Handel's Messiah - the first performance
SANWAL CBC Chryssa McAlister
It is well known that the first performance of Handel's Messiah took place in Dublin, in 1742. What is not well known is why he chose Dublin and the circumstances surrounding Messiah's premiere. The results of this research on Handel's Messiah were presented on a CBC radio programme which was aired at Christmas 2003. Chryssa McAlister spent the summer between her first and second year of medicine at Dalhousie University in Dublin, investigating the first performance of Handel's Messiah. Dublin is a city of incredible history, whose buildings and monuments tell stories of war, famine, and independence but also art and culture. She went to investigate Handel's visit to Dublin in the archives of the National Library, Trinity College Library and Marsh's Library. Throughout Handel's life, he was closely associated with numerous medical and non-medical charities. Handel arranged to donate the proceeds of Messiah's first performance to three charities: the Society for Relieving Prisoners, the Charitable Infirmary and Mercer's Hospital. In the years following his first visit to Dublin, Handel would continue to donate his score of Messiah and allow performances of his music for the benefit of numerous charitable foundations. Chryssa McAlister used her research on Handel's Messiah for a program for CBC radio. Messiah (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel , with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible, and from the Coverdale Psalter, the version of the Psalms included with the Book of Common Prayer.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.