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The Personal Impact: Handel left meals untouched

Messiah Moment Thursday, November 29, 2012:

From Gerald Chaffin
News from Lindsey Wilson Choral Ensembles

Most complete editions of Messiah are in the 250 pages range. In other words, the entire work is rather lengthy! The last full performance that I attended had a running time of just under three hours. Lord of the Rings fans loved it! (AND, in case you're worried, Monday evening's performance draws largely from the Christmas section, about 50-55 minutes!) Knowing the length of this masterwork allows us to greatly appreciate the fact that Handel wrote Messiah in the space of about three weeks, between August 22 and September 14, 1741. The compositional process was an extremely intense experience. Handel rarely left his room and hardly ate during this time. In this final installment of our visits this week (I hear those shouts of elation!), let's consider the impact of Messiah on Handel as the composer. No one shares the story better than Patrick Kavanaugh in "The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers" - from the view of an employee:
"He continued to wait on his employer, an eccentric composer, who spends hour after hour isolated in his room. Morning, noon, and evening he delivers appealing meals to the composer and returns later to find the bowls and platters largely untouched. He mutters under his breath about how oddly temperamental that musicians can be. Once again, as he swings open the door to Handel's room, he stops in his tracks. The startled composer, tears streaming down his face, turns to him and says, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself." George Frederic Handel had just finished writing the section that would take its place in history as the Hallelujah Chorus."
Handel's Messiah at Columbia Baptist: LWC Singers, Commonwealth Musicians + Audience
The Lindsey Wilson College Choral Ensembles, The LWC Singers and Concert Choir and The Commonwealth Musicians, and the Audience will present Messiah Sing at 7pmCT, Monday, December 3, 2012, at the Columbia Baptist Church, 201 Greensburg Street, Columbia, KY. This presentation is patterned after Messiah sing-alongs in which the audience joins in singing the choral sections. Choral scores will be available for borrowing or purchasing ($10) at the entrances. - Gerald Chaffin




This story was posted on 2012-11-29 11:14:43
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