Why stand hallelujah chorus

For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. And He shall reign forever and ever, King of kings!

King George was a Christian king, head of the English Church, and would have been knowledgeable of the Scriptures. He knew, from the moment the choir began singing that passage, that it was referring to his Lord , to a King greater than himself. As a Christian King who believed in the Divine Right of Kings, he would have acknowledged even at his own coronation that he rules England only by the grace of the Great King and no other.

If the Triune God were to walk into the same room, the King of England would be compelled to rise and bow in His honor. Or not, at our peril. The people also stood with King George at that moment. I like to think they stood together in solidarity at that moment as fellow subjects of the Greater King. And He shall reign forever and ever, King of kings , forever and ever, And Lord of lords, Hallelujah! David Erb Educating Royalty Dr. Roy Atwood.

He received a B. Show 1 footnote. I have never heard that explanation before. To my sorrow they breathed a sigh of relief when I stood for Chorus. They thought it was all over and got ready to leave the Hall! Your explanation is so interesting. The fact that a monarch would not do anything on such an auspicious occasion without serious thought, adds an even deeper level of reverence to the action of standing.

Thank you for this insight. I think you are absolutely right in his reasoning, but I also think he had to be overcome by emotion as well, which compelled him to demonstrate such honor. All the Hanoverian kings were called George and they all got on badly with their sons. There is a Handel museum in the heart of London in the house in Brook Street, Mayfair where the composer lived until his death in It is said to have started when the king himself attended an early performance and was so moved by the resounding chorus that he stood erect until it had finished.

If the monarch stands, then everybody else would be expected to do the same as no-one could risk sitting down when the king was standing. Alas, this is a well-known story and one I often repeat when talking about the Georgian period but there is no evidence that King George the Second ever saw a performance of the Messiah — or that he stood up during it This does not stop Blue Badge Tourist Guides repeating the story, however, and it certainly does not stop audience members continuing to stand as the climax of the greatest work by our adopted composer George Frederick Handel approaches.

I specialise in tours themed on cars,…. Your email address will not be published. Christmas trees, Christmas lights and festive decorations are seen all across London during December. It makes the city extremely inviting in the late afternoon and evening for shopping and exploring. Featured below are 8 Christmas trees across London during this festive season.

London is a great destination to visit all year round, but there is something magical about the city at Christmas time. Messiah has been going strong for years and remains among the most-performed works in the classical repertoire.

But what makes it so special is hard to define. As music director of the Buffalo Master Chorale and artistic director of the Chicago Chamber Choir, Rao has been involved in her share of Messiahs , and no two are the same. Messiah is an oratorio, a large-scale work based on sacred text, but without sets, costumes, or action. Although religious, its message remains universal, and Handel intended it for the concert hall, not the church. Handel also wrote Messiah in English, rather than German or Italian, which appealed to the middle class in England and Ireland, where the work first appeared back in the mids.

This also made it easy to digest in the United States, and choral societies quickly got on the Messiah bandwagon. Musically, the score is a hodgepodge of styles, including Italian recitative , French overture , English anthem , and German fugal influences. Handel was, after all, a man of the world.