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Jimi Hendrix And George Frideric Handel Were Neighbors Across The Centuries

A look inside George Frideric Handel flat at 25 Brook Street (left), and Jimi Hendrix's at 23 Brook Street (right)
Kimberly Junod
/
WXPN
A look inside George Frideric Handel flat at 25 Brook Street (left), and Jimi Hendrix's at 23 Brook Street (right)

If 1960s rock icon Jimi Hendrix and 18th century composer George Frideric Handel were alive at the same time, they would have been next door neighbors in London. Handel moved into 25 Brook Street in 1723, Hendrix moved in to 23 Brook Street in 1968, and today we take a peek inside the "Handel & Hendrix in London" which exists at that very site and features recreations of each musician's flat. We walk across the creaky floorboards in the room where Handel composed his masterpiece oratorio "Messiah," stare at ourselves in the mirror Jimi Hendrix actually used and learn a lot about the surprising connections between two of the most influential musicians of their respective eras.

Copyright 2019 XPN

Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.