By Jacob Stockinger
HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!
It is just about impossible to imagine the holiday season without the “Hallelujah Chorus” by Handel (below), which has been a powerful and popular hit since it was first composed and performed.
This year will be no different.
The ‘Hallelujah Chorus” will be sung and listened to countless times in the coming day in private homes, in houses of worship, in social institutions, even as a joyous food court flash mob proves (below), a video that has had over 40 million hits — so pass it on as a holiday gift!
But what is its hold on us and where does the hold come from?
NPR’s excellent classical music blog “Deceptive Cadence” re-posts a “Performance Today” talk from 2008 in which Rob Kapilow answers those questions as part of an ongoing occasional series, “What Makes It Great?”
Now, some families observe the tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve, and other open the presents on Christmas Day.
The Ear will do both for you.
So here is my Christmas Eve present – a close look at and listen to Georg Frideric Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” perhaps the most popular piece of classical music ever written for the holidays. (There will be another present to open on Christmas Day.)
Here it is:
http://www.npr.org/2008/12/23/98517850/the-pure-power-of-handels-hallelujah-chorus
What do you think makes the “Hallelujah Chorus” so great to sing and to listen to?
Happy singing! Happy listening (to the up tempo version below led by Andre Rieu that has had over 2 million hits)! And Merry Christmas!
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Pingback by An Amazing Story about Handel! « Inspirational Christian Blogs — February 22, 2013 @ 6:01 am
Merry Christmas !
Comment by Diana — December 24, 2012 @ 7:58 pm
Thank you, Jake–
And a Merry Christmas Eve/Merry Christmas to The Ear, as well!
Comment by Ed Haertel — December 24, 2012 @ 9:11 am
Dear Ed and Drew,
Thank you.
We return the good wishes to you.
Enjoy!
Jake
Comment by welltemperedear — December 24, 2012 @ 4:40 pm