sections of music: which one?

[ ]	'I know that my Redeemer liveth'
[ ]	The Hallelujah Chorus
[ ]	'Worthy is the Lamb'
[ ]	The Pastoral Symphony

9.

That other great German-speaking anglophile composer, Haydn, lived to a great age and turned out over 100 Symphonies (a musical form of which he was the inventor and pioneer), but Handel ~ at least in his earlier life ~ wrote over 40 examples in a musical tradition he had picked up from Italy. What musical genre was this?

[ ]	Ballet
[ ]	Lute songs
[ ]	Violin concerto
[ ]	Opera

10.

Where is Handel buried?

[ ]	Westminster Abbey
[ ]	St Paul's Cathedral
[ ]	The Foundling Hospital
[ ]	Oxford

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC - KS2: George Frideric Handel - Zadok the Priest

Music Quiz - Ten Pieces - George Frideric Handel (Answers)

1.

Handel's birth-year (1685) happened to be a bit of a 'bumper year' for future musicians in German-speaking Europe. Who else was born that year?

[x]	Johann Sebastian Bach
[ ]	Franz Josef Haydn
[ ]	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
[ ]	Richard Wagner

Bach and Handel were each born in what is now Germany, in that same year

2.

Handel came to Britain to settle, 300 years ago in the '17-teens', when his then-boss became King of England. What was this king's regnal name and number?

[ ]	William IV
[x]	George I
[ ]	Stephen III
[ ]	Henry V

Hence the 'Georgian' style label for the architecture, art, fashions, music, drama etc. of that period

3.

During his long life Handel was famous for many kinds of music-making. Which of these was NOT one of his particular fields?

[ ]	Opera
[ ]	Oratorio
[ ]	Organ Concertos
[x]	Symphonies

Though Handel did write single pieces with titles similar to 'symphony' (e.g. the Pastoral Symphony in Messiah), the Symphony as we have since known it was created by Haydn, who lived after Handel

4.

Among Handel's greatest works is the oratorio Messiah, first performed in 1742. Where in the British Isles did it receive its very first performance?

[ ]	London
[x]	Dublin
[ ]	Bath
[ ]	Edinburgh

It was first heard in Ireland. There are stories that the work was so popular, audiences in London were told on their tickets that men should leave their swords at home and women not wear their big skirt-hoops, so more people could fit into the space to listen!

5.

Handel was a Governor of London's Foundling Hospital: he donated the money from many performances of Messiah to help with this institution's funding, and left a fair-copy of the full score of the work in his will. What was the specific purpose of the charity?

[ ]	To offer convalescence for people who had been in sea or shipping accidents
[ ]	To look after people who were (as we'd now say) mentally ill
[x]	To take in and care for abandoned babies and infants
[ ]	To care for sick pets

'Foundlings' are 'little people who have been found by someone else' (typically, and sadly, unwanted babies). The Foundling Hospital gave them food, shelter and a better start in life

6.

Which of the following is NOT a work written by Handel?

[ ]	The Water Music
[ ]	Music for the Royal Fireworks
[ ]	The Messiah
[x]	'Jesu, joy of man's desiring'

'Jesu, joy' is by Handel's contemporary, JS Bach

7.

Another famous piece by Handel is a splendid set of variations ~ to be played on a keyboard instrument such as a harpsichord ~ based on a tune that he heard a working-man humming or whistling one day. By what title is this piece accordingly known?

[ ]	The Merry Miller
[ ]	The Musical Milkman
[x]	The Harmonious Blacksmith
[ ]	The Tuneful Tailor

Do listen to this piece if you can, or at least some of it; it should bring a smile to your face as you picture the man singing as he worked (and a smile on Handel's face too perhaps, as the merry piece took shape in his mind and onto paper)!

8.

At the first performance of Messiah before royalty, the King himself stood up in awe and honour of one of the sections of music: which one?

[ ]	'I know that my Redeemer liveth'
[x]	The Hallelujah Chorus
[ ]	'Worthy is the Lamb'
[ ]	The Pastoral Symphony

If the music was magnificent enough for King George, it's magnificent enough for everyone else, over 250 years later. It is an accepted tradition that everyone stands for this part of the oratorio (except those who sit to play their instruments)

9.

That other great German-speaking anglophile composer, Haydn, lived to a great age and turned out over 100 Symphonies (a musical form of which he was the inventor and pioneer), but Handel ~ at least in his earlier life ~ wrote over 40 examples in a musical tradition he had picked up from Italy. What musical genre was this?

[ ]	Ballet
[ ]	Lute songs
[ ]	Violin concerto
[x]	Opera

There are a number of famous pieces among these works, which you might enjoy exploring

10.

Where is Handel buried?

[x]	Westminster Abbey
[ ]	St Paul's Cathedral
[ ]	The Foundling Hospital
[ ]	Oxford

Many famous people down the centuries have been buried there. One might like to think of him somehow smiling as successive Coronations take place in the Abbey