George Frideric Handel 〔HAN-del〕 was born in Germany in 1685. He was interested in music as a young boy, but his father wanted him to be a lawyer, not a musician, and would not let him have an instrument. Handel smuggled a small keyboard instrument called a clavichord* 〔CLA-vi-cord〕 into* his house. He wanted to play music so much, he played his clavichord in secret. Later, when he was older, he studied music full time, no longer having to keep it a secret.

Handel

Handel is best known for his compositions* based on stories from the Bible. One of these pieces, called Messiah* 〔mes-SYE-ya〕, is performed by an orchestra and a chorus*, with soloists* in all the vocal ranges singing special parts. Each part of Messiah tells a different episode* in the life of Jesus. For words, Handel used verses from the English Bible and a prayer book. The most famous part of Messiah is the thrilling* “Hallelujah Chorus*,” in which voices proclaim the everlasting glory* of God.

There is a story that when Handel’s Messiah was performed the first time for King George of England, the king was so moved by the “Hallelujah Chorus” that he stood up to hear it. Whether the story is true or not, audiences have been standing up to hear that chorus ever since, such is the inspiring effect of Handel’s music.

* clavichord：击弦古钢琴 * smuggle ...into：将……偷偷带入 * composition：（作曲家的）作品

* Messiah：《弥赛亚》，大型清唱剧，是西方音乐史上演出最多的剧目之一。“弥赛亚”在希伯来语中是指“上帝选中的人”。

* chorus：合唱队 * soloist：独唱者 * episode：（人生的）一段经历 * thrilling：震撼人心的

* Hallelujah Chorus：《哈利路亚大合唱》，《弥赛亚》中最广为人知的一段。

* everlasting glory：永恒的荣耀