River Thames
The Water Music composed by George Frideric Handel premiered on 17 July 1717, when King George I requested a concert on the River Thames. The concert was performed for King George I on his barge and he is said to have enjoyed it so much that he ordered the 50 exhausted musicians to play the suites three times on the trip.
Drexel 5856
Drexel 5856 dates from 1720-1721. Most of Handel's keyboard music was composed in the decade 1710-1720, an observation we know from a study of his handwriting and paper studies. John Christopher Smith became Handel's copyist beginning in the years 1716-1717. Along with two other manuscript, Terence Best surmises that Drexel 5856 was prepared for a patron who was a friend of the composer.