Music for the Royal Fireworks made clear to Handel that King George had a preference for only martial instruments and drums, and hoped there would be "no fiddles". Handel omitted the string instruments against his will. Also against Handel's will, there was a full rehearsal of the music in Vauxhall Gardens and not in Green Park. On 21 April 1749 an audience, claimed to be over twelve thousand people, each paying two shillings and six pence (half a crown) rushed to get there, causing a three-hour traffic jam of carriages on London Bridge, the only vehicular route to the area south of the river. Six
Baroque music of the British Isles for the Royal Fireworks". His opera, including "Rinaldo" (1711, 1731), "Orlando" (1733), "Ariodante" (1735), "Alcina" (1735) and "Serse" (1738, also known as "Xerxes"), helped make Britain second only to Italy as a centre of operatic production. His sacred drama and choral music, particularly the coronation anthem "Zadok the Priest" (written for the inauguration of George II in 1727) which has remained part of the ceremony for British monarchs, and above all, the "Messiah", helped set the British taste in music for the next 200 years. He was a major influence on future classical composers including Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Ballad