Hallelujah Chorus

The "Hallelujah Chorus" is set in the key of D major with trumpets and timpani. As a countersubject, the words "for ever – and ever" assume the rhythm of the Hallelujah-motif. The final acclamation "King of Kings...and Lord of Lords" is sung on one note, energized by repeated calls "Hallelujah" and "for ever – and ever", raised higher and higher (the sopranos and the trumpets part), up to a rest full of tension and a final solemn "Hallelujah". During the time Handel wrote Messiah, he barely ate anything despite his servants bringing him food as normal each day. One day, one of his servants entered Handel's room to find the composer in tears. When asked what was wrong, Handel held up the score to the Hallelujah Chorus and said, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself". The Hallelujah Chorus along with the rest of Messiah was first performed in Dublin, Ireland in 1742. The "Hallelujah Chorus" is predominately performed at Easter and Christmas. It is performed at Christmas because of an erroneous belief it is about the Nativity of Jesus when it was intended to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus and the Ascension of Jesus. == Tradition ==

Traditionally whenever the Hallelujah Chorus is performed, the audience will stand. This tradition is ascribed to the debut performance in London with King George II of Great Britain in attendance. It is reported that at the start of the Chorus, the King was so impressed that he stood up and remained standing until the end. As a result, everyone else stood as Royal protocol dictated that when the King stood, everyone else stood until the King did otherwise. Another explanation as to why the tradition of standing for the "Hallelujah Chorus" came about was because of the mix of secular and sacred music in Messiah, the "Hallelujah Chorus" was the part of Messiah that caused people to stand as if were a hymn as hymns are often sung while standing. Often conductors who support the tradition will turn prior to the performance of the "Hallelujah Chorus" and cue the audience to stand, while conductors who oppose it sometimes request patrons remain seated. == Outside Messiah ==

The "Hallelujah Chorus" has been used outside of Messiah performances. In 2009, the BBC and the English National Opera created a project titled "Sing Hallelujah!" whereby 450 choirs throughout the United Kingdom would come together to perform the "Hallelujah Chorus". In 2016, the American Mormon Tabernacle Choir did a similar project however they received recordings from worldwide to perform the "Hallelujah Chorus". The tune has been adopted by British association football fans for football chants. In 2006, Newcastle United fans used the "Hallelujah Chorus" as a tribute to their former captain Alan Shearer. The American professional wrestler Damien Sandow used the "Hallelujah Chorus" as his entrance music while wrestling for WWE, as well as when wrestling as Aron Rex in Total Nonstop Action. == References ==