Handel's Messiah: the scandalous birth of a classical masterpiece

Welcome to the History Extra Podcast. Fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History Magazine. Handel's Messiah is one of the most enduringly popular pieces of classical music. But its origins are far more complex than we might assume. Rather than springing from the mind of a lone genius, the

The story of this eighteenth century masterpiece is woven from deeply personal tales of scandal. I'm redemption. Set against a background of political tumult. In this episode, Eleanor Evans is joined by Professor Charles King, who The author of Every Valley The Story of Handel's Messiah.

To reveal the history behind the soaring choruses. Charles, could you introduce for our listeners a sense of the scale and the scope of Handel's Messiah in Western music and its position today? Well, there's really nothing else like it because it's in some ways the only piece in the classical canon that has never been revived, you know, since the uh the since the first performance in seventeen forty two it's been a near constant. performance in the United States at Carnegie Hall, they're doing the hundred fiftieth consecutive annual performance of this. And of course it's been in performance much more intensely and for longer in other parts of the parts of the world, obviously. But Given how

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