Handel s Messiah

Background

T H E U N TO L D S TO RY B E H I N D T H E WO R L D S G R E AT E S T O R ATO R I O
A N D U LT I M AT E E X PR E SS I O N O F C H R I S T I A N H O PE , FA I T H A N D C H A R I T Y
Since its 1742 debut at the Musick Hall in Dublin, Handels Messiah has transcended culture and religion
to convey a message of hope, faith, compassion and redemption to people all over the world. Considered
by many to be the most beautiful and enduring musical composition in the Western canon, Messiah is
one of the most frequently performed and recorded choral works in the world. Yet little is known about
the dramatic and inspiring backstory of how the iconic oratorio came to be.
Now, this extraordinary narrative will be told through BYUtvs 78-minute documentary,
Handels Messiah, airing on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 27 at 7pm MT/9pm ET.
THE FILM: A STORY TOLD
As it turns out, the real life story echoes some of
the primary themes from the Old and New
Testament that are the pillars of the Messiahs
foundation: spiritual passion and devotion, human
suffering, perseverance and ultimately triumph and
forgiveness. Narrated by renowned actress Jane
Seymour, Handels Messiah is a powerful
portrayal of the making of a beloved musical
classic that is unlike any other previous treatment
of the composition. Interspersing period
dramatization and historic commentary from
leading contemporary scholars, the docudrama
breaks new ground and offers poignant insight
into the man behind the master oratorio, the key
players who helped bring it to life, and the culture
and ethos of 18th century Europe.

Featuring a cast of actors from the countries of

origin portrayed in the docudrama, Handels
Messiah chronicles the lives of three primary
characters composer George Frideric Handel,
singer/actor Susannah Cibber, and patron of
the arts/librettist Charles Jennens whose
collaboration not only produced the celebrated
work, but simultaneously brought about their
own personal healing and launched a legacy of
charitable assistance to a community of
downtrodden people.

Media Contact: Michelle Prince

Thatcher+Co. email: mprince@thatcherandco.com

Telephone: 914.523.8937

Filmed on location in Italy, Germany and England, Handels Messiah was directed by award-winning
documentary filmmaker Lee Groberg, edited by Emmy-nominated editor and cinematographer
Mark Goodman and written by Mitch Davis. The docudrama is based on years of extensive research
and interviews with scholars, conductors and religious leaders, including:
Fred Fehleisen
Professor, Juilliard School of Music
Ellen T. Harris
Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and internationally recognized scholar
in Baroque opera, specializing in
the music of Handel
Ruth Smith
Handel author and editor,
Cambridge University

Katherine Hogg
Librarian at the
Foundling Museum in London
in charge of the Gerald Coke
Handel Collection
Michael L. Ballam
Music Historian and Professor of Opera
at Utah State University
Richard Egarr
Music Director, Academy of
Ancient Music, Amsterdam

John Rutter
Composer and leader of the
Kings College Choir at Cambridge

Elder Russell M. Nelson

Quorom of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah

John H. Roberts
Leading Handel authority,
University of California, Berkeley

Rev. Mary June Nestler

Episcopal Diocese,
Salt Lake City, Utah

Donald Burrows
Professor of Music,
The Open University, England

Father John Schiavone

Pastor of the St. Maria Goretti
Catholic Church, California

Paul McCreesh
Conductor, Gabrielli Consort
and Players, England

Media Contact: Michelle Prince

Thatcher+Co. email: mprince@thatcherandco.com

Telephone: 914.523.8937

HANDEL: A COMPOSITIONAL GENIUS AND MUSICAL ENTREPRENEUR

Handels Messiah traces the genesis of Handels
extraordinary piece of work, beginning with
the birth of Handel in Halle, Germany in
1685. The child of a surgeon father who
wanted his son to be a lawyer, Handel secretly
studied the clavichord with the help of his
mother. By the age of nine, he was discovered
as a musical prodigy.
Set against a backdrop of European churches
and cathedrals replete with period detail,
the docudrama reenacts Handels success as
a young composer of opera living in Italy, to
his move to England, where he continued to
compose operas until they fell out of favor,
to his near financial ruin. With insightful
commentary provided by musicologists,
historians and religious leaders, the docudrama
ultimately depicts the dramatic unravelling of
Handels life and culminates in his redemption
and triumph.
Handels Messiah explores Handels genius
and his prolific output as well as his fiery
temperament a trait that once caused a rival
musician to stab him in the chest, prompting
an unharmed Handel to quip, You have
stabbed to death my button.

Handel also possessed an enormous generosity.

After the Dublin performance of Messiah, Handel
donated the proceeds of the concert to free 152
men and women from the citys Debtors Prison.
Over the years, he continued to donate to the
prison as well as to the Foundling Hospital, a
home for orphaned and abandoned children,
where he performed or attended a benefit concert
every year until his death in 1759. In fact, in his
will, Handel bequeathed the score to the hospital,
enabling the charity to continue staging the
concerts to this day.
Transporting viewers to an era when divorce and
unpaid debts were scandalous and when men wore
wigs and women wore hoops in their skirts,
Handels Messiah weaves together the story of
Handels ups and downs with those of his featured
soprano, Susannah Cibber, and the prominent
librettist who prepared the text for Messiah, Charles
Jennens, both of whom were in the throes of
personal crises. Cibber had undergone a very public
divorce and extra-marital affair, and Jennens was
mourning the death of his younger brother, who
had committed suicide. Yet together these three
collaborated to produce one of the most inspiring
pieces of music ever, mesmerizing an audience with
the ultimate expression of Christian faith.

Media Contact: Michelle Prince

Thatcher+Co. email: mprince@thatcherandco.com

Telephone: 914.523.8937

A MESSAGE OF REDEMPTION
The premiere performance of Messiah in Dublin
received unanimous praise by the press. A
clergyman at the premiere was reportedly so
moved by Cibbers performance of the aria He
was Despisd, that he leapt to his feet and cried,
Woman, for this be all thy sins forgiven thee!
The result was both the personal redemption of the
singer and the gesture of forgiveness by the public.
Utilizing a range of compelling storytelling
vehicles along with performances of the
Hallelujah Chorus from choirs across the world,
BYUtvs docudrama conveys this universally
powerful tale of humanity laid bare, in all its
brilliance and imperfections. It is a perspective
on the Messiahs place in history and its
relevance today as a major work of art thats

celebrated throughout the world each holiday

season. Ultimately, it is a symbolic story of the
scriptural text itself. Like the music, Handels
Messiah delivers a message of faith that we can
all be redeemed.
While he had been accustomed to offering
theatrical diversions with his operas, Handel had
higher aspirations for his oratorios particularly
Messiah. An anecdote tells about him receiving
praise from a Lord who had been in the
audience after the London performances of
Messiah in 1743. After the Lord complimented
the composer on his successful entertainment,
Handels response was, I would be sorry if
people were only entertained. I wish to make
them better.

Media Contact: Michelle Prince

Thatcher+Co. email: mprince@thatcherandco.com

Telephone: 914.523.8937

Handel s Messiah
fast facts

George Frideric Handel was born on

Feb. 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany, which
was then part of the kingdom of Saxony.
He was born within a month of Johann
Sebastian Bach, yet the two never met.

The performance in Dublin received

unanimous praise by the press, with one
critic writing, Words are wanting to
express the exquisite delight it afforded
to the admiring and crouded Audience.

At 17, Handel moved to Hamburg,

where he played second violinist at the
opera house. At 18, he composed his first
opera, Almira.

The theater, and Handels music,

were considered by some profane
and subversive, and religious leaders
disapproved of presenting a sacred work
in as disreputable a place as the theater.
Even Jonathan Swift almost prevented
the performance of the Messiah by
threatening to forbid singers from
Dublins St. Patricks Cathedral from
taking part. He eventually relented.

In 1720, Handel was appointed one

of the musical directors of the Royal
Academy of Music in London.
Handels other famous work, Water Music,
was composed in honor of King George I
in 1717.
Handel composed Messiah in 24 days,
sometime in August and September
of 1741.

Handel premiered Messiah in London

less than a year after its debut in
Dublin. It was not well received, in
part because of objections to it being
performed in a theater.

Messiah was originally intended for an

Easter performance. By the early 19th
century, Messiah had become more
associated with the Christmas season.

The first near-complete recording of

Messiah was conducted by Sir Thomas
Beecham in 1928 and issued on 78
rpm discs.

Handel chose to debut Messiah in

Dublins Musick Hall because of the
lukewarm reception Londons audience
had given his music the previous season.

Handel died in London on April 14, 1759.

Ludwig van Beethoven considered him
the best of all his predecessors, calling him
the greatest composer that ever lived.

Media Contact: Michelle Prince

Thatcher+Co. email: mprince@thatcherandco.com

Telephone: 914.523.8937

In 1788, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

was commissioned by Austrian Baron
Gottfried van Swieten to update the
Messiah for a performance in Vienna.
Mozart reworked the oratorio to include
more woodwinds, brass and timpani,
as well as tightening up the score and
rearranging some of the arias.
The Messiah is an atypical oratorio:
while most are imbued with dramatic
conflict, Messiah is cast in a mood of
lyric contemplation.
The verses of Messiah are drawn from
various prophets of the Old Testament,
especially Isaiah, the Psalms, the
Evangelists and Paul.
In his will, Handel left a copy of the
Messiah score to the governors of the
Foundling Hospital, enabling the charity
to continue staging the benefit concerts.
The score and parts were delivered to
the hospital three weeks after Handels
death, and can still be seen today on
display in the Foundling Museum.

Handel s Messiah
Musicologists, Historians
and Religious Leaders

NARR ATOR
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour, an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress, has proven her talents in virtually all
media, the Broadway stage, motion pictures and television. She is the recipient of the Officer of the
British Empire (OBE) in the year 2000, which was bestowed upon her by Queen Elizabeth II at
Buckingham Palace.
Seymours past films include the James Bond movie Live and Let Die, the cult classic Somewhere in
Time, and the comedy smash Wedding Crashers. Her television credits include the Emmy Award
winning performance in Onassis: The Richest Man in the World as Maria Callas, East of Eden for
which she was awarded a Golden Globe, the mini-series War and Remembrance and her Golden
Globe winning role as Dr. Quinn on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman which ran for six seasons.
Her upcoming projects include the feature film Bereave co-starring with Malcolm McDowell
which Seymour also produces and the independent film Scout.
HANDELS MESSIAH SCHOLARS
Fred Fehleisen (Professor, Juilliard School of Music)
Fred Fehleisen is currently the Assistant Dean of Mannes College of Music in New York City, where
he has been a member of the Music History faculty since 1989. He has also been a member of the
Music History faculty of the Juilliard School since 1996. As a violinist, he has appeared regularly with
leading period instrument ensembles, including Concert Royal, the Smithsonian Concerto Grosso,
the Classical Band, and Londons Hanover Band. Mr. Fehleisen has performed on recordings for Sony
Classics, Newport Classics and ProArte.

Media Contact: Michelle Prince

Thatcher+Co. email: mprince@thatcherandco.com

Telephone: 914.523.8937

HANDELS MESSIAH SCHOLARS (CONTINUED)

Ellen T. Harris (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Ellen T. Harris, B.A. 67 Brown University, M.A. 70, Ph.D. 76 University of Chicago, is Class of
1949 Professor at MIT. Her most recent book, Handel as Orpheus: Voice and Desire in the Chamber
Cantatas (Harvard University Press, 2001), received the 2002 Otto Kindeldey Award from the American
Musicological Society and the 2002-03 Louis Gottschalk Prize from the Society for Eighteenth-Century
Studies. Articles and reviews by Professor Harris concerning Baroque opera and vocal performance
practice have appeared in numerous publications including Journal of the American Musicological
Society, Hndel Jahrbuch, Notes, and The New York Times. Her article Handel the Investor (Music &
Letters, 2004) won the 2004 Westrup Prize. Professor Harris also performs as a soprano soloist.

Ruth Smith (Handel Author and Editor, Cambridge University)

Ruth Smith is a scholar and editor of 18th century intellectual history, as well as a Handels
specialist at the University of Cambridge, where she received a PhD in Philosophy, while also
studying English Language and Literature/Letters, Music and History. She served as a Careers
Advisor at Cambridge before establishing her career as a scholar.

John Rutter (Composer, Professor, Kings College, Cambridge University)

John Rutter studied music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he wrote his first published
compositions and conducted his first recording while still a student. Later, he become the colleges
Director of Music. His compositional career has embraced both large and small-scale choral works,
orchestral and instrumental pieces, a piano concerto, two childrens operas, music for television,
and specialist writing for such groups as the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and the Kings Singers. He
has guest-conducted or lectured at many concert halls, universities, churches, music festivals, and
conferences in Europe, Africa, North and Central America and Australasia.
Rutter was made an honorary Fellow of Westminster Choir College, Princeton University and the
Guild of Church Musicians. The Archbishop of Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of
Music upon him in recognition of his contribution to church music. He was also honored in the
2007 Queens New Year Honors List, being awarded a CBE for services to music.

John H. Roberts, PhD (Professor of Music, Emeritus, University of California at Berkeley)

John H. Roberts returned to Berkeley, after receiving his doctorate there, as Professor of Music and
Head of the Music Librarya joint position expressing the essential role of the Library in the UCB
teaching program. Following the footsteps of his teacher Vincent Duckles, though operating with
much smaller budgets, John has added remarkably to the Librarys collection of rare materials. He is
a leading authority on the music of Handel.

Donald Burrows (Author and Professor of Music, the Open University, England)
Donald James Burrows is a Professor of Music and Director of the Handel Documents Project
at the Open University. Burrows is recognized internationally as a leading scholar of the life and
music of George Frideric Handel, having authored, co-authored or edited seven books about the
composer. His work is informed by considerable practical experience as a performerprincipally as
a conductor and keyboard playerbut also as a violinist and singer. Additionally, Burrows is a vice
president of the Hndel-Gesellschaft, Chairman of The Handel Institute and Honorary President of
the Abingdon and District Musical Society.

HANDELS MESSIAH SCHOLARS (CONTINUED)

Katherine Hogg (Librarian, Foundling Museum, London)
Katherine Hogg is currently in charge of the Gerald Coke Handel Collection at the Foundling
Museum in London. Prior to that, Hogg served as the Librarian at the Royal Academy of Music.
She studied at the University of Birmingham before joining the Royal Academy of Music.

Michael L. Ballam (Music Historian, Professor of Opera, Utah State University)

Michael Ballam has had an operatic and recital career spanning four decades and every continent.
An accomplished pianist and oboist, he is the Founder and General Director of the Utah Festival
Opera & Musical Theatre, which is fast becoming one of the nations major opera festivals. Professor
of Music for the past 24 years at Utah State University, he has also been a faculty member at Indiana
University, the Music Academy of the West, the University of Utah, Brigham Young University (where
he was awarded the Teaching Award in Continuing Education in 1992) and guest lecturer at Stanford,
Yale, BYU Idaho, Catholic University and the Manhattan School of Music.

Richard Egarr (Music Director, Academy of Ancient Music, Amsterdam)

Richard Egarr is a British keyboard performer on the harpsichord, fortepiano and modern piano, as well
as a conductor. He received his musical training as a choirboy at York Minster, at Chethams School
of Music in Manchester, as organ scholar at Clare College, Cambridge and at the Guildhall School of
Music & Drama. His study with Dutch keyboard player Gustav Leonhardt further inspired his work in
the field of historical performance. A regular guest director with such other ensembles as the Handel and
Haydn Society and Tafelmusik, Egarr places the Handel and Bach oratorios at the heart of his repertoire.

Paul McCreesh (Conductor, Gabrielli Consort and Players, England)

Paul McCreesh is the founder and artistic director of the Gabrieli Consort & Players which he
established in 1982, and with whom he has toured worldwide and made many award-winning
recordings. As a guest conductor, McCreesh works regularly with orchestras and choirs across the
globe in a wide range of music. McCreeshs orchestral repertoire ranges from the classical period drawing from his experience in early repertoire - to large-scale symphonic works of the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. His experience as an acclaimed choral conductor is reflected in his performances
of many of the major oratorios of all periods.

Media Contact: Michelle Prince

Thatcher+Co. email: mprince@thatcherandco.com

Telephone: 914.523.8937

HANDELS MESSIAH RELIGIOUS EXPERTS

Elder Russell M. Nelson (Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah)
Elder Russell M. Nelson was called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 7, 1984. An internationally renowned cardiothoracic
surgeon and medical researcher, Dr. Nelson worked with the team of doctors who created the first
heart-lung machine. Additionally, he was the first doctor in Utah to perform a successful openheart surgery utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass in 1955, as well as the first to perform a successful
pediatric cardiac operation at Salt Lake General Hospital in 1956. He received his B.A. and M.D.
degrees from the University of Utah (1945, 47) and belongs to honorary scholastic societies including
Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. Author of numerous publications and chapters in medical
textbooks, Elder Nelson lectured and visited professionally throughout the United States and in many
other nations prior to his call as a member of the Churchs Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Mary June Nestler (The Reverend Canon, Episcopal Diocese, Utah)

Mary June Nestler is the Canon for Ministry Formation in the Episcopal Diocese of Utah and the
Director of the Utah Ministry Formation Program. From 1992-2006, she was Dean and President of
The Episcopal Theological School at Claremont, California, and Adjunct Professor of Church History
and Homiletics at Claremont School of Theology.

Father John Schiavone (Pastor, St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, California)
Father John Schiavone has served as a parish priest for over 37 years in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,
taking a full and active part in parish life. A source of his musical inspiration has always been the
liturgical life of the Church, at which he regularly presides and preaches. Schiavone builds his melodies
along the lines and modes of Gregorian chant. I want to keep that church sound in my music and
at the same time make it accessible to the average worshiper, he says. Schiavone served for 12 years as
pastor at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Whittier, California.

Media Contact: Michelle Prince

Thatcher+Co. email: mprince@thatcherandco.com

Telephone: 914.523.8937