The life and works of George Frederick Handel

Dr Tim Brain will survey the life and works of George Frederick Handel, illustrating his talk with excerpts of the most famous works of this prolific composer.

Most famous for composing 'Messiah' Dr Tim Brain will show that he was a composer of enormous breadth and variety, composing over 30 operas and 30 oratorios, in a career that stretched over 50 years. He gained fame in his native Germany and also Italy before settling in Britain and becoming a feature of national life. His works are still regularly performed over 300 years after his birth.

After a career in policing, in which he served in several forces and was Chief Constable of Gloucestershire from 2001-10, Dr Timothy Brain has since been a prominent lecturer, broadcaster and author.

He graduated with first class honours in history from Aberystwyth University in 1975 and later gained a doctorate also in history. He is the author of many articles and of two major works on policing, A History of Policing in England and Wales from 1974 (2010) and A Future for Policing (2013), both published by Oxford University Press, as well as a contributory author to other major works on contemporary policing and police history. He has edited his late uncle’s war memoirs, The Gloucestershire Regiment in Europe 1944-45.

Dr Brain is chairman of the Three Choirs Festival Association, Stroud Choral Society, the Friends of the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum and Eversfield Preparatory School, Solihull.