Issue 39 Sept 23 - Journal - Page 24
As well as new displays and exhibitions about Handel and
Hendrix, visitors will also enjoy live music and talks.
Over the course of the opening week, visitors can hear
harpsichordist Nathanael Mander, recorder player Olwen
Foulkes, guitarist Laurent Judson and a talk about
Handel’s Coronation Anthems. A digital room guide is
also included as part of a visit, and there will be
Coronation-themed craft activities for families.
• Restored the front façade of 25 Brook Street so that
visitors can finally enter Handel’s home through his front
door. New things to see in Handel’s house include, the
modern front door which was removed and a stone
canopy and surround installed with carved acanthus
leaves and a lead capping.
• Historic rooms presented as they might have been
in the 1740s, when the composer was in a new burst of
creative energy and commercial success writing dramatic
oratorios. Underfloor heating installed in the historic
rooms with reclaimed and original floorboards reinstated
so you wouldn’t know it’s there.
• Installation of an events catering kitchen
HM The King, when Prince of Wales, was the patron
of the project. Handel’s music featured heavily in the
Coronation, both in the concert prior to the liturgy and
with the thrilling performance of Zadok the Priest at
the moment of anointing. In a recent address to the
Bundestag, HM The King spoke of Handel’s ‘astonishing
music’.
• M&E upgrades to the building including improved
heating via underfloor heating and improved ventilation
As Simon Daniels, Director of Handel Hendrix House
commented: “The team at Handel Hendrix House are
thrilled to be opening our doors once again, after 18
months’ construction. There is more to see at the
museum than ever before, from a Georgian kitchen to
fascinating new exhibitions and stunning 18th-century
interiors, complemented by a fantastic programme of live
performance and talks. The Hallelujah Project is the
culmination of more than 60 years’ effort to acquire and
fully restore Handel’s home, and we are delighted to be
offering greater insight into Jimi Hendrix’s music and life
in London. As we saw at the Coronation, Handel’s music
is as fresh and powerful as the day it was written and has
the ability to inspire and move us. He is London’s great
composer, and we are delighted to have achieved our goal
of restoring his house and excited to be sharing his
life and music with more visitors, schools, and the local
community. I am grateful to all the generous donors,
• Extensive re-decorations using period paint schemes
• 2 new handmade timber staircases
• Recently acquired works of art, creating a collection
representative of the more than 100 works of art Handel
owned in Brook Street.
• New exhibitions about Handel’s music and the
musicians he worked with and a mixed reality audiovisual
display about the writing of Messiah in the very room in
which it was composed.
• Live music performed in the rooms in which it was
written and, often, first heard.
• The restored museum will welcome more visitors and
host concerts, masterclasses, and exclusive private events.
The income will be reinvested in the museum’s heritage
and learning programme.
Above, Handel’s Kitchen at Handel Hendrix House photo by Christopher Ison
i
i
Conservation & Heritage Journal
22
