Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Whilst not wanting to judge a book by its cover this is a most attractive volume, printed on quality paper and with a profusion of illustrations. I spent more time than I should examining a coloured map of 'London, Westminster, and Southwark' from 1756 (pages 15-16) to see where Handel lived and worked. Chances are that anyone reading this review or considering buying or borrowing the book comes to it with at least some knowledge of George Frideric Handel and his most famous composition so some of the background supplied by Andrew Gant may not be essential to our understanding of the man and his music but is certainly illuminating and often amusing. I found the story of Handel's neglected librettist Charles Jennens particularly interesting: a devout man who was excluded from official employment and preferment because he was a 'non-juror', one who refused to swear allegiance to the royal house of Hanover, because he did not recognise the execution of Charles I or the overthrow of James II as legitimate (page 37). While Jennens may have been denied a pulpit in any Anglican church it seems certain that his words are still listened to far more than any preacher of his day. However listeners of 'Messiah' (and there is a useful discussion as to whether Handel intended his work to have a definite article or not) come to it for the music not the message. Gant is good at putting the first performance into its context. Oratorios were not always welcome in Georgian London as some bishops thought they were just a cunning way around the ban on performing operas during Lent but this was not such an issue in Dublin, where the work received its premiere in April 1742 and the rest, as they say, is history. Gant tells us how 'Messiah' was adapted during Handel's lifetime as well as something of its subsequent history, including the vast ensembles at Crystal Palace in the 19th century, illustrated with a picture of 'Edison's phonograph in use at the 1888 Crystal Palace Festival' (page 115) which also gets a mention in the two-page 'Selected Discography' (pages 140-141) with the wry comment that it is 'virtually inaudible'. However the other recommendations are all worth noting and I am looking forward to finding Cannonball Adderley's 1972 rock interpretation at a record fair one day. As well as the discography there are suggestions for further reading and ample footnotes to help us chase down the sources. An observation - not a criticism, an observation - is that there is perhaps more on the manuscripts of 'Messiah' than the general reader might want but this is because the conducting score, copied by J. C. Smith and annotated by Handel himself, is one of the jewels in the collection of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the publishers of the book under review (see picture on page 64). Andrew Gant is a former organist of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal and a composer himself. He writes with a light touch and has been well served by his picture editor in this readable and informative introduction to one of the glories of British choral music.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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