{"product_id":"every-valley","title":"Every Valley","description":"\u003ch3 class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003ePeta's Review\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eHave you ever wondered why the audience stands, seemingly without prompt, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #121212; background: white;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eduring the \u003ci\u003eMessiah’s\u003c\/i\u003e “Hallelujah” chorus? Apparently it’s because when King George II attended the London premier performance on 23\u003csup\u003erd\u003c\/sup\u003e March 1743, he spontaneously rose to his feet, so moved was he by the\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003echorus. If the King stands, everyone must also stand. And stand they did, not only then, but even today.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eA great story, but unfortunately there is no first-hand account of this having occurred. However, this is an extant letter by Abigail Adams to her son in 1785 which does appear to give credibility to the story.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eAdam wrote after attending a \u003ci\u003eMessiah\u003c\/i\u003e performance:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-left: 36.0pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003eWhen it came to that part, the Hallelujah, the whole assembly rose… \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003eI could scarcely believe myself an inhabitant of Earth.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background: white;\"\u003eAdams was the wife of John Adams, second president of the United States of America, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president. At the time of the performance, the Adams were living in London, John having been appointed the first US minister of the Court of St James. As Charles King in his book, \u003ci\u003eEvery Valley,\u003c\/i\u003e affirms, the \u003ci\u003eMessiah\u003c\/i\u003e remains the only piece of classical music that reliably brings audiences to their feet, regardless of whether there is a monarch present or not.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eEvery Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e(2024)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm; background: white;\"\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003eby Charles King, is a wonderful read. King brings together not only an eclectic assemblage of characters but also shows in an entertaining way that history does not happen in isolation, not even the writing of one of the most recognisable pieces of classical music, Handel’s \u003ci\u003eMessiah. \u003c\/i\u003eThe ‘troubled times’ backdrop is 1740s England, the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"\u003eHanoverians having been declared the rightful successors to the British throne under the\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e 1701 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003eAct of Settlement\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003e and the Stuarts having been dismissed as rightful heirs, resulting in great political unsettlement. The ‘desperate’ players include George Frideric Handel, a German-British Baroque Composer \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003ewell-known for his operas and oratorios and composer of the \u003ci\u003eMessiah\u003c\/i\u003e; Charles Jennens, Jacobite, philanthropist, art patron and author of the Messiah’s libretti; Susannah Maria Cibber, perhaps the most celebrated tragedian of English theatre, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"\u003ewho was sold by her husband to another man, and Handel's preferred contralto for the premiere and numerous subsequent performances of\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMessiah\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003e; Thomas Coram, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003esea captain and philanthropist who established the Foundling Hospital for abandoned children, and hosted regular benefit concerts led by Handel; Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003eWest African Muslim scholar who was enslaved, transported to America, and later became a celebrity in London society: his portrait in the National Portrait Gallery is turned, in King’s words, toward the geography of Handel’s London; \u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand Jonathon Swift, author of \u003ci\u003eGulliver’s Travels, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"\u003eDean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, who after much protest allowed the premier of the \u003ci\u003eMessiah\u003c\/i\u003e to be performed in a secular space. And this all combines to provide, according to historian Simon Montefiore, a fascinating story of “music, power, love, genius, royalty and adventure.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"\u003eGeorge Frideric Handel’s\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMessiah\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1741) is one of the most performed, recognised, and enduring choral works in Western music. Since its premiere, it has maintained a near-continuous presence in the global repertoire, particularly now during the Advent and Easter seasons.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;\"\u003e In his Epilogue, King argues that it “took a universe of pain to make a musical monument to hope.” Hope, as we know first-hand, can be hard to hold on to in troubled times, but as Charles Jennen wrote, “it can be physick’d.” The \u003ci\u003eMessiah\u003c\/i\u003e is an example of this. As King stresses, Handle’s \u003ci\u003eMessiah \u003c\/i\u003econtinues to move listeners because its lessons are universal. After all, King points out, every performance since its premiere still begins with the same two words: “Comfort ye”. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eEvery Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e is a book from which I learnt\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e so much, not just about the writing of the famous choral piece, but also about the arrival of the Hanoverians, the challenge by Bonnie Prince Charlie, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003ein an attempt to restore the Stuart monarchy, and the huge human effort it took to bring about the abolition, finally, of slavery. It also reminded me that music really does have the power to effect change. A wonderful read. Great for book clubs too. It is available in both hardback and paperback. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles King","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":62802966446239,"sku":null,"price":29.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0394\/7236\/5727\/files\/9781529942873.jpg?v=1779872276","url":"https:\/\/lanebook.com.au\/products\/every-valley","provider":"The Lane Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}