| BOOKS |
|
| TITLE: |
GETTING
A
HANDEL ON MESSIAH |
| AUTHOR: |
DAVID
W. BARBER |
| PUBLISHER: |
SOUND
AND VISION |
| ISBN
(HARDCOVER): |
N/A |
| ISBN (PAPERBACK): |
0920151175
|
| UPC/EAN: |
9780920151174 |
| LCCN: |
C94-9320315 |
| YEAR: |
1994 |
| SERIES: |
N/A |
| PAGES: |
128
P. |
| PUB.
LOCATION: |
TORONTO |
| DDC: |
ML410.HI3B37 |
| EXCERPT: |
CLICK HERE
FOR SAMPLE PAGE (.PDF) |
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DESCRIPTION:
Chances are you've probably heard
Handel's Messiah
at least once, if not many times. Maybe
you've even performed it, as have countless
musicians around the world. After all,
it's probably one of the best-loved, and
certainly one of the best-known, works in the
standard repertoire. But if you thought
you knew all there was to know about the great
composer's famous oratorio, think again.
For example, it may surprise you to
learn that:
- Handel's
first impulse to compose the work came not
from religious or even musical inspiration.
It had a whole lot more to do with
money.
- The
Hallelujah Chorus wasn't originally called
that at all, but had a different name.
- Although
Handel was proud of Messiah,
he didn't think it was his best work.
His favorite oratorio is one that
hardly anyone has ever heard of, much less
heard.
All these, and
many more, entertaining (and entirely true!)
facts await your discovery as bestselling author
David W. Barber takes you on another delightful
romp through the pages of musical history - as
it ought to be taught.
|
SITE RATING: 7/10
SITE
REVIEW: A short,
potent, and occasionally groan-worthy addition
to the small-but-growing oeuvre of Messiah
literature, David W. Barber's Getting A Handel
On Messiah is a happy addition to
most Messiah-lovers
libraries.
Sporting no less of an introduction than
by Handel expert Trevor Pinnock, I was
expecting something rather droll and British
in the humor found throughout, but the author,
hailing from, and the book published out of
Toronto gives this book a more Northern, and
far snarkier flavor than the dry European wits
would approve of. It's a bit of a
let-down, actually - I think that some Monty
Python wackiness would have made this a far
more enjoyable exercise in Handellian lore
than it turned out to be. As it is,
Barber gets most of his facts correct,
(although he notes in his preface that he
didn't do any actual fact-checking on his own,
leaving that niggling detail to the books and
musical rags he took his facts from), he
livens up the prose with little asides that
are more snide than clever, and are more prone
to induce smiles than outright laughter.
Most of these jokes come in the form of
copious footnotes sprinkles onto almost every
page, while the pen-and-ink cartoons (by Dave
Donald) which grace each chapter are more
perfunctory than humorous. The outline of the
book is straightforward, with biographical
information tied together into a natural
timeline, along with some facts which probably
won't suprise well-read Messiah
enthusiasts. Considering how revered and
reverent a place which Handel and Messiah hold
in music-lover's hearts, I personally think
that a little irreverent reassessment is long
overdue, but until the Pythons decide to
tackle it head-on (and no, I'm not going to
count Eric Idle's original work Not
the
Messiah: He's A Very Naughty Boy ), then this
gently humorous book will have to do.
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