Handel & Hendrix In London
25 Brook Street, London
There are adjoining houses in London’s Mayfair that are proof that music has no barriers.
In the 18th century the composer George Frideric Handel lived at 25 Brook Street, and in the 20th century rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix lived at No 23. A single ticket grants you access to rooms where both these very different musicians stayed – rooms that have been recreated to show their occupants’ daily lives.
No 25 Brook Street was everything to Handel, and the upper storeys are remarkably faithful to how they would have been. In this house he composed many of his works, including Messiah.
In the 20th century rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix lived at No 23. A single ticket grants you access to rooms where both these very different musicians stayed
No 25 Brook Street was everything to Handel, and the upper storeys are remarkably faithful to how they would have been. In this house he composed many of his works, including Messiah
Here he practised incessantly on the harpsichord (he was a great virtuoso), ran his business as an operatic impresario, and ate vast meals. Handel’s music can still be heard here. Baroque concerts are held once a week in his music room on the first floor, and there are also rehearsals, masterclasses, talks and late-night openings.
It was 1723 when he moved in, just after the house was completed. He remained there until his death at the house in 1759. Such was his fame by then that even with only six days’ notice, 3,000 people saw him laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.
The houses attract 20,000 visitors a year, since an extensive renovation by the Handel House Trust in 2001. Sadly, though, the ground floor, where Handel had his office, is a modern shop.
But now the Hallelujah Project, launched on Handel’s birthday on February 23, is seeking to raise £3 million to take back the shop and recreate the entrance and ground-floor rooms. As part of this project, the Trust will make more of No 23 as near as possible to what it was like in Hendrix’s time. Both are worthy tributes.
‘Handel And Hendrix In London’ is open 11am-6pm, Mon-Sat, handelhendrix.org, thehallelujah project.org