Handel - Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus - London Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus, John Pritchard video free download

George Frederic Handel was born in Halle, a town in Saxon Germany in 1685. In 1712, he moved permanently to London, having earned a reputation as the most honoured opera composer in England. But the musical public was fickle as always and lost interest in opera. Undaunted, Handel began to compose oratorios resembling opera - telling a story rich in history and musical vibrancy - but which did not require expensive sets or costumes. Genius always wins. Again he was a success. In the summer of 1742, he received an invitation to submit a new oratorio for possible performance as a musical benefit for a hospital in Dublin, Ireland. A deeply religious man, Haendel chose a text based on the life of Jesus by an English poet, Charles Jennens. Always a rapid composer, he now surpassed himself, completing the work in just 23 days, at the end of which he said to his manservant, "I think God has visited me."

The première in Dublin on April 13, 1742, was a signal success, even for Haendel. So many tickets were sold that gentlemen were requested not to wear swords to the performance, and it was suggested that ladies would do well to leave their hoop skirts at home. The music room where Messiah would take place simply was not big enough to accommodate as many people as wanted to attend, not to mention extra folds of material and weapons.

King George II heard Messiah when it was performed for the first time in London the next year. As the strains of the mighty "Hallelujah Chorus" swept over the audience, the King, not usually known for his high musical taste yet apparently moved to rapture by this triumphant theme, leapt to his feet and remained there until the end, thus initiating the custom of standing for this magnificent chorus.

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