Handel's Largo (from Xerxes or Serse)

Xerxes (HWV 40), also called Serse, is an opera by George Frideric Handel, with Italian libretto adapted from that by Silvio Stampiglia for Giovanni Bononcini's 1694 opera of the same name. Handel's Xerses was first performed in London in 1738. The opening aria is set to one of Handel's best-known melodies, and is often played in an orchestral arrangement, known as Handel's Largo (marked "larghetto" in the opera score).

George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) was a great German–English Baroque composer. Handel's compositions include 42 operas; 29 oratorios; more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets; numerous arias; chamber music; a large number of ecumenical pieces; odes and serenatas; and 16 organ concerti. His oratorio Messiah, with its "Hallelujah" chorus, is among the most famous works of classical music and is often performed during the Christmas season. Among Handel's best-known instrumental works are the Concerti Grossi Opus 3 and Opus 6; The Cuckoo and the Nightingale; The Water Music; Music for the Royal Fireworks; and his sixteen keyboard suites, especially The Harmonious Blacksmith.

Handel's music was studied by composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. To Beethoven, George Frideric Handel was "the master of us all... the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head and kneel before his tomb". Beethoven emphasised the simplicity and popular appeal of Handel's music when he said, "Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means".