# The Hallelujah Chorus, from Handel's Messiah, a question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895 "2011-12-31T00:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/1 "2011-12-31T00:44:06Z")
At my parent’s house, on Christmas, I was listening to a production of Handel’s oratorio, _The Messiah_. I’ve heard it many times, and been present at a number of live productions. There’s a custom the the audience rises during the Hallelujah Chorus. The most common story for this custom is that at the London premiere of the oratorio, King George II was so moved he stood up, so everyone else had to as well. It’s _ **good** _ to be the king! But I’ve heard other stories, some said he was just relieving a cramp in the leg. Some said he didn’t even do it, or that he wasn’t present, and that the whole tale is apocryphal, and the custom started later. I offered to burn incense to Cecil if he would answer this question, but Cecil is busy. So now I’ll bake virtual cookies for Dopers who can help me out. How did the custom of rising during the Hallelujah Chorus get started? ---
**Author:** ![pdunderhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/2 "2011-12-31T11:34:39Z")
Hi good people, My music master at school told us that the reason the King stood up, at the end apparently, was that he thought that was the end of The Messiah and stood to applaud. great piece of music BTW, Peter ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/3 "2011-12-31T16:20:08Z")
There are many stories about this tradition. 1. King George II was so moved by Handel’s work that he rose to show his appreciation. It’s possible, I suppose, but if this is true, it’s strange that he didn’t wait until the end of the piece. 2. King George II mis-counted the number of movements and stood up to a) stretch b) go off to the privy c) break wind. It would be true that once the king stood up, everyone else present would have felt obliged to stand as well. However, > [@](#): > > The custom of standing for the “Hallelujah” chorus originates from a belief that, at the London premiere, King George II did so, but there is no convincing evidence that the king was present, or that he attended any subsequent performance of Messiah; the first reference to the practice of standing appears in a letter dated 1756. from the [Wiki article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_%28Handel%29), which cites both Donald Burrows’ _Handel_ and Richard Luckett’s _Handel’s Messiah: a Celebration_ as a source. But it’s a good story - se non è vero, è ben trovato. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/4 "2012-01-01T01:08:32Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > At my parent’s house, on Christmas, I was listening to a production of Handel’s oratorio, _The Messiah_… Nitpick: It’s just _Messiah_. > **[Messiah (Handel)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handel_messiah)** > > Messiah (HWV 56)\[n 1\] is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. The text was compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter\[n 2\] by Charles Jennens. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music. > Handel's reputation... ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/5 "2012-01-01T01:24:32Z")
In any case, it is now considered somewhat declasse for the audience to stand. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/6 "2012-01-01T04:10:51Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > In any case, it is now considered somewhat declasse for the audience to stand. That may be the case, but stand they all still do. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/7 "2012-01-01T16:15:05Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > That may be the case, but stand they all still do. I haven’t seen an audience stand in quite a while now… ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/8 "2012-01-01T16:36:17Z")
**BrotherCadfael** , what is your rough location, that the audiences no longer stand? I’ve performed it at least 30 times; I sang my first _Messiah_ in 1979 and my most recent one in 2010 - in Canada, they stand for the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus, then and now. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/9 "2012-01-01T17:29:32Z")
Saw it performed a few weeks ago in Tennessee and stand they did. We didn’t and got a few dirty looks, like we were farting in church. This is bible country, so I don’t think they’re standing out of tradition, but more because they’re treating it as a religious service. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/10 "2012-01-01T18:37:49Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I haven’t seen an audience stand in quite a while now… I’ve seen it practically every Christmas for the past 30-some years, and I’ve never NOT seen everyone stand up for it. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/11 "2012-01-01T18:40:14Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > **BrotherCadfael** , what is your rough location, that the audiences no longer stand? I’ve performed it at least 30 times; I sang my first _Messiah_ in 1979 and my most recent one in 2010 - in Canada, they stand for the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus, then and now. I live in Vermont, and I also have sung quite a few Messiahs over the years, and attended others. Haven’t seen people stand in years. I also haven’t heard people clap between movements of a symphony in quite a while, either, which gives me hope. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/12 "2012-01-01T18:44:20Z")
Never sang the complete Messiah, but sang the Hallelujah chorus as part of our Christmas “Cantata” two weeks ago, and the audience/congregation stood. We also sang “And the Glory of the Lord” which people did not stand for. I did have to laugh at the teenager who couldn’t believe that there might be people in the choir who hadn’t sung the Hallelujah Chorus before–I sang it for the first time in high school, and our director wanted to teach it to us so we’d have learned it properly once, which makes sense to me now (twenty years later), since we sang it through very quickly in rehearsal, checking elusive pitches and bargaining with the director about how much cueing he was going to do. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/13 "2012-01-01T18:52:21Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > **BrotherCadfael** , what is your rough location, that the audiences no longer stand? I’ve performed it at least 30 times; I sang my first _Messiah_ in 1979 and my most recent one in 2010 - in Canada, they stand for the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus, then and now. I’ve seen it a couple times in the Western U.S., and some stand, some don’t. Most people are aware of the tradition, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/14 "2012-01-03T00:40:53Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I haven’t seen an audience stand in quite a while now… I’ve been singing in \*Messiah \*perfomances for 30 years and the audience has always stood for the Hallelujah chorus. Aside from the tradition, I think they like to do it because it gives them a chance to stretch their legs. In Australia the usual practice is to have the interval at the end of of Part I. Without the post-Hallelujah stand, the audience would have to remain seated throughout Part II and Part III, which would be a long sit. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/15 "2012-01-03T01:50:28Z")
**Cunctator** , that makes a lot of sense. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/16 "2012-01-03T02:08:19Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > Never sang the complete Messiah, but sang the Hallelujah chorus as part of our Christmas “Cantata” two weeks ago, and the audience/congregation stood. > > We also sang “And the Glory of the Lord” which people did not stand for. > > I did have to laugh at the teenager who couldn’t believe that there might be people in the choir who hadn’t sung the Hallelujah Chorus before–I sang it for the first time in high school, and our director wanted to teach it to us so we’d have learned it properly once, which makes sense to me now (twenty years later), since we sang it through very quickly in rehearsal, checking elusive pitches and bargaining with the director about how much cueing he was going to do. See, I’ve been in choirs all my life, and we never sang it. The religious pieces are always either esoteric or difficult, and often both. Most often, they were in Latin. The only songs we learned to have them learned were Christmas carols out of the hymnal.\* In secondary school, we also always kept sacred and secular songs as even as possible, erring on the side of sacred. All we needed was one parent to freak out because little Johnny had to sing a Christian song. Obscurity and using different languages seemed to help allay that fear. \*Oddly enough, no one ever feared a parent objecting to that. Perhaps because we only ever sang them when we would go out caroling, which was technically optional. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hallelujah-chorus-from-handels-messiah-a-question/607895/17 "2012-01-03T02:35:58Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’ve seen it practically every Christmas for the past 30-some years, and I’ve never NOT seen everyone stand up for it. This has also been my experience. I enjoy being declasse!