Handel's Fireworks Music

Fire of Passion

What a delightful way to end the evening. Matthias Maute directed a noisy band of musicians - brass, reeds and percussion. They played with gusto in this outdoor venue accompanied by real fireworks. I heard the fireworks technician interviewed on the radio on my way down to the festival and he described the difficulty of planning a show with live music. The timing is not predictable as it is with recorded music. Although the fireworks were not always in synch with the music, it was a delightful spectacle and more successful than the first performance in 1749 when several of the wooden structures that had been built for the event caught fire.

This evening only the musicians caught fire - as they played with passion!