Around 1738, Handel wrote a series of pieces for the musical clocks at Braamcamp and Windsor castles, made by the famous English clockmaker Charles Clay (1695-1740).
Mostly arranged from earlier works (notably opera arias and keyboard pieces), these delightful pieces have the distinctive feature of being short, of reduced range and written for 1, 2 or, more rarely, 3 voices, in keeping with the technical limitations of the two organs.
Now that they have shed their mechanical gangue, they can take on instrumental colours to the delight of instrumentalists and music lovers alike.

Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759) was a major German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, concertos, and chamber music. He was one of the most influential musicians of the 18th century and remains famous today, particularly for his oratorio Messiah.

Born on February 23, 1685, in Halle (Saxony, Germany), Handel showed exceptional musical talent at an early age. Despite his father's initial opposition, he studied the harpsichord, organ, and composition. He perfected his skills in Hamburg, where he participated in opera productions and became familiar with the Italian style.

Career

In 1706, Handel traveled to Italy, where he composed cantatas, operas, and sacred music, and made a name for himself as a master of melody and counterpoint. His travels then took him to Hanover, and finally to London in 1712, where he pursued his career and became a British citizen in 1727.

In London, Handel distinguished himself through:

His Italian operas, such as Rinaldo (1711) and Giulio Cesare (1724), which captivated London audiences with their vocal virtuosity and dramatic flair.

His oratorios, including Messiah (1741), Judas Maccabaeus, and Israel in Egypt, which combine orchestral grandeur, vocal expressiveness, and dramatic power.

His concertos for organ and orchestra, including the famous Concerti Grossi, which demonstrate perfect mastery of form and orchestration.

Handel is renowned for his ability to blend Italian, German, and English styles, for his keen sense of drama, and for his melodic richness. His music combines technical mastery, emotional expressiveness, and theatrical intensity.

He died in London on April 14, 1759, leaving behind an immense legacy. His style combines the structure and counterpoint of the Germans, the melodic seduction, dynamism, and optimism of the Italians, and the majesty and pomp of the themes of the French Grand Siècle.

Along his university studies (DEA in musicology, University of Paris IV-Sorbonne), Frédéric Cellier was awarded three first prizes and a development prize at the CNR of Nice and won first prize at the International Competition of Musical Execution - soloist category – of Stresa (Italy).

He is the laureate of the Fondation de France and the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and accredited teacher at the CNR of Nice, the CNR of Marseille, and at the CRR Olivier Messiaen of Avignon (France).

Frédéric Cellier is the interpreter of Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for clarinet Bb and piano with Jean-Michel Damase, Jean Françaix or Gabriel Tacchino, as well as his own arrangements for clarinet and harp of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes with the great French harpist Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche, and for clarinet, piano, and string orchestra of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in blue for Wynton Marsalis or under the baton of Adrian Gershwin, grandson of the composer.

Founder and artistic director of STRADIVARIUS Editions, he is the author of light music pieces played around the world and a considerable number of arrangements of all styles and for all instruments, acclaimed by many personalities in the music world, including Michèle Auric, Jean Françaix, Adrian Gershwin, Wynton Marsalis, Yehudi Menuhin, Madeleine Milhaud, Manuel Rosenthal, Gabriel Tacchino, and Ornella Volta.

"Frédéric Cellier has produced a number of adaptations of Georges Auric's works with such talent and precision that I consider them a natural addition to his chamber music catalogue."
Michèle AURIC - Georges Auric's widow

"To Frédéric Cellier, excellent musician and tireless arranger."
Jean FRANÇAIX - Composer and pianist

"Arranging a musical work is always a delicate and risky exercise, because it requires both modifying it so that it can be played by the desired instruments and preserving its very essence. But that is exactly what Frédéric Cellier has done, preserving the nuances, subtleties and soul of the original works while breathing new life into them.
His arrangements give all the musicians the chance to perform these compositions specially revisited for their instrument, and make music lovers rediscover them in a new light."
Adrian GERSHWIN - George Gershwin’s grandson

"Congratulations for your beautiful new orchestration and rendition of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue."
Wynton MARSALIS - Trumpet player, composer, bandleader, general and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York

"It is outstanding that Frédéric Cellier has managed to transpose Saxophone Marmalade from the saxophone to the clarinet. I thank him for it and wish its great and deserved success. "
Manuel ROSENTHAL - Conductor, composer and Maurice Ravel’s pupil

"I am very happy to tell you how much I appreciated your transcription of the Capriccio, based on Francis Poulenc's Le Bal Masqué. It perfectly reflects the spirit and verve of the score for two pianos that I had the opportunity to play and record with Jacques Février, and it was a great pleasure for me to premiere it in Montpellier."
Gabriel TACCHINO - Pianist, Francis Poulenc’s specialist

"I must tell you that I really like your transcriptions and that I think the tone of the instruments you have chosen suits perfectly our beloved composer."
Ornella VOLTA - Musicologist, president of the Erik Satie’s Foundation