February 23 - George Frideric Handel (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 23rd are here: George Frideric Handel (2020) and John Blow; George Frideric Handel (2021)

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George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was one of the greatest, and still most popular, of Baroque composers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing Orders

The custom of standing for the "Hallelujah" chorus originates from a popular belief that, at the London premiere, King George II did so, which would have obliged all to stand. There is no convincing evidence that the king was present, or that he attended any subsequent performance of Messiah. --Wikipedia 

You may be one of those who’ve clung

To what you learned when very young,

And when this famous piece is sung,

You rise up from your place and stand.

Or maybe, on the other hand,

You join with those who never budge,

And feel that those who stand misjudge

To let a king determine for us

How to honor Handel’s chorus.

In fact, it should be said forthwith,

The custom rose up from a myth;

Historians who’ve looked have reckoned

That it’s unlikely George the Second

Stood up at the works premiere, it

Seems he wasn’t there to hear it.

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A Rhyme for George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (baptised Georg Friederich Händel)

The Bard has asked “What’s in a name?”,

But it’s a bother, all the same,

When a reference work must choose

Which orthography to use.

His names aren’t difficult to spell,

At least as far as I can tell,

But, to be safe, it’s just as well

To list them all in parallel,

And if this seems a bit pell mell,

Consistency can go to hell!

 

 

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