The Hallelujah Chorus

[RoyalCanadian]

My high school choir always did the Hallelujah Chorus as part of our winter concert, but we also did a couple other different choruses in either the winter or spring concerts. As a result, I performed all but two of the choruses of the Messiah in my five years with our own "Mr. Holland". My favorite (more so than the Hallelujah) is Surely, He Hath Borne our Griefs. The year I graduated, I ended up buying my own score for going to the various Messiah Sing Ins.

You, Feralpeg and DisneyCP2002 are to be commended for following through with what can only be described as a monumental task. Whether one has sung all of the Messiah, half the Messiah or (for that matter) anything beyond the Hallelujah Chorus -- this is a rare treat.

And as for the legend, lore and tradition of King George II standing for the Hallelujah Chorus -- I can only imagine the poor German needed to stretch a little bit.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

I did know that you cannot sing songs that have the word "Hallelujah" during Lent

And yet one of the Psalms appointed for singing during Lent (I think it could very well be on the First Sunday in Lent) contains that very word. I have always found it so very amusing that I will spend so much energy explaining why we omit the word during Lent (we're saving it up for Easter) and then we sing it almost immediately.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Done many a choir piece, and many messiah sing alongs! Including all of the AMENS! Of course I stand.

 

[Quasi123]

I didn't know you were supposed to stand. I can't count the number of times I've heard that song performed and no one ever stood up!

 

[HamTown]

I've sung parts of the entire piece, I stand.

My 10th grade English teacher forced us to stand at our HS choral concert because "it's God's national anthem"

 

[Pembo]

"My 10th grade English teacher forced us to stand at our HS choral concert because "it's God's national anthem"

Okay that's just weird. I stand because everyone else does but in a family of musicians I've always known The Hallelujah Chorus is in the Easter portion of The Messiah and that King George stood up because the Messiah was so LONG and he needed to stretch.