Handel's Messiah
the first performance
CBC Radio Programme (2003)
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. This research on Handel's Messiah was presented on a CBC radio programme 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.
Throughout Handel's life, he was closely associated with numerous medical and non-medical charities. He 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.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.