Standing up for Handel's Messiah
 

I would hope that all of you on the European, Canadian and American sites would be sufficiently imbued with the Christmas spirit to treat this question, at least in the widest sense, as a travel question. I shall be grateful for any response.<BR><BR>The question is: Do audiences in your area, province, state or country stand up for the singing of the &quot;Hallelujah chorus&quot; in Handel's &quot;Messiah&quot;? We do in Toronto, Canada and I'm curious as to whether it's a local custom, or something a little more universal, possibly derived from the initial reaction (probably apocryphal) of George II of England who is alleged to have arisen to his feet in exaltation(or whatever) at the first performance of the Messiah.<BR><BR>A Merry Christmas (or Happy Politically Correct Holiday) to all who choose to respond to this enquiry.<BR><BR>David S

Hi - Love your question - it is perfectly in the spirit of the holidays, and I'm not being sarcastic! Anyway, we do stand up for the Hallelujah Chorus here in Kansas. I've been to a number of performances of the Messiah in various parts of the state, and we always do. Happy Holidays!<BR>

Funny you should ask -- just today my wife mentioned that, when she went to hear &quot;Messiah&quot; in Malta, the Americans, the British, and the Germans all stood up. But the Maltese did not!<BR><BR>King George was not present at the FIRST performance of &quot;Messiah,&quot; but the report of his standing when he first heard the chorus (a year later) began very soon after this performance.

We stand in Colorado!<BR>

We stand in Pa. and N.J. I have been to this concert and I have seen this done everytime. I always thought it was &quot;traditional&quot; to do so. I never thought anyone did not!

We certainly stand in Boston.

We stood yesterday in Connecticut

Standing in Nebraska!

On our feet in Mpls.

Standing in New York.

Standing firm in California!<BR><BR>Lynette

I'm not sure what Sandy meant or thought she meant, but standing up for the Hallelujah Chorus has nothing to do with Christianity. It's a tradition that, as a poster mentioned above, may have started when King George stood up (and nobody knows why he did that - maybe he was on his way to the men's room) and once he was on his feet, everybody else in the room had to stand too. There's no religious significance to the chorus, any more than to any of the other ones in the oratorio.

I just heard the Messiah at Carnegie Hall last Wednesday (New York Oratory Society and the Westchester Philharmonic. I was walking down the street and someone was holding up a single ticket in Front Balcony. <BR><BR>I fell asleep after the first hour its 2 hours and 45 minutes long. Great if you get music, I did not though. <BR><BR>I understand that NYC has something called the Messiah downtown or the downtown Messiah. Anyone seen? Supposedly it is a hip, jazzed version.

Oh about standing I left at intermission. I never noticed anyone standing at other performances. We used to do part of it in choir in highschool we never observed this standing up tradition.

<BR>Quite the contrary, standing?. This is about local custom in various parts of the country, just as asking if tipping is different or what the proper dining time is in different cities. That is travel.<BR>And you do have to travel from your seat to the air to stand, don't you?

It's a universal custom anywhere there's an audience that wants to hear the Messiah. <BR><BR>It's nonetheless a legit question for a travel board because it relates to local custom -- what if there WERE a place when people remain seated and David were the only one to stand?<BR><BR>Now, a little peace, please, a little gentleness, a little kindness.

I have thought the Messiah was totally inspired by a depressed Handel. He was in his room day and night and would not eat. He was inspired through his depression and spirituality, and began writing the music. Didn't anyone else ever hear this? I think he read the Bible at the time in his depressed state. So some say it is God inspired.