Handel's Messiah - a podcast advent calendar

03/12/2022

Episode 3 is about Charles Jennens who was no bundle of joy to be around! But he is very important for our story. There would never have been a Handel's Messiah without Charles Jennens! For it was his idea to create this sacred oratorio. He was the one who wrote the libretto based on the Bible.

But Charles Jennens was not at all interested in having his name mentioned. He also never asked for payment for his work. For Charles Jennens was preoccupied with far more important matters! He was born to unimaginable wealth. All his life he only needed to concentrate on his Christian faith and his love of literature and music.

https://www.spreaker.com/show/handels-messiah-advent-calendar

02/12/2022

In the second episode we will hear about Handel nearly being ruined by pretentious opera divas and opera productions that were overly expensive. We will also hear how the opera audience at the time would both drink, talk and play cards during the performances - and how a furious audience once nearly took Covent Garden apart because they wanted the audience to pay full price for their tickets. In other words Handel had several reasons for leaving London and going to Dublin.

English version: https://www.spreaker.com/show/handels-messiah-advent-calendar

Dansk version: https://www.spreaker.com/user/nylandkommunikation/messias-en-podcastjulekalender-2-afsnit

Music by Dunedin Consort Linn Records

The picture is from the wonderful exhibition 'Opera: Passion, Power and Politics' back in 2018 and a reconstruction of the staging of Handel's Rinaldo (1711)

01/12/2022

Today, Handel's Messiah podcast advent calendar turns five 🥳🎅

In the first episode we are going down Fishamble Street, one of the oldest streets in Dublin. It was in the exclusive Musick Hall in this street that Handel’s Messiah was first performed on 13 April 1742.

Once upon a time Fishamble Street was one of Dublin’s most unsanitary streets. It later became one of the most fashionable streets in Dublin. Today it is rather dull. However, it is a good starting point for the many fascinating stories about Handel’s time in Dublin.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/nylandkommunikation/messiah-1

11/04/2022

It was Easter and not Christmas that Handel had in mind when he composed Messiah that was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742. When I made the podcast advent calendar more than five years ago, Idid an awful lot of research reading dozens of books. These are just a small selection. The most inspiring was definitely Jonathan Bardon's 'Hallelujah' published by Gill Books. I was so thrilled that Jonathan thought that the podcast series was 'wonderful, lucid, elegantly written and skilfully crafted.'

If you get the chance, you should definitely try to get your finders in Jonathan's book. It's still the most informing and entertaining about Mr. Handel's adventures in Dublin ❤️

13/12/2021

Handel was soon so busy in Dublin that he could not keep up. Smock Alley Theatre further down Fishamble Street had to cancel performances because Handel monopolised the best musicians in the city. They even had to turn Fishamble Street into a one-way street when Handel was giving concerts because of the ensuing traffic congestion. Thus sedan chairs could no longer just be parked outside Mr Neal’s Great Musick Hall while the noble guests were enjoying the strains of Handel’s music. Handel was a success – and he had not even started introducing his audience to his new compositions yet. So far they had only been listening to the works they already knew.

Handel was soon so busy in Dublin that he could not keep up. Smock Alley Theatre further down Fisham

13/12/2021

The Irish State Musick was the permanent ensemble at the court at Dublin Castle. They were primarily paid in beer and had to take on extra work as waiters in order to make a living. The violinists also had to accept that the trumpeters were paid more because they had a higher risk of dying while on duty. In this episode you will also get an explanation as to why you will not be hearing one single note of Irish traditional music in this advent calendar.

The Irish State Musick was the permanent ensemble at the court at Dublin Castle. They were primarily

13/12/2021

On 14 December Handel started selling tickets for his concerts from his own living room. Dublin was the perfect size for successful benefit concerts. It was big enough and wealthy enough for it to have an audience who would support the many worthy causes – AND it was small enough to ensure that it would be noticed if any of the nobility failed to attend a benefit concert. The numerous benefit concerts around Dublin were taken very seriously. When the annual benefit concert for Mercer’s Hospital was held the Chief Justice made sure that there were no court cases after 12 o’clock so that all of the solicitors and lawyers in the city could attend the concert.

On 14 December Handel started selling tickets for his concerts from his own living room. Dublin was

13/12/2021

The Charitable Musical Society was quite a unique musical society. Even though there were many similar societies in Dublin in the 1740s this society stood out because of its many activities. Their primary aim was to raise money to release imprisoned debtors. Furthermore their members were the driving force behind bringing Handel to Dublin – and they were also responsible for building the biggest music hall in Ireland. Finally it stood apart from the other musical societies in that they insisted that there be room for both the high nobility with long titles as well as humble craftsmen – and the musical society had no problems letting Catholics join either, which was quite sensational at the time.
Interview with Adrian Le Harival, curator at the National Irish Gallery

The Charitable Musical Society was quite a unique musical society. Even though there were many simil

08/12/2021

Whereas it is a well-known part of musical history that Messiah premiered in Dublin’s new leading music hall in Fishamble Street as a benefit concert arranged by a.o. the Charitable Musical Society for the Release of Imprisoned Debtors, the gravity of the situation in Ireland in 1741 is a less well-known part of history. A musical society whose purpose is to pay for the release of imprisoned debtors may at first sound sweet and cheerful. However, that was far from the case. Today’s episode is not so much about Handel, but more about the money being raised through the performance of Messiah and the people this money was intended for.

Whereas it is a well-known part of musical history that Messiah premiered in Dublin’s new leading mu

08/12/2021

Handel arrives in Ireland on 18 November and is welcomed with open arms. Where life seemed light, cheerful, elegant and fashionable when the aristocracy were enjoying themselves in the new music hall in Fishamble Street, then life was looking considerably different to the majority of the inhabitants in Dublin. There was a particular reason that hospitals for poor people and musical charities for imprisoned debtors were in such dire need of raising as much money as possible. Because in 1741 there was a famine in Ireland, and throngs of famished people from the countryside would go to Dublin in the search of food.

Handel arrives in Ireland on 18 November and is welcomed with open arms. Where life seemed light, ch

08/12/2021

Due to bad weather conditions Handel’s trip from Parkgate to Dublin by boat is delayed for several days. He spends his time gathering a choir to practise Messiah. The choir consists of the best choir singers from the cathedral in Chester - AND the local printer, Janson, who has a beautiful bass voice. However, Handel is not overly impressed by Janson’s skills to say the least ...

Due to bad weather conditions Handel’s trip from Parkgate to Dublin by boat is delayed for several d