“It is difficult in no common degree to write anew concerning The Messiah,”1 said the music writer Henry F Chorley in 1859. The piece was, of course, 117 years old at the time, and there has only been more written on this landmark composition since. Handel’s Messiah is not just a popular classic, after all: it’s also a hugely important work.
He thought he had seen Heaven before him. He knew not whether he was in or out of his body when he wrote it. Twenty-four sleepless nights, many untouched dinners and endless tears later, his Messiah was ready to see the world. Or maybe not just yet.True, there had been times when he was ambitious and proud. There had been times when it was all about him. Now he had learned the truth.
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