Sheet music
Berenice, HWV 38: Overture
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| Provider / edition | Recorded price | Visit provider |
|---|---|---|
Virtual Sheet Music Affiliate partner
Original listing detailsVoice · Other · Instruments · Fake · Book | $3.99 Date unavailable | View |
| Encore Music Retailer | Check price | View |
| SheetMusic2Print Retailer | Check price | View |
| Boosey & Hawkes Retailer | Check price | View |
| Great Scores Retailer | Check price | View |
| Musicnotes Retailer | Check price | View |
| Universal Edition Retailer | Check price | View |
| Sheet Music Plus Retailer | Check price | View |
Sheet Music Direct Retailer
Original listing detailsPiano | Check price | View |
| 8notes Free source | Free options | View |
| Sheet Music Archive Free source | Free options | View |
| Cantorion Free source | Free options | View |
| MakingMusicFun Free source | Free options | View |
| Piano Street Free source | Free options | View |
| Icking Music Archive Free source | Free options | View |
| Internet Archive Free source | Free options | View |
| Flutetunes Free source | Free options | View |
| Music-Scores Free source | Free options | View |
| IMSLP (Petrucci Music Library) Free source | Free options | View |
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About this piece
Berenice, HWV 38: Overture is a work by George Frideric Handel. Editions in our index are scored for piano, organ, guitar and harpsichord. We track 64 editions for sale priced between $3.95 and $45.24, from Virtual Sheet Music, Musicnotes, Sheet Music Plus and Great Scores. Those figures were recorded in March 2012; check the retailer for what it costs today. 27 public-domain archives publish it free of charge, including 8notes, MakingMusicFun and Sheet Music Archive.
An overture remembered for one minuet
Berenice opened in London in 1737 and lasted four performances. Almost nothing of it is played today except the overture, and within the overture it is really the Minuet that survived — a broad, unhurried tune that has been arranged for organ, for strings, for brass and for wind band, and that turns up regularly at weddings and funerals under the plain title "Minuet from Berenice".
The wider context is worth knowing: 1737 was a bad year. Handel's opera company was failing against a rival house, Italian opera was losing its London audience, and he suffered what contemporaries described as a paralytic disorder affecting his right arm. Within a few years he had largely abandoned opera for oratorio in English, which is the decision that produced Messiah.
When buying: catalogues list this variously under Berenice, "Minuet" and "Overture", and the arrangement may cover the whole overture or the minuet alone. Check the length before assuming which you are getting.
Published in
This piece appears in 47 published collections.
Common questions
- How much does Berenice, HWV 38: Overture sheet music cost?
- Prices run from $3.95 to $45.24 across 64 retailers. Prices change; the figures shown are the most recent we recorded.
- Is Berenice, HWV 38: Overture available for free?
- Yes. 27 archives in our index publish it at no cost, typically as a public-domain scan or engraving. Free editions vary in quality and edition; a paid edition may be easier to read or better fingered.
- What instruments is Berenice, HWV 38: Overture arranged for?
- The editions we track are scored for piano, organ, guitar, harpsichord, cello, flute, violin, voice, orchestra, choir, horn, clarinet, trombone and trump. Specific arrangements listed include Voice, Other, Instruments, Fake and Book.
Same composer