Friday, we’re talking about George Frideric Handel's beloved Messiah oratorio. It’s a story with scandal, godliness, and of course, beautiful music.
Handel's Messiah is associated with the Christmas season now, but when it was first performed in 1742, it was during Lent. Friday, playwright Tim Slover explains how it is the depressed composer wrote one of the world's most enduring pieces of music in just 24 days. It’s an amazing story with fascinating characters and of course, beautiful music. We’ve also created a short film about the aria He Was Despised and the scandal-plagued actress Susannah Cibber who premiered Handel’s masterpiece. (Rebroadcast)
Tim Slover's book is called Messiah: The Little-Known Story of Handel's Beloved Oratorio. [Indie bookstores|Amazon]. It includes a CD featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performing.
On Saturday, November 24, and again that Sunday, the Utah Symphony presents its Messiah Sing-In at 7:30 p.m. DETAILS
Watch our film that tells the story of THAT ONE MOMENT in HANDEL'S MESSIAH, when Susannah Cibber premiered the aria He Was Despised on a Dublin stage in 1742. films.radiowest.org
See the full performance with Kirstin Chavez, Loren Carle, Eleanor Cox, Paula Cho, Jakob Hofer, Jamie Jackson, Audrey Lund, and Connor Madsen, recorded at the University of Utah School of Music's Thompson Chamber Music Hall.
