George Frederic Handel despaired. He was the epitome of a starving artist - frequently not even able to afford a meal.
A letter arrived from the man who wrote his librettos,Charles Jennens. The pages were covered in scripture quotations. He tossed it aside
but was unable to rest. The quotes kept running through his head: Comfort ye, my people; For unto us a Child is born; Glory to God in the Highest;
Hallelujah!. He feverishly started to write and three weeks later, with a completed score in hand, he declared "I do believe I have seen
all of Heaven before me, and the face of God Himself."
The Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742 and received the greatest ovation in the city's history.
The story goes that King George II was so impressed with the Hallelujah Chorus that he rose to his feet. Naturally the entire court was forced to follow suit.
Haydn is claimed, during a performance of this piece, to have "stood with the crowd, wept and exclaimed 'He is master of us all.'" No date is given for this occurence but
it is apparent that the tradition of standing for the Hallelujah Chorus was well established by the turn of the nineteenth century and it is a custom which still perceveres
to the present time.
This page is dedicated to my oldest daughter.
Her school choir performed this every year in concert.
I had mentioned the custom of standing throughout the Hallelujah Chorus and one year she brought her
choir master to task over it. I was sitting near the front and stood as soon as they started to sing.
I did hear others stand behind me after I had stood but until that point no one moved. I think, if I had been sitting further back, and realized I was the only one standing, I wouldn't have had the nerve.
