Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis


The Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis is the Catalogue of Handel's Works. It was published in three volumes by Bernd Baselt between 1978 and 1986, and lists every piece of music known to have been written by George Frideric Handel. The catalogue also includes the first few bars of each piece and large amounts of factual information including manuscript sources, early prints, photographs, spurious works, etc. The catalogue does not include the full scores of Handel's works.

Numbering

The HWV thematic catalogue serves as the modern numbering system for Handel's compositions. For example, Handel's Messiah is numbered as HWV 56. The HWV numbers range from 1 to 612, however they do not represent a global date-ordering of composition; i.e. HWV 1 is not Handel's first work, nor is HWV 612 his last. Instead, the HWV numbers group works into musical categories, and provide a good ordering of the date of composition within each category. The following table lists the categories and the HWV number ranges.
HWV numbersCategory
1–42Operas
43–45, 218Incidental music
46–48, 50–71Oratorios
49, 72–76Odes and masques
77–177Cantatas
178–199Italian duets
200, 201Italian trios
202–210, 269–277, 284–286Hymns
211–217, 219–227Italian arias
226, 228English songs
229German church cantatas
230, 233, 234Italian sacred cantatas
231, 232, 235–245, 269–274, 276, 277Latin church music
246–268Anthems
278–283Canticles
287–311, 343Concertos
312–335Concerti grossi
336–345, 347–356, 413Orchestral works
357–379, 406–409, 412, 419–421Solo sonatas
380–405Trio sonatas
346, 410, 411, 414–418, 422–424Wind ensemble works
425–612Keyboard works
A1, A3, A4, A6–A9, A10, A12Arrangements by other composers

There are gaps and anomalies in the HWV numbering system, so the above table is only useful as a guide.
The HWV numbers do not imply that Handel wrote exactly 612 works. The combination of unnumbered works, lost works, misattributed works, spurious works, variants, grouped works, and arrangements, all render meaningless the determination of the exact number of Handel's compositions.