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In this week's celebration of the life and work of George Frideric Handel, presenter Donald Macleod selects five key "years in the life" of the composer, taking us from his very earliest successes as a court composer in Rome in 1707, through his classic "Chandos" anthems of 1717, operatic politicking and prima donnas in 1725, the freezing winter of 1739, and finally - Handel's great musical jamboree for George II, the Music For The Royal Fireworks of 1749.

Rarities include excerpts from his pasticcio "Jupiter in Argos" (given its world premiere recording only in 2006); Handel's late incidental music to Tobias Smollett's play "Alceste", and that most unusual of things: a rare and beautiful set of arias setting poetry in Handel's native German language, sung ravishingly by Dame Emma Kirkby.

Complementing this week's Proms performance of the complete Water Music and Music For The Royal Fireworks by Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel on Wednesday 18th July, Donald Macleod also introduces two selections of Sir Hamilton Harty and Leopld Stokowski's arrangements of these works for full symphony orchestra. Once hugely popular, the muscular sound of a full orchestra playing Handel has more recently fallen completely out of favour - this week gives listeners a chance to compare two very different takes on a pair of his most popular works.
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In Monday's episode, Donald Macleod explores the year 1707 in the life of Handel, as the largely unknown young composer arrives in Rome.