Every valley : the desperate lives and troubled times that made Handel's Messiah / by Charles King.
| Author/creator | King, Charles, 1967- author. |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | First edition. |
| Publication Info | New York : Doubleday, 2024. |
| Description | x, 335 pages, 16 pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm |
| Subjects |
| Variant title | Desperate lives and troubled times that made Handel's Messiah |
| Contents | Part I. Portents. "The Famous Mr. Hendel" -- "An undertaking so hazardous" -- Jacobites -- Grub Street -- Yahoos -- Part II. Sorrows and grief. The Hyp and the prodigious -- Oratorio -- "Dying by inches" -- A design for rescuing -- The book of Job -- Scorn -- Foundlings -- The return of a Prince -- Part III. Resurrection. To the Hibernian Shore -- Fishamble -- "Hope is a curtail dog" -- Anthems and choruses -- Exalted -- Epilogue -- Charles Jennens's Messiah libretto. |
| Abstract | The epic, dramatic story of the 18th century men and women behind the making of Handel's Messiah, one of the world's most beloved works of classical music, from a New York Times bestselling historian and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. George Frideric Handel's Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras as well as by fans singing along to the lyrics on their cell phones. But this work of triumphant joy was born in an age of anxiety. Britain in the early eighteenth century, the so-called age of Enlightenment, was a time of war, enslavement, political conspiracy, social polarization, and conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth. Contrary to popular belief, the Messiah was not the product of a lone genius scribbling furiously on a musical staff. It came about because of a depressive political dissenter; an actress plagued by an abusive husband; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies; and Handel himself, once composer to kings but, at midlife, in ill health and straining to keep an audience's attention. Set amid royal intrigue and theatrical scandal, and exploring the rich ideas of its day, this book is a cinematic drama of the entangled lives that shaped a masterpiece. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-318) and index. |
| LCCN | 2023048534 |
| ISBN | 9780385548267 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 0385548265 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | (ebook) |
| Standard identifier# | 40032535999 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML410.H13 K564 2024 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |