By Scott A. Grant
mail@floridanewsline.com
In the summer of 1741, George Frederick Handel, the famous composer, was in dire straits. His musical career was foundering, and he had accumulated a considerable amount of debt. He was at risk of being sent to debtor’s prison. A friend presented him with the text of an opera based on the life of Jesus. Handel was determined to set the words to music. He worked feverishly for 24 days, often foregoing food and drink, and produced 259 pages of music. Servants often found him in tears as he labored. He called his new work “Messiah.”
“Messiah” debuted the following April at a benefit in Dublin to free inmates from debtor’s prison. The event was a huge success. The demand was so great that ladies were urged not to wear hoop skirts to provide more space for attendees. One hundred and twenty-three prisoners were released from prison with sufficient profits left over to pay off most of Handel’s own debt.
George Frederick Handel was born in 1685 in what is now Germany. At the time, Handel’s home was part of the Holy Roman Empire, a loose conglomeration of states, principalities, and kingdoms that was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. His first job was choirmaster for George, the Elector of Hanover. Handel elicited the Elector’s ire when he broke his contract in 1711 to go write and perform Italian Operas for English audiences.
He arrived in England during the reign of Queen Anne. Despite becoming pregnant 17 times, only one of Anne’s children survived past the age of 10. She died without an heir. Parliament determined to bestow the crown on Anne’s nearest Protestant relative. That turned out to be George, the Elector of Hanover. And, in 1714, he was crowned George the First.
This caused obvious problems for Handel, and he was relegated to producing his operas in the lesser cities of the Kingdom. All of that changed for Handel in 1727, when he wrote three coronation anthems for George II. One of those, “Zadok the Priest,” has been performed at every coronation since, including, most recently, that of Charles III.
The best-known movement of Handel’s “Messiah” is the “Hallelujah Chorus.” Handel claimed that when he wrote it, he saw the face of God. Legend says that when George II first heard the “Hallelujah Chorus,” he was so moved that he spontaneously rose to his feet. And then, so did everyone else. When the King rises, all rise. Some say that it never happened or that the King rose for a different reason. But the legend persisted and to this day, it is traditional to rise for the playing of the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
Scott A. Grant is an author, historian, and fiduciary asset manager. He welcomes your comments at scottg@standfatic.com
