All rise!

Yesterday's post reminded me of a performance of "Messiah" which I was involved in many years ago, and when it got to the Hallelujah Chorus, a couple of elderly ladies in the audience stood up.  You could see that the rest were left feeling rather uncomfortable, not quite knowing what to do,  So what's that all about?  Well the first performance of "Messiah" was given in the presence of King George II, and the story is that when the opening chords of the Hallelujah Chorus rang out the King got to his feet and stood throughout the piece.  Of course back then no-one would have dreamed of remaining seated while the King was standing, so everybody else stood as well, and the tradition was born.  What nobody really knows is why the King stood up.  It's usually said that he was overcome by the glory of the music - but of course it could equally be that he simply needed to stretch his legs!