HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-11-27, Page 5Jy f
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The work composed in...24.._days
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GOL)ERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, NQVEMBER 27, 1975—PAGES
Performers varied from 20 to 4000
Messiah first/performed in Dublin in 1742
The Rotary Concert Season begins
next Saturday, December 6 at Goderich
LUist>,;iet Collegiate Auditorium with The
Messiah by George Frederick Handel, -
Tickets.are available in Goderich from
any Rotarian; at Campbell's on The
Square; and this weekend at a booth in
Suncoast Mall.
The opening concert will feature the
London Symphony Orchestra under the
baton of Conductor Deral Johnson; the
Landon • Pro Musica Choir; and five
soloists, Constance Newland, soprano;
Janet Stubbs, mezzo-soprano; Gary
1elyea, baritone; Henry Ingram, bass:
and James Ford, trumpet.
The Messiah is one of Handel's best
known works. Handel himself is one of
the world's best known composers. ,,He
was born in Saxony in 1685.
Handel's father was opposed to the
idea of his 'son becoming a professional
musician. He therefore registered as a
student of law at Halle University; it
was not until after his father's death that
Handel gave up that study and followed
'his inclination toward music. After a
short period as an organist Handel
moved to Hamburg and obtained a post
as second violinist at the Opera House.
The director qithe opera, Keiser, soon
recognized f•he young musician's
capacities. He encouraged him to go to
Italy, the fulcrum of musical activity in
Europe at the time. After a period of
serious study; particularly in opera,
Handel was appointed court conductor to
the Elector George of Hanover in 1710.
'At this time a series of strange events
occurred. Shortly after his arrival at
Hanover, Handel was on his way to
England to supervise the production of
his opera Rinaldo. On that occasion in
1/10 he remained in London six months.
A year or so later he was back in London
on leave for an indefinite period to
produce operas for the English
audience.
Until recently Handel's lengthy stay in
England was thought to have displeased
his patron George of Hanover.
Historians have enjoyed speculating on
Handel's discomfort when the Elector of
Hanover arrived in England as King
George 1. It has been assumed that the
errant musician Handel was in disgrace
and had some difficulty establishing
good relations at court.
New evidence has cast all this
previous speculation in doubt. It is much
Christmas
spirit itt
It's beginning to look a lot
like Christmas. •
Well at least that's how the
song goes but we all know
that looks can be deceiving.
Christmas spirit is generated
in many different ways and
probably varies with every
individual. But if'it's the color
of Christmas lights on ' The
Square. and the beauty of
large fluffy snowflakes
filtering down on a crisp
evening that generates that
spirit, then perhaps it is time
to get into gear.
However ,this year, what
some might consider a
traditional part -r, of the
seasonal celebration will be
missing, and that tradition is
the sending of Christmas
cards. Although it can be:
argued that it's just another
of the many commercialized•
facets of Christmas, what
' isn't.
Commercially, cards are
an added expense for
Christmas shoppers and an
added profit, for merchants.
But,,look•ing beyond the dollar
signs, they are expressions of
dove and best „wishes from
friends and relatives who
may never be seen
throughout the year. For
many children they hold a
special kind of sentimentality
when a card is received from
Grandma in another province
or a cousin whom you really
liked but only saw once on a'
vacation.
In recent years the cost of
sending cards has increased
and undoubtedly many people
have trimmed their card lists
and vowed to cut it out
completely. For those who"
were undecided about sen-
ding cards this year the
postal strike settled that
matter with little fuss. If it
continues there won't he any
cards delivered in Canada
save for some local delivery.
The strike affects in-
dividuals and businesses all
over the country but much of
the talk has Concerned the
small businessman: In the
case of the small
more likely that' Handel was sent to
London to argue for the succession of the
Elector of Hanover to 'the English
thorne. Queen Ann was ill and there was
no obvious heirs. Handel presented
himself in London -as a musician but
argued forcibly and successfully fbr his
patron's right to the English throne. The
Hanovarians were the English royal
family to the death of Queen Victoria.
During his long sojourn in England,
Handel's output was prodigious, in-
cluding vocal and instrumental music of
many kinds. It was as an opera com-
poser, hn' 'ever, that Handel made his
name and his living. For almost 30 years
he presented Italian opera in London,
composing the score himself, hiring and
training the singers and managing the
financial affairsof what was ostensibly
his own opera company. Public musical
taste in that day as subject to all the
vagaries of our own time, forcing Handel
into bankruptcy on more than one oc-
casion. He turned to oratorio ratherlate
in life as a result of financial pressure
rather than personal inclination.
In certain essential ways oratorio was
like opera in style, but it could be
presented without costume, without'
costly sets and stage rehearsal time, In
the late 1;30's two 'or three, excellent
oratorios based on biblical texts had
achieved considerable success, but
Handel still dreamed of making hjs
name and fortune in opera.
The year • of 1741 saw Handel in the
depths,- hovs ever Ile had produced the
opera Deidamia but it was a complete
failure.
It was at this juncture that the
Reverend Charles Jennens appeared
with the libretto for a new oratorio that
was based entirely on biblical texts on,
the' subject of the Messiah. The beauty
of the language as well as its intensely
devotional character made such a
profound impression on Handel that he
set to work at once, suffered no one t.o
interrupt his work and composed the
' new oratorio in 24 days.
In.that same year Handel received an
invitation from the Lord Lieutenant 'of
Ireland to visit IJublin. He took the score
of the Messiah with him and conducted
the first performance on April 13 in 174''.
The choir that was planned in advance
c4,4,tnprised the singers from, two
• cathedrals, St, Patrick's and Christ-
church—a total of six boys and 14 en in
all!
Obviously other singers fro the
Philharmonic Society and the usical
Academy had to he added s the
rehearsals progressed. At 4 e per-
formance, several extra oboe s and
bassoons .augmented the orch a stra in
order to strenghen the soprano ' nd bass
choral lines. The performanc • was a
success, netting a sum of 400 pounds
which was donated to thre major,
charities.
London did not hear the Mes iah until
nine months later, on March ''3, 1 T43, at
Covent Garden. It was repeatetwice in
the same month, and there w re other
performances during the next couple of
years. By 1750 Handel's popul' rity as an
oratorio composer was stabliished
sufficiently to allow him to pr sent a fine
organ to the Foundling. Hospital, and he
.opened it himself with a performance of,
the Messiah in which the children of the
hospital took part: Until his death in 1759
he gave an annual performance of the
work there, thus laying the foundation
of a tradition of annual performances. - -
lt is, of interest to note that it was
during a performance of the Messiah at
Covent Garden on• April 6, 1759 that
Handel was taken ill!. He died eight
days later; his grave is in the poet's
corner at Westminister Abbey.
How should the Messiah be per-
formed? This question has plagued '
modern conductors who must decide
whether to try and duplicate H,andel's
original, performances, ; or .take • ad-
vantage of the large modern orchestra
and choral forces available to them.
There are those wht) argue that the basic
style, is that of chamber opera.
•
If,,,this approach is taken, .the chorus
should probably be no more than about
25-30 voices and the orchestra about the
same number of players. • The tempos -
would be much faster in this case and the
devotional character of the work would
he minimized. But tradition weighs
heavily on this particular composition.
At the height of the oratorio tradition in
England the number of performers for
the Messiah reached the colossal total of
-4.000! It is a distinct mark Of Handel's
genius that his score survives and even
thrives on all such interpretations.
card sales way -down; Christmas
s along with sales stogy by Dave Sykes
businessman who deals in
cards the postal strike is
nothing short of disasterous:.
Carl. Anderson, owner of
Anderson's Book Store, in
Goderich, is one of those
businessman who is looking
at a large stock, of Christmas
cards with. no one to buy
them,
"Christmas' „ cards are a'
large' -percentage of :my
business and normally wee.
should have reached a selling
peak now;" he said. "The
stock is too big to carry over
until next year but it may still
be possible to move them if
there is a settlement."
He estimated that he will
lose •thousands of dollars in
sales and it means a loss in
sales that just isn't
recovered. But like many '
small card dealers' they may
have stock that is not
returnable but too big to hold
onto and their only con-
solation is to cling tb the hope
that there will be a settlement
before Christmas.
He also stated 'that the loss
of Christmas card sales also
means a drop in the sale" of
other items. People purl'
chasing cards also browse in
the •store for other items and
he cited overseas calendars
as an example. Mr. Anderson
remarked that it was a sad
situation for a lot of people
andthose people are the card
companies, the dealers and
the people who buy.
Fred Hobbs . of Peoples
Store on The Square said that
Christmas , card sales had
been •increasing every year
and in anticipation of a big
selling year his stock of cards
is larger than ever. Now he
figures he is just stuck with
them°until next year.
A check with other card
dealers in town, such as.
Woolworths and • Finchers
- Book Store provided no words
of encouragement Christmas
cards are just not selling,
since there is no way to send
them, and the return of the
'inside workers at • the
Goderich post office has done
littPto alleviate the problem.
Dealers claim that4taw--.tla,e.---,._.,,
Repor:tstr�sses.
for South
The Goderich Works and
Engineering Committee
agreed to make ' a recom-
mendation to town council to
proceed with work on the
South Street storm drainage
in 1976 with tenders to be
called early in January.
An, investigation into the
stodn water problem on
South Street between the
blocks of Britannia* Road and
Blake Street was prompted
odd box will sell for local
delivery but sales are still
negligible.`'
Mr. Malcolm Campbell of
Goderich cut down' his
Christmas card stock last
year insisting that people
curtailed buying because of
the increase in the postal
rates. This year • you can't
hart the rates but the service
isn't worth a darn.
It is doubtful' that there will
be a settlement before
Christmas' and most
Canadian homes will be
•withtmt that • extra spirit.
Christmas will still come and
go with its usual jovial spirits
but as Dennis Finches of
Goderich so aptly said, "You
don't get in the same spirit."
need
Street drain
become flooded because
there 'is no outlet available for
water from the catch basins.
Consulting engineers, B.M.
Ross and Associates of
Goderich suggested that the
Raglan Street sewer be ex-
tended easterly beyond South
Street to accommodate two
existing catch basins in the
middle of the block and that
storm sewers be built on
Keays Street. The sewer
by council to eliminate ebnstruction would go both
flooding on the streets and the— north and south of Raglan
backup of sewage into Street and provide outlets for
basements in the area. all of the existing. catch
The problem drainage area basins. '
extends from Britannia Road
to Blake Street and from The cost of the sewer.
Cameron Street to Keays systems on both 'Raglan and
Street. In this drainage area, South Streets is estimated at
there is an existing combined g, $36,500 while the cost of ex -
sewer system, but during the tending the Raglan Street
periods of heavy runoff the sewer easterly fflAd con -
system is surcharged to a structing the Keays Street
point where water backs up in sewer would mean an ad -
basements and the streets ditional $13,250for a total
...AT BEST BUY PRICES
WHOLE — HALF
FRESH HAMS
,e'1.19
TOP -- TE'NDER
ROUND STEAK &
BONELESS RUMPS
ta.'1.59
CENTRE SIRLOIN. LB. $1 79
HOME MADE
HEADCHEESE
�s $1.19
GROUND — SAVE 20c LB.
LB.
CHUCK STEAK
(EXTRA LEAN)
.79c
LEWIS - 24 OZ.
SLICED BREAD
(WITH EVERY PURCHASE)
FREEZER SPECIAL - A. 1 STEER
HIND QTRS. BEEF. $
(CUT FREE)
COOKED
ROAST HAM
WITH
DRESSING
AINSLIE MARKET
LIMITED ' CALL 524-8551
Nome Dressed Inspected Meats at Wholesale Prices
COOKED
ROAST HAM
WITH
DRESSING
9°
1
project cost of approximately
$4.9,750,000.
However the town must"still
complete the installation ofa
number of small diameter
sewers which .act as feeders
to collect the surface water
from the catch basins. The
collector sewers would
relieve the hydraulic
overload that occurs in the
combined sewer system and
causes flooding' and it will
also relieve the overload at
the pollution control plant.
Last week Neil MacMulletr
. of the Ministry of Environ-
ment told G.oderich Town
Council that the ministry was
concerned about the overload
at the pollution control plant
and suggested that the
facilities . be expanded _ to
accommodate it. If additional
storm ,sewers are built to
•
intercept the storm water
which causes the overload
Olen- there will be little
sewage bypass. It would also
relieve the load on the sewer
system which causes the
• flooding,
The works and engineering
committee also agreed to put
a tender out on the Waterloo
and , Nelson Street project
near the middle of Decembet
and to close the first week in
January.
GET HIP!!
READ THE
WRIIT IDS
Arena Special Events
PUBLIC SKATING-
Sunday, November 30 - 2-4
Admission' - 75c
INTERMEDIATE HOCKEY
Wednesday', December 3 , 8:30 p.m.
Clinton at Goderich
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MON. THR:U, THURS., 8-5:30
FRI., 8-5
SAT., 8.1
155 ANGLESEA ST , GODERIC"N—TURN AT SIGN ON HWY.21
BUILDALL LOCATED ED 1 BLOCK EAST — CALL 5248389