The first performance of Messiah, in Dublin on April 13, 1742, was sold out. The ladies were requested to “come without hoops” and the gentlemen to “come without their Swords,” to make more room for the throng. The reception to the London performance the next year was lukewarm. “I should be sorry if I only entertained them,” remarked Handel. “I wish to make them better.” Messiah never really caught on with London concert-goers until 1750, when Handel inaugurated annual charity performances for the Foundling Hospital. The Hospital had been established to aid the innocent victims of gin. According to one account, the popularity of gin-drinking produced children who were “starved and naked at home” and “either become a burthen to their parishes or…are forced to beg whilst they are children, and as they grow up learn to pilfer and steal.” Handel's last public appearance was on April 6, 1759, when he directed a performance of Messiah from the harpsichord. He died eight days later.

Program Notes by Charley Samson, copyright 2021.