On this day, King George I of England decided to go for a grand royal barge jaunt up the river Thames and commissioned George Frideric Handel to compose a suite to accompany him on his journey. Handel rose to the occasion and composed his now famous “Water Music”, a lavish, 3-part suite for 50 musicians (a huge group then), including loud horns and woodwind instruments so that the sound carried across the water. At 8.00 p.m. everyone crammed into boats, and set off to travel the 5 km from The Palace of Whitehall up to Chelsea. The king and his courtiers watched from the royal barge while a City Barge was employed for the musicians. The King was so thrilled with Handel’s piece that he asked for it to be played many times that night, finishing long after midnight.
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