Overture (Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351)

George II commissioned the Music for the Royal Fireworks to accompany the celebrations for the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, staged in London's Green Park on 27 April 1749. The king wanted no strings, so Handel scored the suite for a wind band of oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets and drums on a scale rarely attempted before. The public rehearsal at Vauxhall Gardens drew thousands and blocked traffic on London Bridge for hours; the fireworks themselves misfired on the night and set part of the pavilion alight. The music survived the evening intact, and Handel later added string parts for concert use.