Music Notes 7-12-26

The Hallelujah Chorus is probably the most iconic classical music chorus of all time. It closes

the 2 nd part of George Fredrick Handel’s 1742 oratorio Messiah, and has been heard just about

everywhere. There is a tradition of everyone in the audience standing for the singing of the

Hallelujah Chorus. The legend is that during the 1743 London premier, just as the Hallelujah

Chorus was starting, the King, who was attending in the royal box, stood up. Nobody knows

why. Maybe he needed a stretch, or a scratch, or something, but when the King stands,

everybody stands. So, everybody stood for the performance of the chorus, and to this day, the

tradition is to stand for the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. Now, scholars insist that there is

absolutely no evidence anywhere to suggest that this is actually what happened, and as a result,

the reason for this tradition is still shrouded in mystery, but it does make for a fun story.

Personally, I think it’s a sneaky way to get a standing ovation…….

Handel’s Messiah, A Soulful Celebration was a project conceived by Take 6 alum Mervyn

Warren. He enlisted some of the greatest names in gospel and R&B to help him take 16 pieces

of music from the familiar Messiah of Handel, and re-interpret them with a gospel soul. The

album was widely praised for its use of a broad range of African-American musical genres,

including spirituals, blues, ragtime, big band, jazz fusion, R&B and hip hop. It received

numerous awards, including the 1992 Dove Award for Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year

and the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. It was in preparations

for the 1992 Grammys that someone noticed that there was also a traditional version of the

Messiah up for an award, this time for Best Performance of a Choral Work – The Messiah, by

Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque Orchestra and Chorus. It was decided to combine the

2 Hallelujah Choruses into one big performance for the ceremonies - hire 21 singers from the

Los Angeles Master Chorale (the same number that was in the Boston recording), bring in the

original chorus that sang on the Soulful Celebration, start with the traditional and have the

Soulful singers “interrupt” them and join them on stage for a big sing finale. I was one of those

fortunate singers, and got the opportunity to meet some of the great artists in person (I stood next

to Phylicia Rashad in the front row during rehearsals). The all-star chorus consisted of such

widely disparate artists as Andrae and Sandra Crouch, Al Jarreau, Johnny Mathis, Marilyn

McCoo, Vanessa Williams and Chaka Khan. It was during those rehearsals that I was able to

chat with Andrae Crouch, and he asked me “I wonder what Handel would have thought about

what we did to his music?” I told him “I think he would have loved it. He was always ripping

off his own music for other uses, but I think he would have loved the idea that someone could

have taken his music and made it relevant and meaningful to a whole new generation, culture

and race of people.” There was a video of that performance on YouTube for a while, but was

removed. However, I grabbed it before it went away and you can view it on my website. I’ve

said it before, and I’ll say it again – our choir is amazing. This piece – Hallelujah from The

Soulful Celebration – is absolutely beyond most church choirs. But I can’t think of a better way

to celebrate, rejoice and worship, than to sing this piece. Feel free to dance, sway, and clap along

at the end.