Judas Maccabaeus

She runs into the house.

Eric leans a moment with elbow on pillar, descends steps, rubs his ear, one foot resting on bottom step, then whistles, See the Conquering Hero Comes, and crosses to left table and takes up his mug of milk.

Raising the mug

Baby's health

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FORWARD handel's long career resembles a gigantic tapestry so bewilderingly crowded with detail so filled with turmoil and vicissitude with vast achievements extremes of good and ill fortune and unending comings and goings that any attempt to force even a small part of it into the frame of a tiny unpretentious booklet of the present sort is as hopeless as it is presumptuous handel is far more difficult to reduce to such minuscule dimensions than his greatest contemporary bach whose worldly experiences were infinitely less diverse and colorful for all the sublimity mystical quality and epical influence of his myriad creations the supreme master of florid pomp handel spoke much larger in the perspective of his own day than did in his the composer of the passion according to st matthew in spite of an everlasting monument like messiah the most popular choral masterpiece ever written we may however ask ourselves if the body of handel's music is as widely known and as intimately studied as it deserves to be how many to-day can boast of a real acquaintance with handel's operas there are more than forty of them alone apart from a few airs sung in concert how many can truly claim to know by experience any of the great oratorios apart from messiah and possibly judas maccabeus and israel in egypt yet outside of such monumental works handel was time and again a composer of exquisitely delicate colorations and sensuous style not to say a largely unsuspected master of many subtle intricacies of rhythm The present pamphlet, wholly without originality or novelty of approach, may perchance induce the casual reader to renew his interest in Handel's prodigious treasury, so much of it neglected, not to say actually undiscovered, by multitudes of music lovers.

H. F. P.

End of foreword Some wit comparing Bach and Handel remarked that both masters were born in the same year and killed by the same doctor.

Thanks to bigotry and organized religiosity, however, Messiah had only three performances in 1743, none in 1744, two in 1745, and none whatever till four years later.

Newman Flower recounts that the master, being complimented on the work by a titled hearer, replied, "'My lord, I should be sorry if I only entertained people.

I wish to make them better.' yet as late as seventeen fifty six a miss catherine talbot one of handel's most devoted admirers could say that the playhouse is an unfit place for such a solemn performance however in the words of robert manson myers england's early rejection of messiah may be ascribed as much to personal resentment as to shallow musical taste handel flaunted his independence and moved with resolute determination snapping his fingers in the face of princely patrons and daring to defy the bluest blood in england what was to be done with this insufferable german upstart this mere musician who despite persistent opposition succeeded in discharging his debts to the utmost farthing chosen leaders of british quality resolved to crush handel at once they devised a systematic campaign to boycott his oratorios and no scheme proved too petty for the gratification of their spite vain resolve for handel crushed had a most persistent habit of rising again if political cabals brought him low the tides of national politics brought him to the top once more messiah to be sure was not to become an unshakable british shall we not rather say anglo-saxon monument till after the composer's death yet handel was able to make the most creatively of the great national emergencies of his last decade in seventeen forty three as composer of music to the chapel royal he wrote a te deum and an anthem to celebrate the victory of dettingen music that conquered the popular heart to this period belongs the charming secular oratorio simile source of the beloved airs where'er you walk and o sleep why dost thou leave me at the first production of which mrs delany found it significant that there was no disturbance in the playhouse but the old habit of launching operatic or concert enterprises was upon him once more and again threatened to consume his credit and his substance bankruptcy threatened other oratorios hercules belshazzar grand masterpieces both of them were given in seventeen forty five to dwindling audiences handel's health was imperilled then came seventeen forty five the jacobite rising and the landing in scotland of the pretender charles edward there was consternation which culminated in the march of the highlander army on london loyally the composer identified himself with the national cause to celebrate the early defeats of the jacobites he wrote the occasional oratorio a call to englishmen to resist the invader but this occupies a less considerable niche in history than judas maccabeus next to messiah perhaps the most popular of handel's oratorios unless we choose to set above it the earlier israel in egypt to robert schumann the model of a choral work Judas Maccabeus, the text of which a certain divine, Thomas Morel, had based on the Old Testament, was set by Handel between July 9 and August 11, 1746, was produced by Handel at Covent Garden, April 1, 1747.

The composer was extraordinarily attuned to the emotional mood of the moment.

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conqueror the ferocious duke of cumberland to whom the poem was dedicated these two patriotic oratorios were handel's heart beat with that of england and of which the second judas maccabaeus hess retained even to our own day its great popularity thanks to its broad style and the spirit which animates it brought more fortune to handel than all the rest of his works together after thirty-five years of continuous struggle plot and counter-plot he at last obtained a decisive victory he became the force of events the national musician of england freed from material cares which had embittered his life handel took up the work of his composition again with more tranquillity and in the following years came many of his happiest works alexander babus june first to july fourth seventeen forty seven is like semele a concert opera well developed the orchestration being exceptionally rich and subtle joshua july thirtieth to august eighteenth seventeen forty seven is a somewhat pale replica of judas a gentle love idyll blossoms amidst the pompous choruses solomon june seventeen forty eight is a musical festival radiating poetry and gladness susanna july eleventh seventeen twenty four to august seventeen forty eight grave and gay by turns realistic yet lyric is a hybrid kind of work but very original finally in the spring of seventeen forty nine which marks so it seems the end of handel's good fortune he wrote his brilliant fire-work music a model for popular open-air effects produced on april twenty seventh seventeen forty nine by a monster orchestra of trumpets horns oboes and bassoons with out-stringed instruments on the occasion of the fire-work display given in green park to celebrate the peace of aix-la-chapelle more solemn works followed these gay pieces at this moment of his life the spirit of melancholy raised its gray head before the robust old man who seemed to be obsessed by the presentiment of some coming ill-fortune on may twenty seventh seventeen forty nine he conducted at the foundling hospital for the benefit of waifs and strays his beautiful anthem for the foundling hospital which was inspired by his great pity for these little unfortunates from june twenty eighth to july thirty first he wrote a pure masterpiece theodora his most intimate musical tragedy his only christian tragedy besides the messiah from the end of that same year dates also his music for a scene from tobias smollett's alceste which was never played and from which handel took the essential parts for his choice of hercules a little time after he made his last voyage to halle he arrived on german soil at the moment when bach died july twenty eighth seventeen fifty indeed he nearly ended his life there himself in the same week by a carriage accident He recovered quickly, and on January 21, 1751, when he commenced the score of Jephthah, he appeared to be in robust health, despite his 66 years.

He wrote the first act at a stretch in 13 days.

In 11 days more, he had arrived at the last scene but one of Act II.

Here he had to break off.

Already, in the preceding pages, he only progressed with difficulty.

His writing, so clear and firm at the commencement, became sticky confused and trembling he had started on the final chorus of act two how dark o lord are thy ways hardly had he written the opening largo than he had to stop working he wrote i reached here on wednesday february thirteen had to discontinue on account of the sight of my left eye the work was broken off for ten days on february twenty third which was his birthday he wrote in feel a little better resumed work and he wrote the music to those foreboding words grief follows joy as night the day he took hardly five days to finish this chorus which is really sublime he stopped then for four months on june eighteenth he resumed the third act he was again interrupted in the middle the last four airs and the final chorus took more time than a whole oratorio usually occupied he did not finish it until august thirtieth seventeen fifty one his sight was then gone after that all was ended handel's eyes were closed forever the sun was blotted out total eclipse the world was effaced he had never suffered so much as in the first year of his illness when he was not yet completely blind in seventeen fifty two he was unable to play the organ at the productions of his oratorios and the public moved by sympathy saw him tremble and blanch in listening to the admirable complaint of his blind samson but in seventeen fifty three when the evil was incurable handel regained his self-possession he played the organ again at the twelve performances of oratorios which he gave each year in lent and he kept up this custom until his death but with his vanished sight he had lost the best source of his inspiration this man who is neither an intellectual nor a mystic one who loved above all things light and nature beautiful pictures and the spectacular view of things who lived more through his eyes than most of the german musicians was engulfed in deepest night from seventeen fifty two to seventeen fifty nine he was overtaken by the semi-consciousness which precedes death he only wrote in seventeen fifty eight a duet and chorus for judas maccabaeus zion now her head shall raise and reviving in that the happy times of other days he took up a work of his youth the triumphal del tempo which he now gave in a new version in march seventeen fifty seven the triumph of time and truth on april sixth seventeen fifty nine he again took the organ at a production of the messiah his powers failed him in the middle of a movement he soon recovered himself and improvised it is said with his habitual grandeur returned home he took to bed on april eleventh he added a last codicil to his will bequeathing munificently one thousand pounds sterling to the society for the maintenance of poor musicians and expressing with tranquillity his desire of being buried in westminster abbey he said i want to die on good friday in the hope of rejoining the good god my sweet lord and saviour on the day of his resurrection his wish was accomplished on holy saturday april fourteenth at eight in the morning the sweet singer of the messiah slept with his lord his glory spread after his death on april twentieth he was interred in westminster abbey as he had requested the annual performances of his oratorios continued at lent under the direction of his friend christopher smith popular performances of them were soon given the great festival of his commemorations celebrated at westminster abbey and in the pantheon from may twenty sixth to june fifth seventeen eighty four from the centenary of his birth was observed all over europe new festivals took place in london in seventeen eighty five seventeen eighty six seventeen eighty seven seventeen ninety and seventeen ninety one on the last occasion more than a thousand executants took part haydn was present and he said through his tears he is master of us all the english performances attracted the attention of germany two years after the commemoration johann adam hiller produced a messiah in the cathedral church at berlin then at leipzig and then at breslau three years later in seventeen eighty nine mozart made his arrangements of the messiah of oxys and galatea of the eau de st cecilia and of alexander's feast the first complete edition of handel was commenced in seventeen eighty six a strong feeling of emulation made itself felt in germany to imitate the english festivals and to restore choral singing and to found the singa katamayan for the preservation of the national glories the rendering of handel's oratorios inspired haydn to write the creation beethoven at the end of his life said of handel see there is the truth poets also vied equally in rendering him homage goethe admired him and herder devoted a chapter to him in his adrastea of eighteen o two the wars of independence gave an access of favor to the oratorio of freedom to judas with romanticism the feeling for the genius of handel was lost berlioz who if he had but known him truly and had found a model for that grand popular style which he sought never understood him of all other musicians those who approached to the spirit of handel nearest were schumann and liszt but they were exceptional in the lucidity of their perception and their generous sympathies it might be said that handel's art distorted by the additions and false renderings quite as much those in germany as the ridiculously colossal representations in england would have been completely lost except for the foundation in eighteen fifty six of the handel society which devoted itself to the object of publishing an exact and complete edition of the works of the master gervinus was the promoter and friedrich christender alone accomplished the task it did not aim at being a critical edition of his works his ardent apostle sought simply to revive them in their pristine force he was seconded by the choral societies of north germany particularly by the berlin singakademien which from eighteen thirty to eighteen sixty never ceased to perform all the oratorios of handel on the contrary austria remained a long way behind in eighteen seventy three brahms conducted the first production of saul in vienna but the veritable awakening of handel's art in germany only dates back about half a score of years one recognized his grandeur and did not doubt that he had lived it was chiefly so it seems at the first handel festival in mayence in eighteen ninety five where hercules and deborah were given that his astounding dramatic genius was first truly felt there to us in france we still await the full revelation of the living scenes of this great and luminous tragic art so akin to the aims of ancient greece chapter six

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