{"id":47114,"date":"2024-09-07T16:08:30","date_gmt":"2024-09-07T14:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4edf76dd-4f4f-4ac2-9883-e2184b2a0826"},"modified":"2024-09-07T17:07:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-07T15:07:17","slug":"no-words-can-express-its-exquisite-delight-the-work-that-caused-traffic-jams-at-its-dublin-premiere","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/no-words-can-express-its-exquisite-delight-the-work-that-caused-traffic-jams-at-its-dublin-premiere\/","title":{"rendered":"‘No words can express its exquisite delight’: the work that caused traffic jams at its Dublin premiere"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Saturday, 07 September 2024 at 14:08 PM<\/p>

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For such an incredibly well-known work, the genesis of Messiah<\/em>, the epic choral masterpiece from the Baroque composer George Frideric Handel<\/a>, was remarkably humble.<\/strong><\/p>

After the London \u2018season\u2019 ended in 1741, Handel turned as usual to writing works for the next autumn. One of these was a setting of a new libretto by the literary scholar and editor of Shakespeare\u2019s plays, Charles Jennens, who had provided the text for Saul<\/em> four years earlier. He described Messiah<\/em> as a \u2018Scripture Collection\u2019, a series of short extracts from the Authorised Version of the Bible, somewhat different from Handel\u2019s usual preference for oratorios<\/a><\/strong> based on larger-than-life characters and dramatic stories from the Old Testament.<\/p>

The best recordings of Handel’s Messiah<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
Handel, in debt and depressed as a result, began composition on Saturday 22 August 1741, completed drafts of each Part in about a week each, and \u2018filled up\u2019 the score in a couple more days, a total of 23 days for the complete work \u2013 an astonishing work-rate, even if some numbers were recycled from earlier music (why throw away good music after its public performances?).<\/p>
It was so quick, in fact, that most of us would be hard-pressed simply to copy out the music, let alone conceive virtually all of it from scratch.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where was the first performance of <em>Messiah<\/em>?<\/h2><p>Jennens was surprised to hear that the new <em>Messiah<\/em> by Handel was not scheduled for first performance in London: he wrote in a letter \u2018it was some mortification to me to hear that instead of performing it here he was gone into Ireland with it\u2019.<\/p><p>Internal evidence from the score, though, suggests that Handel had it in mind for Dublin rather than for the more generous resources of London. It\u2019s modestly scored, for just <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/string-instruments\">strings<\/a><\/strong>, trumpets and drums, and it only requires four soloists, one each of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-soprano\">soprano<\/a><\/strong>, alto, tenor and bass.<\/p><p>The English music historian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Charles-Burney\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Dr Charles Burney<\/strong><\/a> claims that, as a 15-year-old boy at school in Chester, he saw Handel there, en route to Dublin, \u2018[smoking] a pipe over a dish of coffee at the Exchange Coffee-House\u2019. Handel asked Burney\u2019s music teacher, the cathedral organist \u2018whether there were any choirmen in the Cathedral who could sing at sight, as he wished to prove some books that had been hastily transcribed by trying the choruses which he intended to perform in Ireland\u2019.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/music-for-the-royal-fireworks\">Handel\u2019s Music for the Royal Fireworks \u2013 a guide to the uplifting work composed to mark the end of a war<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Handel swore at him in four or five different languages’<\/h2><p>A bass, a printer named Jansen, was recommended to him and a rehearsal took place at the Golden Falcon where Handel was staying. Jansen failed miserably to cope with \u2018And with his stripes\u2019 from <em>Messiah<\/em> at which, says Burney, Handel, \u2018after swearing at him in four or five different languages, cried out in broken English: \u201cYou shcauntrel, tid you not tell me zat you could sing at sight?\u201d. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Boston Baroque \u2014 "Overture" from Handel's Messiah\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vhgGt1NhDGs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>\u201cYes sir\u201d, says the printer, \u201cand so I can, but not at first sight\u201d\u2019. Some scholars have cast doubt on this lively anecdote. To others it has a ring of truth – if only because it seems quite unlikely that a reputable writer such as Burney should simply invent it.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Handel set quickly to work in Dublin<\/h2><p>Handel arrived in Dublin from Holyhead on 18 November 1741, followed three days later by a soprano, Christina Maria Avolio, who sang for him during his stay in Dublin. He quickly set up a series of six subscription concerts at the recently built \u2018New Musick Hall\u2019 in Fishamble Street (named after the fish \u2018ambles\u2019 or stalls in the market there). <i>L\u2019Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato<\/i>, <i><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/handels-acis-and-galatea-a-guide-to-the-dramatic-opera-and-its-best-recordings\">Acis and Galatea<\/a><\/strong><\/i> and <i>Esther<\/i> were among the vocal works performed to great acclaim. (A second series of six concerts in February 1742 was equally successful.)<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/handel-coat-button\">How a humble metal coat button saved the life of one our all-time greatest composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><i>Messiah<\/i> was not the first Handel work that Dublin audiences would hear. In a subscription series of \u2018Six Musical Entertainments\u2019 What was Handel doing in Dublin, when for 30 years London had been his main centre of operations? It was possibly the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who invited him. If so, it was a timely intervention: Handel\u2019s last three operas had failed, and he was at a low ebb both personally and professionally.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘I needed not sell one single Ticket at the door’<\/h2><p>The concerts were an immediate success, Handel reporting that the subscribers filled \u2018a Room of 600 Persons, so that I needed not sell one single Ticket at the door\u2019. Attendances were no less in January, with such traffic jams that \u2018Gentlemen and Ladies are desired to order their Coaches and Chairs to come down Fishamble Street, which will prevent a great deal of Inconvenience that happened the Night before\u2019. <\/p><ul><li><strong>You can hear the Handel <em>Messiah <\/em>at the<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/bbc-proms\/2024-bbc-proms-listings\">2024 BBC Proms<\/a>. It’s being performed by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and others for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/apple-news-rss\/bbc-proms-today-7-september-2024\">Prom 63<\/a>, on Saturday 7 September.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Concert promotion was not without its problems though. Jonathan Swift, Dean of St Patrick\u2019s Cathedral had given approval for vicars-choral from the Cathedral choir to take part in Handel\u2019s series. Suddenly, apparently the result of a failing memory (he was described as \u2018dying from the top\u2019), he rescinded the licence to \u2018assist at a club of fiddlers in Fishamble Street\u2019. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Handel Messiah - And the Glory of the Lord\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xuog35ZBBfM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>He also required his \u2018Sub-Dean and Chapter to punish such vicars as shall ever appear there, as songsters, fiddlers, pipers, trumpeters, drummers, drum-majors, or in any sonal quality, according to the flagitious aggravations of their respective disobedience, rebellion, perfidy, and ingratitude\u2019. Swift seems to have forgotten this change of heart as quickly as he first experienced it, and cathedral singers took part, potential \u2018flagitious aggravations\u2019 notwithstanding, in successful concerts from January onwards.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A premiere with proceeds to charity<\/h2><p>The <em>Dublin Journal<\/em> of 27 March 1742, announcing the first performance of the Handel <em>Messiah<\/em>, stressed its charitable aims: \u2018For Relief of the Prisoners in the several Gaols, and for the Support of Mercer\u2019s Hospital in Stephen\u2019s Street, and of the Charitable Infirmary on the Inns Quay, on Monday the 12 April, will be performed at the Musick hall in Fishamble Street, Mr. <em>Handel\u2019s new Grand oratorio, call\u2019d the MESSIAH<\/em>, in which the Gentlemen of the Choirs of both Cathedrals will assist, with some Concertoes on the Organ, by Mr. Handell.\u2019<\/p><p>Tickets cost half a guinea each, about \u00a345 in today\u2019s money, but they also gave admission to the rehearsal on the 9 April which was received by \u2018a most Grand, Polite and crouded Audience\u2019. Presumably in response to such ticket sales, the <em>Journal<\/em> published an appeal on 10 April that: \u2018The Ladies who honour this Performance with their Presence would be pleased to come without Hoops, as it will greatly encrease the Charity, by making room for more company\u2019. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Handel: Messiah | And he shall purify | VOCES8 & Academy of Ancient Music\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_DdyoDp0fyY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Information about the performers is sketchy<\/h2><p>Meanwhile, on the day of the performance, delayed until the 13 April, \u2018The Gentlemen [were] desired to come without their Swords\u2019, and for good reason \u2013 the \u2018Musick hall\u2019 designed for an audience of about 600, had 700 packed into it by midday, when the performance duly began.<\/p><p>Information about the performers for this inaugural performance of the Handel <em>Messiah<\/em> is rather sketchy. Exact numbers of singers or orchestral players aren\u2019t known. But the orchestra was certainly led by Matthew Dubourg, who moved from London to Dublin in 1728 and from then on divided his time between the two capital cities. He was a long-term friend of Handel, who left him \u00a3100 in his will. They clearly seem to have enjoyed a wry joke or two together: on one occasion, after he had improvised an exceptionally long cadenza, Handel declared \u2018Welcome home, Mr Dubourg!\u2019.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘She captivated every hearer by her native sweetness of voice’<\/h2><p>Handel presumably directed the performance from the organ, his own portable-sized instrument which he had arranged to be brought to Dublin. Of the solo singers, the soprano was Christina Avolio of whom Handel wrote that \u2018she pleases extraordinary\u2019. <\/p><p>His female alto was Susanna Maria Cibber, both actress and singer who, according to Charles Burney, \u2018had captivated every hearer of sensibility by her native sweetness of voice and powers of expression\u2019. She had fled to Dublin from London to escape the scandal of an adulterous affair and seems to achieved public absolution when one Rev. Dr. Delaney was moved to rise from his seat after her singing of \u2018He was despised\u2019 and exclaim \u2018Woman, for this be all thy sins forgiven\u2019.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Royal Choral Society: 'Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's Messiah\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IUZEtVbJT5c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>The other soloists came from the Cathedral Choirs, and also sang in the chorus. This was relatively small. Handel may have called on up to 26 boy trebles from the two Cathedrals but, for the lower parts, the Handel scholar Donald Burrows has imaginatively counted up the known cathedral men, subtracted four who were probably ordained and so not permitted to engage in secular concerts, and come up with only around three or four singers to a part \u2013 the sort of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-chamber-music\">chamber music<\/a><\/strong> scale to which we\u2019re refreshingly returning today.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘The Sublime, the grand, and the Tender (…) transport and charm the ravished Heart and Ear\u2019<\/h2><p>The performance received rave reviews. The<em> Dublin Journal<\/em> reported: \u2018\u2026the best Judges allowed [<em>Messiah<\/em>] to be the most finished piece of Musick. Words are wanting to express the exquisite Delight it afforded to the admiring crouded Audience. The Sublime, the grand, and the Tender, adapted to the most elevated and moving Words, conspired to transport and charm the ravished Heart and Ear\u2019. <\/p><p>Financially, <i>Messiah<\/i> was also highly successful. Tickets were half a guinea each, and \u00a3400 in total (worth nearly \u00a3100,000 today) was raised for the three charities. A second performance was added on 3 June, this time for the composer\u2019s own benefit, and billed as \u2018the last Performance of Mr Handel\u2019s, during his stay in this Kingdom\u2019.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY: Worthy is the Lamb & Amen Chorus from Handel's Messiah\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vCcGqMHndxo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>Handel left Ireland two months later, planning to return. He never did, but always retained fond memories of \u2018that generous and polite Nation\u2019. The feeling is mutual: every 13 April since 1992, a choir has gathered on the spot where <i>Messiah<\/i> was first performed in Fishamble Street, to perform selections from his masterwork. The original \u2018New Musick Hall\u2019 eventually became an engineering works before being levelled for residential development. Only its archway remains standing today. <\/p><p>For 268 years since, <em>Messiah<\/em> has remained pre-eminent among sacred oratorios. Through all its Classical additions by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong>, gargantuan scoring by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/thomas-beecham\">Sir Thomas Beecham<\/a><\/strong>, Crystal Palace renderings by casts of thousands, spontaneous \u2018from scratch\u2019 performances, up until more recent rediscovery of its original scale and character, it has never failed to \u2018transport and charm the ravished Heart and Ear\u2019.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Saturday, 07 September 2024 at 14:08 PM For such an incredibly well-known work, the genesis of Messiah, the epic choral masterpiece from the Baroque composer George Frideric Handel, was remarkably humble. After the London \u2018season\u2019 ended in 1741, Handel turned as usual to writing works for the next autumn. 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After the London \u2018season\u2019 ended in 1741, Handel turned as usual to writing works for the next autumn. One of these was…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/47114"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}