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DESCRIPTION:  The first performance of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah in Dublin in 1742 is now legendary. Gentlemen were asked to leave their swords at home and ladies to come without hoops in their skirts in order to fit more people into the audience. The initial performance was so well-received in Dublin that an encore performance was given a few weeks later. Why then, did this now famous and beloved oratorio receive a somewhat cool reception when it premiered in London less than a year later? Placing Handel’s best-known work in the context of its times, this vivid account charts the composer’s working relationship with his librettist, the gifted but demanding Charles Jennens, and looks at Handel’s varied and evolving company of singers together with his royal patronage. Through examination of the original composition manuscript and Handel’s own conducting score, held in the Bodleian Library’s collection, The Making of Handel’s Messiah sheds new light on the piece’s construction, performance, and reception. Exploring the complex history of one of the most successful pieces of choral music of all time, this volume examines issues around the performance of sacred texts in a non-sacred context, particularly Handel’s collaboration with the men and boys of the Chapel Royal. This book also explores the later reception and performance history of the piece, including the festival performance attended by Haydn, the massed-choir tradition of the Victorian period, and today’s “come-and-sing” events.

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SITE RATING:  8/10 SITE REVIEW:  Andrew Gant's The Making Of Handel's Messiah is a chatty, brief, glossy introduction to the history and influence of this great oratorio.  Clocking in at a mere 144 pages, heavily illustrated (in color), it touches upon its creators, history, brief birthing pains in England, and final triumph as a monumental, unique work. All in gossipy, yet knowledgeable prose which makes it one of the more attractive, readable books available for the layman who wants to know a bit more about Messiah, but doesn't with to delve too deeply into its musicological or doctrinal passages.  Divided into a mere eight chapters at just around 120 pages, the author looks at "Handel's World," "The Sacred Oratorio," Charles Jennens, Handel's 'borrowings", "The Dublin Premiere," Performers, Variants and Variations, and "The Later Performance History".  The rest of the book is indexes with 'additional reading' and a 'selected discography' among others.  I learned some facts I hadn't known before, but it's best recommended as a beginner's guide.

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