It is true that, after Purcell, Handel soon appeared and claimed even superior praise.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF HANDEL.
When Handel, dissatisfied with the reception of his oratorio of the Messiah in London, went to Dublin to test his work with a more impartial audience, he procured the best choristers from St. Patrick’s and Christ’s cathedrals. The chief singers were Mrs. Cibber and Mrs. Avolio. It is related that after Mrs. Cibber had sung “He was despised” with great pathos, a clergyman in one of the boxes was so excited and transported that he called out with a loud voice to her, “Woman, for this be all thy sins forgiven.” It was also a remarkable incident that, in compliance with a request that the ladies who honoured the performance would be pleased to come without their hoops, they actually made the great self-sacrifice requested, and left their hoops behind, thereby allowing of a great deal of additional space for the rest of the audience. Such music had never before been heard in England. When Handel’s oratorio was first performed in Ireland, it was heard with admiration. The expressive force and pathos of the recitatives and melodies, and the superlative grandeur of the choral parts, were equally appreciated, and the whole was hailed as a wonderful effort of the art of harmony. Taught by the better criticism of the sister kingdom, England at his return discovered the excellence to which she had been so unaccountably deaf, and lavished her praises on what she had before dismissed with disgrace or without approbation. In 1742 Handel gave a performance of the Messiah in the Foundling Hospital Chapel with great success, and the proceeds were presented by him to that institution, then recently established.
FIRST PERFORMANCE OF HANDEL’S “MESSIAH.”
It is related by Dr. Beattie, the poet, that when Handel’s Messiah was first performed the audience were greatly struck and affected by the music. But when the chorus reached the part beginning “For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,” the audience, including the King (George II.), were so transported that they all instinctively started to their feet and remained standing till the conclusion of the passage. Hence it became a fashion in England for the audience to stand during that part of that magnificent hymn.
HANDEL COMMEMORATIONS IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
Except the dedication of the Temple, at which, according to Josephus, 200,000 musicians were engaged, the commemoration of Handel in Westminster Abbey in 1784 was considered at that time the greatest performance that ever was heard. The band contained 482 instrumentalists. The vocal performers included 22 cantos, 51 altos, 66 tenors, 69 basses. The receipts for the five commemorations amounted to £12,736. At this performance on so unprecedented a scale, the audience was melted and enraptured by the exquisite sweetness of the solos, the powerful execution of the choruses affected some to tears, and many fainted with the excitement. When the whole chorus, from each side of the stupendous orchestra, joined in by all the instruments, burst out “He is the King of glory,” the effect was so overpowering that the performers could scarcely proceed. Though Pope had no ear for music, he was aware of the triumphs of his contemporary, the great composer, and in “The Dunciad” thus describes him:—
“Strong in new arras, lo! giant Handel stands,
Like bold Briareus, with a hundred hands;
To stir, to rouse, to shake the soul he comes,
And Jove’s own thunders follow Mars’s drums.”