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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-12-13, Page 31GODERICH SIGNAL STAR THURSDAY, DECEMBERI3, 1979—PAGE 7A Rotary plans dinner before Messiah performance BY GORDON GREENE There is probably no piece of music known as widely or loved as much as Handel's great oratorio Messiah. The subject matter of the work has special appeal at Christmas and at Easter. The perfor--raan-ce- of this work in Goderich by the London Symphony Ordhestra on Thursday December 20 provides an opportunity to review some of the cir- cumstances involved in its creation in 1741 and early performances. During his long sojourn in England, Handel's output was prodigious, including vocal and in- strumental music of many kinds. It was as an opera composer, however, 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 affairs of what was ostensibly his own opera company. Public musical taste in that day was subject to all the vagaries of our own time, forcing Handel into bankruptcy on 'more than one oc- casion. ' He turned to oratorio rather late 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 1730's two or three excellent oratorios based on biblical texts had achieved considerable success, but Handel still dreamed of making his name and fortune in opera. The year 1741 saw Rande-1- in the p , however. He had produced the opera Deidamia but it was a complete failure. It was at this juncture that the Reverend Charles Jen- nens 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 to interrupt his work and composed the new oratorio in 24 days. In that same year Handel received an in- vitation from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to visit Dublin. He took the score of the Messiah with him and conducted ,the first performance on April 13 in 1742. The choir that was planned in advance comprised the singers from two cathedrals, St. Patrick's and Christchurch -- a total of six boys and 14 men in all! Obviously other singers from the Philharmonic Society and the Musical Academy had to be added as the rehearsals progressed. At the per - Playhouse elects board The Huron Country Playhouse -Board of Trustees held its annual meeting on November 26 at the Pinery Inn, Port Franks. Len Evans of Sarnia will take over as Allowance. cheques up Health and Welfare Minister David Crombie recently announced that there will be full escalation of Family Allowancesfor 1980. The Family Allowances Act provides for annual rise in payments in January of each year to correspond with in- creases in •the cost of living. Effective January, the Family Allowances paid monthly for children, under age 18 will rise to $21.80 from $20 in most provinces and in the territories. In ad- dition, the refundable Child Tax Credit program will provide up to $218' per child per year based on family income. The amount and method of payment of Family Allowances varies in .two provinces. Under 4,13fliovisiPP of the Family Allowances Act, a provincial , government may ask the federal government to vary the rates payable according to the age or number of - children in a family, or both, provIding the payments average $21.80, Alberta and Quebec chose this option. Special °Allowances, which are paid to foster parents, welfare agen- cies, government departments and in- stitutions maintaining children, will increase to $30.51 from $27.99. During 1979 the federal government paid out more „than $140 million each month in Family Allowances:for 6.9 million children in 3.6 million families. The national average allowance for each recipient family was about $39 monthly. SAVE ENERGY and Insulate U.F. Foam & Fiber Insulation Serving Huron County 15 years COMPARE...CONTACT STEWART'S ALUMINIUM & INSULATION 207 Huron Rd. Goderich 524-8821 Chairman of the Board .from Bill Amos of Parkhill, who stepped down following a suc- cessful two-year term. The new Board Executive also consists of James Kneale, vice chairman; Linda McKenzie, secretary; Gordon Schlegel,, treasurer; Bill Amos, immediate past chair- man; Leo Morningstar and Bettie Gibbs, executive members; and Nancy Read, guild representative. New members on the Board are: Adrian Bayley of Hensall, Mary Fran Gaiser of Exeter, Daniel J. Murphy, Q.C. of Goderich, J. Andrew Stewart of Ailsa Craig, Gwen Whilsmith of Zurich, Marie Homans, Dr. R. J. Lingard and Bernard Thorne, all of Grand Bend. Continuing on the Board of Trustees are Bert Albertson, Paul Baker, Gwen Burchill, Bill Heinsohn, Dave Sheppard, Benson Tuckey (Honourary Chairman), Jill Waters and Josefihine Wilcox. formance several extra oboes and bassoons augmented the orchestra in order to strengthen the soprano and bass choral lines. The performance was a success, netting a sum of 400 pounds which was donated to three iiicjot churities. London did not hear the Messiah until nine months later, on March 23, 1743, at Covent Garden. It was repeated twice in the same month and there were other performances during the next couple of years. By 1750 Handers popularity as an oratorio composer was established suf- ficiently to allow him to present a fine new organ to the Foundling Hospital, and he opened it himself with a per- formance of the Messiah in which the children of the hospital took part. Until his death in 1759 he gave an annual per- formance of the work there, thus laying the 'foundation of a traditi.on of annual performances. It 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 poets' corner at Westminster Abbey. How should the Messiah be performed?' This question has plagued modern conductors who must decide whether to try and duplicate Han- del's original per- formances, or take ad- vantage of the large modern orchestra and choral forces available to them. There are those who argue that the basic musical 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, or- chestra about the' same number of players. The tempos would be much faster in this case and the devotional character of the work would be 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 in- terpretations. The Rotary Club will • 4tIct.'!ni, JANA NATURAL FOODS 75 HAMILTON ST. 524-7561 HOURS: 9:30-5:30 WED. 9:30-12:30 also hold a reception and dinner prior to the presentation of Handel's Messiah on Thursday, The reception and December 20 at North dinner will be held at the Street United Church. Bedford Hotel beginning tt, at .6, p.m. and the sub- scription price is $10 per person. Tickets are available at Donnelly, Murphy and Pickell's Law Office and must be picked up no later than KoncklY, December 17. , • , ONLY 10 SHOPPING DAYS LEFT TILL CHRISTMAS HURRY IN SALE ENDS DEC. 24, 1979 "1 personally invite you to come to Clinton to shop - and compare - on your next furniture purchase" Compare selection, quality, price and service. You can buy the best for f; less at Ball & Mutch. Come browse through our vast selection of fine home fur. nishings. I feel you'll be pleasantly surprised—we offer big -city selection at small-town prices you con afford. CLARENCE DENOMME 11111, 01111 HOME FURNISHINGS mi FLOOR COVERINGS C ARP( TING •=1M4...6.......0103.0i1:002114111110.212SM Ball & Mutch Ltd. 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