One of the songs that pretty much everyone in Western culture is familiar with is the Hallelujah Chorus. Think about it8212;it’s easily the most famous movement in Handel’s Messiah, it’s sung every Christmas by choirs galore, and it’s the one, like the national anthem, that you have to stand up to sing. It is also, for some strange reason, only sung at Christmas, even though it was composed for Easter. A bit ironic, to say the least.
So of course, it’s only right that Salt Lake City does something to mark the entrance of another month of being able to listen to the Hallelujah Chorus without having to defend yourself. The Utah Symphony Orchestra is even making it more fun than usual8212;this is one chance for the audience to sing along with the choir.
For 30 years, the Utah Symphony has been putting on Handel’s masterpiece, Messiah. This year marks the 31st anniversary of the performance, and audiences are again invited to bring their own music scores and sing along. People have been doing this for 250 years. Get with the program8212;it’s ridiculously fun to get your opera on and sing loudly.
So why have people been singing this for so long? Largely because they can, and because it’s a damn fine piece of music. Handel premiered his masterpiece in Dublin in 1742. Legend has it that King George II stood up at the first triumphant notes of the Hallelujah Chorus, and since he was the king, everyone else had to stand up, too. Nobody actually knows why he stood up, but the popular theory is that the king was so moved by the music that he simply had to rise. A less popular notion is that he was sore and needed to stretch. Given the length of concerts and opera dating from this period, the latter theory is highly unlikely. Whatever the reason the old king stood up, it’s given us a tradition that’s lasted for more than 200 years.
The Utah Symphony’s performance of Messiah takes place during Thanksgiving weekend, on Saturday Nov. 29 and Sunday Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. The tickets are a screaming bargain: $14 for general audiences and $7 for students. The edition used will be the G. Schirmer Vocal/Piano edition, but almost any Messiah score should do. So even if you don’t have the music, go anyway. It’ll be worth it, and it will be a great way to ring in the holidays.