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.
Home Furnishings -
71 Albort Street, Clinton 482.9505
OPEN: Six Days a week, 9 a.m, 6 p.m.
Open Friday nights 'till 9 p.m.
4,
A
ALL GOLD & SILVER CHAINS H RINGS "DIAMONDS, CLUSTERS,
PRECIOUS STONES, 'ALL KINDS) 1-1- SILVERWARE H PINWHEEL CRYSTAL E
LIGHTERS CLOCKS (WALL AND MANTEL F 1 COPPERWARE • WATCHES
(BULOVA ACUTRONS, CARAVELS, LONGINES WITTNAUER, CANDINO &
EAGI.E STAR POCKET WATCHES) L1 JEWELLERY BOXES PEN SETS [I -
GLASSWARE FH CHINA 1 LIMOGES L PLACEMATS COFFEE MUGS El I.D.
BRACELETS WALL HANGINGS r ORIENTAL RUGS P1 AND MUCH, MUCH
MORE.
OFF ALL
GOLD & SILVER
/CHARMS
,A AND
4•A MEMORY & ANNIVERSARY
PLAQUES
JUST ARRIVED - A NEW SELECTION OF
GOLD CHAINS
STORE WIDE CLEARANCE 043113S14:11T!
RICK WHETSTO
-WATCHMAKER AND JEWELLER
166 THE SQUARE, GODERICH PH. 524-6572
•.'reWir •