George Frideric Handel & His Messiah

(One of my main problems with this blog is my inability to manipulate or change the line spaces. In my original of this material, the extract from Wikipedia came in as some kind of sans serif font, I guess Arial. I changed it to Times. All was well until my computer crashed and I had to reboot my blog. Things changed in an unattractive way that I simply cannot fix. I've tried, believe me. Why don't they give us the opportunity to adjust spacing between lines, so that wide gaps don't open up between paragraphs or lines unbidden and unwanted? Well, read on.)


Another swipe from Wikipedia:


George Frideric Handel's Messiah was "Composed in London during the summer of 1741 and premiered in Dublin, Ireland, on 13 April 1742, it was repeatedly revised by Handel, reaching its most familiar version in the performance to benefit the Foundling Hospital in 1754."


The first time I sang excerpts from Messiah I was in high school. I'd been studying voice for a couple of years, and the choir conductor at my church gave me the soprano solos, which at that point in my life, were difficult to perform. But singing the "Hallelujah" chorus was the single most thrilling experience I had ever had, and ever since then I have loved to perform this music. I'm not a formal musician—didn't like to practice—but I sang the oratorio with a local choral group in Massachusetts about twelve or so years ago. Got the timing right and hit every note. A major accomplishment for me, since timing has always been a problem for me.


Here's another quote from Wikipedia about the first London performance of the "Hallelujah" chorus:


In many parts of the world, it is the accepted practice for the audience to stand for this section of the performance. The tradition is said to have originated with the first London performance of Messiah, which was attended by King George II. As the first notes of the triumphant Hallelujah chorus rang out, the king rose to his feet and remained standing until the end of the chorus. Royal protocol has always dictated that when the monarch stands, everyone in the monarch's presence is also required to stand. Thus, the entire audience and orchestra stood when the king stood during the performance, initiating a tradition that has lasted more than two centuries. It is lost to history the exact reason why the King stood at that point, but the most popular explanations include:

• He was so moved by the performance that he rose to his feet.
• He stood out of tribute to the composer.
• As was and is the custom, one stands in the presence of royalty as a sign of respect. The Hallelujah chorus clearly places Christ as the King of Kings. In standing, King George II accepts that he too is subject to the Lord of Lords.
• He had grown so uncomfortable in his seat during the entire work that he finally stood to stretch his legs.

There is another story told about this chorus that Handel's assistant walked in to Handel's room after shouting to him for several minutes with no response. The assistant reportedly found Handel in tears, and when asked what was wrong, Handel held up the score to this movement and said, "I thought I saw the face of God."

The point I'm making with the quote is that this is a piece of music that has been revered and respected by everyone since it was initially performed. This particular part of the entire work has been singled out for respect above the other pieces in the oratorio, and for good reason. It is exalting to sing and exalting to hear. In the very best sense of the word, this is a sacred piece of music. (That last bulleted item is tongue in cheek I suspect.)


So what kind of numbnuts think it is suitable for use in advertisements? I have so far heard it used in a Charmin toilet paper commercial, for Manwich sandwich mixture, and most recently, in a commercial for Oscar Meyer's "Carving Board Turkey" sandwich meat! The Charmin commercial didn't air very many times, and I suspect because they got a lot of flak for using this music, but the food vendors didn't seem to get the same response, since I heard it used several times with their products' airings.


To say I protest is putting it mildly. Before the Charmin commercial I had no real preference about toilet paper; after the commercial I vowed never to use that product. As for the food ads, well, I never eat those kinds of things anyway, so they didn't lose either a steadfast or a possible customer. Nonetheless, I protest! The works of great classical composers, I think, should not be used to sell anything. The main reason to use this music is that it's free, so the ad agency doesn't have to pay any fees. The ultimate effect, though, is to cheapen the music. Using it also demonstrates the ignorance of the people at the ad agency and the company who pays for its services. In particular, using this piece of music seems the worst sort of tacky, kind of an anti-ad expression. I hope, for the sake of art and people's health, they don't buy these products.


Well, let's face it, I can't expect the developers of Manwich to rank very high on the evolutionary scale; much the same can be said about the makers of Oscar Meyer products. After all, a highly industrialized foodstuff is not really food at all; it's just stuff. As such it should be stuck somewhere dark, where the sun don't shine, as Dick Cavett said many years ago, bless him.