Friday, 28 March 2014

Of Monarchy and Oratorio


I was torn between the two topics of Catch/Glee clubs and Oratorios this week because there were things that I wanted to write and draw about for both, so finally I resulted to my musical version of ‘flip the coin’: Playlist on shuffle, songs beginning with A-M would be Catch and Glee Clubs, N-Z would be Oratorio. There was a strange moment where I think my playlist was as confused as I was, for it played Glee’s version of ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ which caused a fair amount of laughter.

 But a deal is a deal, and oratorio it is. In particular I will be looking at how the monarchy and religious beliefs influenced it.



1) Belief and other things

When looking at religious beliefs in eighteenth century England we might be shocked at how little debates differ from those in our own time: Is the bible reliable/true? Is the New Testament (written account from Jesus’ birth, life and death including subsequent letters to support he was the Son of God and how believers are to live as a response) to be taken seriously? Is the Old Testament (account of creation, the fall, and God’s dealings with his people) relevant? Can all the miracles be explained through science?

Yes, people in the 1700s considered the same things as we do today. At this point and time in England, due to advances in science and relative freedom in expressing views, was at a highly unstable point, reinforced also by the king’s tentative position to the throne. James II was Catholic in a Protestant nation, and soon after his coronation there was an uprising that was suppressed, closely followed by him signing the Declaration of Indulgence, which allowed everyone to practice their own religion. Many considered this illegal, as it allowed non-Anglicans to go to university (gasp) as well as attain high positions, and caused some Protestants to send a letter to William of Orange inviting him to come and take over, which he did. This was in 1688. Following his death and his sister Anne lacking an heir, English Parliament reinstated James I’s granddaughter Sophie and whatever child of hers was Protestant as heir. Before she could take the throne she died, and so her son George became king. I know, confusing, right? All we really need to know is that England is in a pretty shabby state monarchy-wise, which meant it was shabby religious-wise.

Hopefully this helps to explain a bit.


2) So, where does music come into this?

As mentioned last week Handel arrived in 1710, which was during the reign of Anne who had given birth to 17 children, none of whom lived to adulthood. There was little mention of whom would succeed, though it was on everyone’s mind. As previously mentioned, George I succeeded her. Handel wrote his best operas during this time, but was plagued with bad luck when it came to financing these grand displays of theatre. Around the time when George II came to the throne, Handel changed tact, creating the genre of oratorio. 

Now, at this point you might get a wave of familiarity of “aaah, Handel’s Messiah”. Good, encourage that thought: large choirs, beautiful solo lines, but no staging, acting, costumes or special effects. In effect, a production far cheaper than opera. However, this is where religion comes in.

Although Handel was valiant in remaining shady in the area of what he believed or who he supported, his librettist (lyric writer) was not. Charles Jennens, Hendel’s librettist from 1735-1745, was an ardent Protestant and supporter of George I. In regards to politics, in Saul he supports Saul (the failing king) as a character rather than David (the usual hero) to support James’ line of succession rather than that of William of Orange. Religiously he uses his librettos to answer some of the questions at the start of this post: In The Messiah which is the oratorio of Jesus’ birth (found in the first 4 books in the New Testament) supports Jesus’ birth as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies, using 80 verses from scripture in the libretto, the vast majority of these from the Old Testament. As an example, the prophecy from Isaiah (chapter 9 verses 6-7) “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government shall be upon his shoulder…” used as the 12th piece of The Messiah (link). These sentiments can also be found in Belshazzar where strong links are shown between Christ and Daniel. Also his compilation of the text for Israel in Egypt focusses on how the miracles happened by God’s hand, rather than any human influence.
Excerpt from Handel's Messiah, no. 12 Chorus: For unto Us a Child is Born
It has been interesting this week looking at the music that is now just considered the mainstream classical music, but at the time was really used as a rebuttal of arguments. Our lecturer likened it to the concept of global warming and how it has worked its way into music composed in the last decade, which I suppose is accurate in some ways, but maybe only on a lesser scale.

Any thoughts? Please comment below.



Further readings:

Ruth Smith, Handel’s Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 141–156.






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