It took a universe of pain to make a musical monument to hope. from Every Valley by Charles King The highlight of my choral singing career was performing the Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I had been singing alto since Third Grade, a part of school choirs and community choruses for decades. I had learned the Hallelujah chorus in high school. But, what a thrill to sing in the Academy of Music with one of the top orchestras in the country! To tell the history of the Messiah, Every Valley vividly recreates the world of Georgian London, a time of political and religious turmoil, war, disease and high early childhood mortality rates, poverty, and cruel entertainments (including public hangings). There was a rise in literacy and publishing, a public demand for sensational stories, and operas were all the rage. George Frideric Handel left Germany for London, which was on its way to becoming the largest city in Europe. He wrote music for royal occasions that we still hear in concert, including his Water Music that entertained King George I on his royal barge. His operas were so crowded that men were asked to leave their swords at home and women were begged to forgo their hoops. It was the age of Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson; Johann Sebastian Bach and Vivaldi. John Gay created the first comic opera and Swift wrote satires that still sting. There was Grub Street and newspapers (written by novelists, that is reporters of novel facts) that kept the public riveted to scandals and crime stories. The Little Ice Age resulted in crop failures and famines. And a time of wars and political intrigue with supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie plotting to restore the Stuarts to the throne, and a splintering of Protestantism into suspect sects. British trade reached across the world, and including transporting slaves. Georgia was being settled in America; the founders’ ideals soon abandoned as slaves were ‘leased’ to do the onerous work of settlement. One of Handel’s patrons supported Ignatius Sancho, a composer and playwright who was born on a slave ship. She sang again of a man who knew sadness without being drowned by it, someone who taught that the opposite of fear was not bravery but understanding. […]By the end of the aria, it was wholly possible to believe that the greatest heroism was simple survival, that transcendence might even depend on knowing horror from the inside. from Every Valley by Charles King The woman who sang in Handel’s operas was involved in a notorious scandal. Susannah Cibber was a popular actress whose husband sold her favors. She fell in love with the purchaser and they ran off together. Her husband took her to court, airing the sordid affair to the public. She was forgiven when her performance in the first presentation of the Messiah in Dublin profoundly moved listeners. She became the star of the stage, appearing with David Garrick. The proceeds from the first performance of Messiah, went to charity, and later performances funded the first Foundling Hospital. Handel also donated concert profits to establish the Fund for Decay’d Musicians, which became the Royal Society of Musicians. The story of how the Messiah came to be is unexpectedly filled with colorful characters, including the man who penned the libretto of Messiah. Charles Jennens was eccentric, often plagued by physical and mental distress. He was dedicated to his friend Edward Holdsworth and after Holdsworth’s death Jennens building him an elaborate memorial on his estate. King does a marvelous job of explaining the Messiah and the message Jennens wanted to send. “Comfort ye” are the first words. “The Messiah is a work of anguish and promise, of profound worry and resounding joy, all expressed in ingenious, irresistible melodies,” King writes. It moved audiences then, and even the most secular of listeners are moved today. At the end of the book you can read Jennens’ entire libretto. Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley. (read less)

It took a universe of pain to make a musical monument to hope. from Every Valley by Charles King The highlight of my choral singing career was performing the Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I had been singing alto since Third Grade, a part of school choirs and community choruses for decades. I had learned the Hallelujah chorus in high school. But, what a thrill to sing in the (read more)