Music Notes 6-7-26

George Frideric Handel (born Georg Friedrich Händel) is known as an English composer, but he

was actually born, raised and trained in Germany. He was born in 1650 in Halle an der Saal, a

city just north of Leipzig (famous for its resident composer J.S. Bach) in what was East

Germany, and was the son of a coppersmith. Between the age of 7 and 9, he began training with

the only teacher he would ever have, Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, who introduced him to both the

traditional music of fugues and counterpoint, and to the newer forms of music, especially the

new Italian art form, opera. By age 9, he was composing entire services of music for Zachow’s

church. After graduating from the University of Halle in 1702, he moved to Hamburg, a free city

with an established opera company, where he took a position with the Hamburg opera orchestra

(playing violin and harpsichord) and began writing operas in the Italian style (in those days,

operatic subjects were always based on Greek mythology). In 1706, he traveled to Italy at the

invitation of the Medicis, who were trying to establish Florence as the musical capitol of Italy by

attracting the greatest talents in the world. He wrote operas in Florence and sacred music for the

clergy in Rome. In 1710, he became Kapellmeister (person in charge of music-making) to

Georg, Elector of Hannover. In 1712, he decided to move to London, and in a twist of fate,

Georg of Hannover became King George I of England in 1714 (Handel had to appease his

old/new boss by writing a bunch of music for him, including the Coronation Anthems, also

known as Zadok the Priest, which our choir has sung and has been performed at every British

coronation since). Handel ultimately founded 3 companies to supply the British nobility with

Italian opera, including the opera house at Covent Garden. As financial returns from opera

began to dwindle, he turned to writing oratorios – they were cheaper to produce since no sets

were required and the singers wore their own clothes. Once he began writing oratorios, he never

completely returned to opera. His Messiah was written in 3 weeks in a burst of energy and

debuted in Dublin in 1741. He died on April 14, 1759, and was buried in Westminster Abbey

with full state honors and with 3000 attendees present. Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates is #33 in

the Messiah and falls in the section devoted to Christ’s Passion.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle is a non-denominational, multi-cultural church in the heart of

downtown Brooklyn that began as a small congregation worshiping in a rundown building, and

has grown into a congregation of over 16,000. The husband and wife team of Pastor Jim

Cymbala and music director Carol Cymbala took over leadership of the 30 member congregation

in 1971. By the 1980’s, the church had grown enough to purchase the 1383-seat Carlton Theatre

and convert it into their sanctuary. By 2002, they had outgrown that facility and purchased

Loew’s Metropolitan Theatre, a former vaudeville theatre, and renovated it into a state-of-the-art,

3,200-seat worship facility. The choir began with just 9 members in 1971 and grew with the

church. Carol Cymbala began writing music for the choir, and they recorded their first album in

the 1980’s. Now numbering over 280 members, their music is sung all over the world, and they

sang at the 2013 inauguration of President Obama. Jesus Will Make A Way was written and

arranged by Carol Cymbala and was released in 1992 on the album Only To Him.