Hallelujah

James and I went to see Handel’s Messiah today at the Royal Concert Hall, performed by the RSNO plus chorus. It was fantastic and uplifting and felt very appropriate for the start of the new year. At the end of the second part (out of three) came the famous “Hallelujah Chorus” and everyone in the audience rose to their feet. I investigated the reason for this later and apparently King George II stood up during that part of the performance when he saw it. Whenever the king stood up, everyone in his presence had to stand too, and so the tradition was born. However this is an apocryphal tale, and even if it’s true, it is not known whether the king stood up in awe of the music or if he was simply stretching his legs. Whatever the reason, it’s a fine tradition to celebrate truly wonderful music.