Take us out, Gillian

Hope your Easter was warm, green and delicious. Now is the time to think about all the nice things that happened today, put them beside you when to sleep, and look forward to the next week.

Fear no nightly noises.

Happy Easter!

To all you Christians out there, “He is risen indeed!”

Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus is a Easter favorite and one of my own personal favorites since I learned it in concert choir, along with All We Like Sheep, with its killer runs, and the fugue And With These Stripes We Are Healed. 

It is customary to stand during the Hallelujah. The legend behind this is that King George II stood during a performance, probably for a 7th inning stretch. The Messiah is a long piece and the Hallelujah doesn’t happen until near the end of it. Etiquette demanded that when the king stood, everyone had to stand. So, now we all do. 

There are certain pieces of music that are a joy to sing. Mozart’s Te Deum has a fast and furious fugue with a dramatic pause at the end that’s almost orgasmic, which might be why he was always in trouble with the archbishop. Sacred music is full of beautiful phrasing to satisfy the singer. Handel’s Hallelujah is no exception like right where the piece turns from “lord of lords, and he shall reign”.

Our director used to say “let it dance!” just before the music began. So, get up and dance, sing if you know it, just hum along if you don’t.