Handel Easter and the 'Hallelujah' chorus

Since it's Easter... and since this week also marks the 250th anniversary of the death of George Frideric Handel, one of the most celebrated English composers... I thought I would tie these two moments together and offer you a little bit of the much loved 'Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's Messiah!

'Messiah' was conceived originally for secular theatre and was first performed during Lent, because of the theme it covers... the presentation of Jesus' life and its significance according to Christian doctrine, it is very much also tied to the Easter period.

Whilst it may have become more common practice, especially since Handel's death, to perform Messiah during Advent, the preparatory period leading up to the Christmas season, rather than during Lent or at Easter, Messiah is still often performed in churches as well as in concert halls at Easter.

Christmas concerts often feature only the first section of Messiah plus the 'Hallelujah' chorus, although some ensembles feature the entire work as a Christmas concert.

Nevertheless, the work is still also very much heard at Eastertide, and selections containing resurrection themes, along with the much loved 'Hallelujah' chorus, are often included in Easter services, particularly because the text of this most famous movement, which concludes the second of the three parts, is drawn from three passages in the New Testament book of Revelation:

"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. (Revelation 19:6)

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever! (Revelation 11:15)

And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings... and Lord of Lords! (Revelation 19:16)

This video offers the more traditional 'Hallelujah' chorus, performed here by the Ambrosian Singers, a small professional London choir founded in 1951:



For best results... turn your speakers UP!

All Stand for the 'Hallelujah' Chorus

In many parts of the world, it is the accepted practice for the audience to stand for this section of the performance.

Tradition has it that King George II rose to his feet at this point. As the first notes of the triumphant Hallelujah Chorus rang out, the king rose. Royal protocol has always demanded that whenever the monarch stands, so does everyone in the monarch's presence. Thus, the entire audience stood too, initiating a tradition that has lasted more than two centuries. It is lost to history the exact reason why the King stood at that point, but the most popular explanations include:

• As was and is the custom, one stands in the presence of royalty as a sign of respect. The Hallelujah chorus clearly places Christ as the King of Kings. In standing, King George II accepts that he too is subject to Lord of Lords.

• He was so moved by the performance that he rose to his feet.

• He arrived late to the performance, and the crowd rose when he finally made an appearance.

• His gout acted up at that precise moment and he rose to relieve the discomfort.

• After an hour of musical performance, he needed to stretch his legs.

There is another story told (perhaps apocryphally) about this chorus that Handel's assistant walked in to Handel's room after shouting to him for several minutes with no response. The assistant reportedly found Handel in tears. When asked what was wrong, Handel held up the score to this movement and said, "I thought I saw the face of God"!

A Soulful Celebration

The 'Hallelujah' chorus is also very popular with Gospel Choirs around the world. Here is a very typical example from the Celebration Gospel Choir:



This is a cover song from the award-winning CD Take 6 produced by Mervyn Warren et al, a Black Music Version of the oratory of Georg Friedrich Handel from 1741. The Original CD featured many well known R&B artists like Al Jarreau, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Quincy Jones, Patti Austin, and many more, and won a Grammy in 1993.

According to the YouTube video, the Celebration Gospel Choir are the first to perform the whole work live. This performance was filmed on Dec 13, 2008 at the Capitol in Mannheim, Germany.

Personally, while I can enjoy both, I tend to favour the more traditional version which is one of my all time favourite choral works. Singing the 'Hallelujah' chorus in the safety of a church congregation (lost and hidden away in the crowd) is a great pleasure. It's also great for singing along at bath time, the only time I should ever be allowed to sing. That in itself is debated by some and it is said, an exercise certainly not for the appreciation by others!

BBC Radio 3 Programmes - Handel's Messiah, Handel Week

BBC - BBC Radio 3 Programmes - Performance on 3, Handel's Messiah, Handel Week - The Messiah Part 1

BBC Radio 3 will be broadcasting a special concert of Handel's Messiah, during their Handel Week, at 19:00 BST on Tuesday 14th April 2009. The concert will be broadcast from Westminster Abbey to mark the 250th anniversary of Handel's death.

St James Baroque join the Choir of Westminster Abbey, conducted by James O'Donnell, with a quartet of soloists, for a performance of Handel's most celebrated oratorio, the Messiah.

Westminster Abbey is the place where Handel is buried, and during his lifetime it was the focal point for much of his religious music.

If you miss this broadcast... you may be able to catch it later on the BBC iPlayer (UK residents only) using this link... but you'll have to hurry as it will only be available for a short time. If you missed it... there's always a very reasonably priced recording available at Amazon... see below!

Handel at Amazon.com



Browse more of George Frideric Handel at Amazon.com

A is for Allah... said the good Catholic

Today is Good Friday... and on Good Friday Catholics and Christians across the world commemorate and remember the day that Jesus was killed on the cross... an event that is central to Christian theology.

He was nailed to a wooden cross by Roman soldiers. This is the reason why the cross is an important sign for Christians today. There are crosses in churches and many Christians wear a cross on a chain. At Easter people eat 'hot cross' buns which have a cross shape on the top... and are delicious (I love them toasted with a little butter and jam).

Christ's Crucifixion is remembered across the world today. In Jerusalem large crowds of Christians take the same path as Jesus along the Via Dolorosa. This is replicated in many other countries, where people act out the story of Jesus' last day while others march in processions or watch and think about the events which happened long ago.

Good Friday, for Christians, is traditionally supposed to be a sad day and churches never have flowers or decorations on this day. However, with society moving into more secular times these days, many do not celebrate, remember or even know what Good Friday is about. If you want to know or need to refresh your memory, you can find out more about Good Friday here.

Now to get to my point... and I know you may have been a little surprised by my blog post's subject heading... having said a little bit about what this day is about... what I want to especially do today, as my contribution to Good Friday is... to remind you about the universal Christian belief that Jesus gave up his life for the good of everyone.

To do this, I am sharing with you today, a lovely song from an old favourite of mine... Yusuf Islam... who used to be known by his stage name of Cat Stevens:



A is for Allah is the title song of a double album created for Muslim children by Yusuf Islam, (formerly known as Cat Stevens), released in July 2000 and was posted on YouTube... in support of peace across the world!

This song was written in 1980 upon the birth of his first child, a daughter named Hasanah. Because she was the first of five living children to come, Yusuf Islam's concerns about how she was to learn the Arabic language, to read and understand the Qu'ran, while living in Western society struck home. He himself was raised in London, the same city where they still lived, and had kept a home there throughout his life. Islam was a recent convert to Islam himself, and was just realizing the great task laid before him, and many other Muslim families in securing an Islamic education as well as schooling that could be considered the very best he could give his children.

Thus, Yusuf Islam as a Muslim musician, used the song as a vehicle to teach children about the 28-letter Arabic alphabet, creating a very lovely song and video in the process... and giving us a little bit of an antidote against all the 'bad press' that we are bombarded with these days... about Islam and Muslims.

Today, on this Good Friday... I am using it to remind us that, as the song says, there is only one God... who died for all of us on the Cross at Golgotha.

Have a Good Friday all... and a Happy Easter!

Read more about Good Friday and Easter @ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Yusuf's Latest Hit Album

Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) is an incredible songwriter. We know this because he's released a heap of inimitable songs through the years, beginning with his classic album, Tea for the Tillerman, to which, no doubt, his latest effort, An Other Cup, refers. 'Tea' was a refreshing blend of folk and contemporary pop music, infused with the inspirations of nature and peace, two things still vital in his latest album, An Other Cup.

Search for more music from Yusuf Islam or Cat Stevens @ Amazon.com

Profound picture of hell

In my Inbox today... I received a very 'profound' and brilliantly described picture of hell!

This 'profound' description of hell was in reply to a question posed to a student at the University of Washington in a Chemistry mid-term exam.... and as it turns out, it's very funny! Read on...

The answer by this student was viewed by his professor as so 'profound' that he shared it with his colleagues via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well!

Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some such variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving.

I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct.......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my God.'

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.