In his early childhood Handel showed a great love of music, but his father, unlike Mozart�s, tried to discourage him from becoming a musician, and when he entered the University of Halle at the age of 17, wished him to study law. The boy had studied with the organist Zachau who taught him to play the Harpsichord, Organ, Violin and also to compose, so when he went to University he was already an accomplished musician, and after only a year he left college and went to Hamburg to take up an appointment in the Opera House, first as a violinist and then as the orchestra�s Harpsichord player. When he was working on his Oratorio Messiah he was like a man possessed; he hardly took any sustenance and never ventured out from his lodgings-a genius creating with white-heat inspiration. His man-servant entered the room at the completion of Part II of the oratorio with the wonderful Hallelujah Chorus and found his master in floods of tears-he had seen a vision and later when asked how he felt when he composed that great chorus, he said: �I did think I saw all Heaven before me and the great God himself.� Here it is arranged for string quartet.

This series of arrangements for string quartet is aimed at string quartets� that are building a repertoire of incidental popular classics and �easy listening� music for social functions of every kind. In preparation also at the time of writing is a collection of the most popular hymns taken from the English Hymnal for string quartet with optional chamber organ. From time to time I shall add further pieces thus building the availability of music that is well known to the general public. String quartets should contact me if they have any particular requests, but here I must stress that strict copyright restrictions may apply for certain commissions.