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Handel and Haydn Society

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Handel and Haydn Society
Background information
GenresAmericanchorusandperiod instrumentorchestra
Years active1815(1815)–Present(Present)
Websitewww.handelandhaydn.org

TheHandel and Haydn Societyis an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based inBoston, Massachusetts.Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest serving such performing arts organization in the United States.

Early history[edit]

The Handel and Haydn Society was founded as anoratoriosociety inBostonon March 24, 1815, by a group of Boston merchants and musicians, "to promote the love of good music and a better performance of it". The founders,Gottlieb Graupner,Thomas Smith Webb, Amasa Winchester, and Matthew S. Parker,[1]described their aims as "cultivating and improving a correct taste in the performance of Sacred Music, and also to introduce into more general practice, the works ofHandel,Haydn,and other eminent composers. "[2]The society made its debut on Christmas Day, December 25, 1815, atKing's Chapel(then Stone Chapel), with a chorus of 90 men and 10 women.[1]The early chorus members were middle-class tradesmen drawn from the choirs of local churches.[3]Only men could be members, while a far smaller number of women were invited to participate.[4]In its early decades the society hired what musicians it could afford and used unpaid amateurs to complete the orchestra or sometimes substituted organ for orchestra.[5]

Jonas Chickering,at the start of his career as a piano manufacturer, joined the society in 1818 at age 20 and later became its president.[6]The society was also an early promoter of composerLowell Mason,publishing his first collection of hymns in 1822 and later electing him as the group's President.[7]Profits from the sales of that hymnbook and a second collection of sacred music subsidized the society for several decades.[8]

The Handel and Haydn Society has given a number of notable American premieres, including Handel'sMessiahin 1818,[9]and Haydn'sThe Creationin 1819.[10][11]The society also sponsored the first American publication of an edition ofMessiahin 1816.[12]It presented the U.S. premieres of musical settings by many baroque and classical composers, includingMozartandBach.An 1818 assessment in theNew England Palladiummagazine said:[13]

We know there is a fashion in admiration, but the exertions of these gentlemen have continuously presented us with something more and more worthy to be admired. It is doubtless to them that we must ascribe in great measure the improved taste in Sacred Music that is prevailing among us.

Some early reviews noted that public interest waned after a few years as many standard works were repeated. John Rowe Parker wrote in theEuterpeiad:[14]

There have been many instances where a deficiency of patronage has been manifested... and it cannot be too evident that this deficiency, was more owing to the deficiencies in genius and in practice, than in any unwillingness on the part of the public, to award the meed of excellence.

The society's principal chronicler believes that repeating repertoire was necessary to support "much rehearsing until the inexperienced singers could master that which special enthusiasm had carried through in rough outline."[15]Membership from the start and well into the 20th century was limited to men, though the chorus, which was first dominated by male voices, was soon roughly balanced between male and female.[16]

About 1823, several of the society's members commissionedBeethovento compose an oratorio, apparently with an English text, which he never completed.[17]

Chorus rehearsal, 1903

From its earliest years, Handel and Haydn participated in music festivals and civic celebrations to commemorate significant historical events. For the visit of President James Monroe in 1817, the H+H orchestra performed a march composed for the occasion by their concertmaster, followed by almost two dozen arias and choruses.[18]In 1826, H+H joined the services inFaneuil Hallmarking the deaths of President Adams and Jefferson. In 1830 it helped mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of Boston, and it gave a concert in 1833 to help raise funds for the completion of theBunker Hill Monument.[19]PresidentJohn Tylerattended an 1843 concert,[20]and the society helped commemorate the death ofDaniel Websterin 1852.[21]That same year it participated in the opening of theBoston Music Hall,which later became the first home of theBoston Symphony Orchestra.[22]The next year it presented the Boston Premiere of Beethoven'sNinth Symphony.[22]Its 600-member chorus participated in Boston's memorial service forAbraham Lincoln,[23]singing "Mourn, ye afflicted people" from Handel'sJudas Maccabaeusand "Cast thy burden upon the Lord" from Mendelssohn'sElijah.It marked the centennial of Beethoven's birth by performing selections from his Ninth Symphony in 1870.[24]When Boston paid tribute to AdmiralGeorge Deweyupon his return from the Spanish–American War in 1899, 280 H+H singers greeted his arrival atCity Hallwith "See the Conquering Hero Comes" fromJudas Maccabaeus.[25]It performed forGrand Duke Alexisof Russia[26]andQueen Elizabeth II.In addition, the society held benefit concerts for theUnion Army,victims of theChicago fire of 1871,[26]and Russian Jewish refugees displaced by the 1882May Laws.

The society occasionally favored a composer whose modern reputation has not matched his nineteenth-century popularity. In the 1830s, the society presentedDavid,an oratorio by Haydn's pupilSigismund von Neukomm,55 times.[27]By the 1850s, H+H had hundreds of members, but fewer than half participated as the society presented repeat performances of a small number of classic oratorios varied only by a sampling of church anthems.Rossini'sMoses in Egyptwas performed 25 times in the course of two seasons in the mid-1840s. In 1852, the society upgraded the quality of its orchestral support by hiring theGermania Orchestra,a band of European immigrant musicians with their own conductor, a group far better trained than the musicians hired until then who had foundMendelssohn's works very challenging.[28]

The society joined in celebrations marking the effective date of theEmancipation Proclamationon January 1, 1863.[22]The society marked its golden jubilee in May 1865 with a five-day festival of nine concerts employing a chorus of 700. It included the first H+H performance with full orchestra of Mendelssohn'sHymn of Praise.[29]Five more such festivals using more modest forces followed at three-year intervals.[30][31]Years of preparation led to the first all-but-complete H+H performance of Bach'sSt. Matthew Passionon May 8, 1874.[32]

One noteworthy member of the society's chorus in the middle of the 19th century wasJulia Ward Howe,composer of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".[33]

Annual Christmas oratorio, the Messiah, at theBoston Music Hall,on Sunday evening, December 30, 1860

The society has performed Handel'sMessiahannually since 1854. It gave the first United States performances of Verdi'sRequiemin 1878, just four years after its world premiere,[34]and of Handel'sJoshuaon Easter Sunday 1876.[35]The first works by American composers appeared in the society's 1874 programs:St. PeterbyJohn Knowles Paineand theForty-sixth PsalmbyDudley Buck.[36]In 1892, the society presented the premiere of theMass in E flatbyAmy Beach,a youthful work by the first important female American composer.[37]Critics condemned the H+H performance of the BerliozTe Deumin 1888 as the work of "a musical crank".[38]

As the society considered works outside the traditional religious oratorio tradition, such asSaint-Saens'Samson and Delilah,it surveyed local religious leaders to determine if they would object to such performances on Sunday evenings. Some did not object to the music or subject matter, but to conducting a commercial enterprise on the Sabbath. In a few instances, the music was modified for Sunday performances, as when the drinking song was dropped from Haydn'sThe Creation.[39]

The society participated in some of the mass concerts and festivals that followed the end of the American Civil War, at first reluctantly. Invited to participate in Boston'sNational Peace Jubileethat assembled more than 10,000 voices, H+H was, according to the event's organizer, "the very first invited, yet they were among the very last−theone hundred and second society−to accept. "[40]In 1870 the society joined in a New York City celebration, with members of the orchestra and 546 chorus members taking overnight boats to perform excerpts fromElijah.[41]When H+H traveled to perform the completeElijahand other works in New York City and Brooklyn in 1873, a special train carried the performers, including approximately 400 singers.[42][43]

To mark the arrival of the twentieth century, 200 members of the H+H chorus participated in a midnight ceremony at theMassachusetts State Houseon December 31, 1899, leading the singing of "Old One Hundredth"and"America".[44]The society performed for the first time in Boston'sSymphony Hallon October 21, 1900.[22]In the new century, as musical tastes changed and other professional groups competed for the same audience, H+H reduced its performances to four annually and avoided innovative repertoire choices. Occasionally a concert took on the flavor of a "pops concert", with sentimental vocal solos includingArthur Sullivan's "The Lost Chord",even as the society's president lamented how the public was distracted from concert-going" in these days of radio and victrolas. "[45]

The society struggled during the financial crisis of the 1930s, experimenting unsuccessfully with evenings of Wagner excerpts. A better strategy arranged for concerts to be sponsored by local charities, such as the League of Catholic Women,Boston University,andFaulkner Hospital,all of which underwrote ticket sales.[46]World War II created personnel problems and the number of choristers fell to 206 active members, its lowest point in a hundred years. Yet the society ambitiously planned its first performance ofBrahms'A German Requiemfor April 29, 1945, and dedicated it to PresidentRooseveltwho died on April 12.[47]It released its first commercial recording, Handel'sMessiah,in 1955, made its television debut in 1961, and in December 1963 presented the world's first televised performance ofMessiah.[22]

H+H marked its 150th anniversary in March 1965 with the premiere ofRandall Thompson'sThe Passion According to St. Luke,which it commissioned for the occasion.[48][49]

Historically informed performance[edit]

Thomas Dunn, 1979

Toward the middle of the 20th century, the Handel and Haydn Society began adopting the practices of the "historically informed performance"movement, striving for vocal and instrumental" authenticity ". This came in response to a 1965 review in theBoston GlobebyMichael Steinberg,who criticized the group's failure to demonstrate any awareness of the revolution in performance practice already under way in larger music centers.[50]He later described the variables at issue: "Decisions about tempo, articulation, vocal embellishment (long felt to be sacrilegious and unthinkable), weight and color of sonority, all contributed to this process." Writing in 2005, he includedThomas Dunnin a list of seven "conductors who most powerfully effected this re-examination."[51]

In 1967, Dunn, an expert in baroque performance practice, became the society's artistic director and transformed its large amateur chorus into a smaller professional musical ensemble.[52]In 1963,Timemagazine had called Dunn "the hero of the baroqueniks".[53]Under Dunn in 1977, H+H made the first recording ofAlfred Mann's 1963 edition ofMessiah,the only recording at the time in which the soloists joined in singing the choruses, following the practice of Handel's time.[54]Dunn nevertheless performed an extensive repertory that extended to Stravinsky and contemporary composers. By the time he retired H&H was something of an anomaly, an ensemble that adopted historical performance practices for older music but played exclusively modern instruments.[55]

Christopher Hogwoodsucceeded Dunn in 1986, and under his direction the society's orchestra began using period instruments in their performances. The society has since remained committed to historically informed performance practice.

Recent history[edit]

With Hogwood, the society made its first appearance outside of the United States at the 1996Edinburgh Festival.[56]H+H also presented a number of programs that linked the baroque tradition of improvisation to that of such contemporary jazz artists asChick CoreaandGary Burton.[57]

Grant Llewellynwas music director from 2001 through 2006 and held the title of principal conductor for three seasons through 2009.[58]During his tenure, the society produced several commercial recordings, includingPeaceandAll is Bright,and received its firstGrammy Awardfor a collaboration with the San Francisco choral ensembleChanticleerfor the 2003 recording ofSir John Tavener'sLamentations and Praises.[59]

The society also entered into a multi-year partnership with Chinese directorChen Shi-Zhengstarting in 2003, which resulted in fully staged productions ofMonteverdi'sVespers(in 2003)[60]andOrfeo(in 2006) that Chen saw as the beginning of a cycle of Monteverdi's surviving operas and hisVespers.The 2006Orfeowas co-produced by theEnglish National Opera.Chen also directed a production ofPurcell'sDido and Aeneasin 2005 for Handel and Haydn. In July 2007, the ensemble made its debut at theLondon Promsunder SirRoger Norrington.[61]

Harry Christophersfirst conducted the Handel and Haydn Society in September 2006 at theEsterházy Palaceat the Haydn Festival inEisenstadt,Austria, the society's first appearance on the European continent. He returned to the society for further guest-conducting appearances in December 2007 and January 2008. In September 2008, the society announced the appointment of Christophers as its artistic director, effective with the 2009–10 season, with an initial contract of three years. In September 2011, the society extended Christophers' contract for another four years, through the 2015–16 season.[62][63]In January 2019, the society announced that Christophers is to conclude his tenure as its artistic director at the close of the 2020–21 season.[64]In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Christophers formally concluded his tenure as artistic director in May 2022, and now has the title of conductor laureate with H+H.[65]

Since 2011, each concert season has featured masterworks the society premiered in the United States. In February 2011, it presentedHandel'sIsrael in Egypt,the American premiere of which it gave on February 13, 1859. In March and April 2012, the society performedBach'sSt. Matthew Passion.The society gave the complete American premiere of Bach's masterpiece in 1879. The group gave several concerts in California in the spring of 2013 and ended its 2012–13 season withHandel'sJephtha,a dramatic oratorio given its American premiere by H+H in 1867.[66]

In February 2020,Jonathan Cohenfirst guest-conducted H+H. Cohen returned for additional guest appearances in April 2022 and October 2022. In November 2022, H+H announced the appointment of Cohen as its next artistic director, effective with the 2023-2024 season, with an initial contract of 5 years.[67]

Artistic leadership[edit]

Prior to 1847, conducting duties fell nominally to the President of the society. However, the keyboardist or first violin in the orchestra did most of the actual conducting. As the society's ambitions grew, it became increasingly clear that it needed more established musical leadership. Over the years, the name of the title has changed several times, from "Conductor" to later titles of "Artistic Director" and "Music Director".

Educational outreach[edit]

The Handel and Haydn Society's Karen S. and George D. Levy Educational Outreach Program provides music education to children in communities throughout eastern Massachusetts with several components:

  • The Vocal Apprenticeship Program (VAP) provides in-depth training for talented young singers in grades 3-12. It was established in 1994 to identify and nurture youngsters with special talent whose families lack the financial resources to pursue private instruction.
  • The Vocal Quartet visits schools with original presentations developed to teach music history in an entertaining, age appropriate way.
  • Collaborative Youth Concerts bring singers from different high schools together to perform in their home communities alongside Handel and Haydn Society musicians.

The society selects the winner of its annual Candace MacMillen Achtmeyer Award, which extends the society's support to an outstanding senior who has participated for at least two years in the Vocal Apprenticeship Program (High School Soloists, Young Men's Chorus, Young Women's Chorus).[c][citation needed]

The Barbara E. Maze Award for Musical Excellence extends the society's support to an outstanding VAP alumnus with a cash award of $2,000 given to a high school graduate who intends to continue professional vocal instruction. The award is named in honor of Handel and Haydn Society Governor Barbara E. Maze, who was instrumental in creating VAP. Ms. Maze was chair of the society's Cultural Diversity Committee, and a member of the Handel and Haydn Educational Outreach Committee. She was a retired Assistant Dean of Student Affairs forBoston University.Maze was the National Chairperson for the Leontyne Price Vocal Arts Competition, and President of Project STEP.

Notable members and performers[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Herman (b. Germany, 1849 or 1853) trained in Europe, lived in New York 1871-78, returned to Germany and then to New York again, where he taught music atUnion Theological Seminary,before returning to Germany and establishing a reputation as a composer.[69]
  2. ^"In 1945, Thompson Stone (1883–1972) assumed the chair as the second Austin Fletcher Professor of Music [at Tufts University]. Stone was the conductor of Boston's venerable Handel and Haydn Society and a guest conductor of the Boston Pops."[70]
  3. ^The award was named in the memory of Candace MacMillen Achtmeyer in 2001. A member of the Handel and Haydn Society Board starting in 1993, she was a member of the Education Committee, where she voiced passionate opinions about the society's responsibility to the community and children in particular.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^abJohnson, H. Earle (1986)."Handel and Haydn Society".In Hitchcock, H. Wiley; Sadie, Stanley (eds.).The New Grove Dictionary of American Music.Vol. II. London: Macmillan Press. p.318.ISBN0-943818-36-2.
  2. ^Broyles,Music of the Highest Class,144-6
  3. ^Broyles,Music of the Highest Class,140-1
  4. ^Broyles,Music of the Highest Class,147
  5. ^Broyles,Music of the Highest Class,323ff.
  6. ^Johnson,Interludes,111; Johnson,Hallelujah,38, 61
  7. ^Broyles,Music of the Highest Class,62, 70
  8. ^Broyles,Music of the Highest Class,167, 328-9. Mason's work was theBoston Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music(1822). The other was theBoston Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Sacred Music,4 vols. (1821-1832).
  9. ^Charles C. Perkins and John S. Dwight,History of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, Massachusetts,vol. I, 1815-1890 (Boston: Alfred Mudge, 1893), "Concerts, Fourth Season"
  10. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,31
  11. ^Teresa M. Neff, "H+H and Haydn'sThe Creation",notes accompanying the Coro CD ofThe Creation,2015
  12. ^Alan Blyth, ed.,Choral Music on Record(Cambridge University Press, 1991), 83
  13. ^Johnson,Interludes,97
  14. ^Johnson,Interludes,150, 254-5. "Meed",archaic,a fitting reward.
  15. ^Johnson,Interludes,89, 91. The assessment is Johnson's.
  16. ^Johnson,Interludes,89
  17. ^Johnson,Interludes,252n
  18. ^Johnson,Interludes,133
  19. ^Perkins and Dwight,History,"Concerts: Eleventh Season", "Concerts, Sixteenth Season", "Concerts, Eighteenth Season"
  20. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,61
  21. ^Perkins and Dwight,History,"Concerts, Thirty-Eighth Season"
  22. ^abcdeSmith, Steve (October 4, 2014)."Two centuries of Handel & Haydn highlights".Boston Globe.RetrievedOctober 5,2014.
  23. ^"Observance in Boston".New York Times.June 2, 1865.RetrievedJuly 26,2012.
  24. ^Perkins and Dwight,"Concerts: Fifty-Sixth Season"
  25. ^Louis Stanley Young,Life and Heroic Deeds of Admiral Dewey(Boston: James H. Earle, 1899), 546
  26. ^abDwight and Perkins,History,"Concerts: Fifty-Seventh Season"
  27. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,52-4
  28. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,61-4, 66-7, 73-4, 75
  29. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,93-6
  30. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,104-5, 109, 111ff., 130, 139, 142-4
  31. ^"Handel and Haydn: Third Triennial Festival in Boston"(PDF).New York Times.May 4, 1874.RetrievedOctober 2,2012.
  32. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,109, 114-5, 124
  33. ^Richards, Laura E.; Elliott, Maud Howe (1915).Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910.Vol. 1. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 223.
  34. ^Perkins and Dwight,History,"Concerts, Sixty-third Season"
  35. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,128-9
  36. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,122
  37. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,162-4
  38. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,150-2
  39. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,183-6
  40. ^P.S. Gilmore,History of the National Peace Jubilee and Great Musical Festival(NY: Lee and Shepard, 1871), 263-4, 741ff.
  41. ^Perkins and Dwight,History,291-2
  42. ^"Arrival of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society"(PDF).New York Times.April 22, 1874.RetrievedOctober 2,2012.
  43. ^Perkins and Dwight,History,330-2
  44. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,180
  45. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,189, 198, 207
  46. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,213-5
  47. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,217-9
  48. ^Ericson, Raymond (March 29, 1965)."Handel and Haydn Society Turns 150 in Full Voice"(PDF).New York Times.RetrievedJuly 27,2012.
  49. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,237-40
  50. ^Shea, Andrea (December 13, 2014)."A Bicentennial For Boston's Handel And Haydn Society".NPR.RetrievedAugust 8,2017.
  51. ^Steinberg, Michael (2005).Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide.Oxford University Press. pp.140–1.
  52. ^Fox, Margalit (November 9, 2008)."Thomas Dunn, an Early-Music Conductor, Is Dead at 82".New York Times.RetrievedJuly 26,2012.
  53. ^Time,vol. 82 (1963)snippet,accessed August 28, 2012
  54. ^Blyth, Alan, ed. (1991).Choral Music on Record.Cambridge University Press. pp. 70–1, 73.
  55. ^Allen, David (May 22, 2015)."Handel and Haydn Society Celebrates 200 Years".New York Times.RetrievedAugust 7,2017.
  56. ^Barbara Jepson (January 28, 2010)."Christophers Makes His Mark on H and H".Wall Street Journal.RetrievedOctober 16,2011.
  57. ^Diesenhouse, Susan (February 7, 1999)."Venerable Musical Institutions Collide, Quietly".New York Times.RetrievedJuly 26,2012.
  58. ^Jeremy Eichler (March 25, 2009)."H+H Society bids Llewellyn a fond farewell".Boston Globe.Archived fromthe originalon August 10, 2011.RetrievedOctober 16,2011.
  59. ^Grammy.org:"Past Winners Search",accessed June 26, 2012
  60. ^Oestreich, James R. (October 15, 2003)."Surrounded by the Drama Of Monteverdi's Echo Effects".New York Times.RetrievedJuly 26,2012.
  61. ^Erica Jeal (July 25, 2007)."Prom 14: Handel and Haydn Society of Boston/Norrington".The Guardian.RetrievedOctober 16,2011.
  62. ^"Artistic Director Harry Christophers to lead Society through 2015 Bicentennial Celebrations"(Press release). Handel and Haydn Society. September 20, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon March 10, 2012.RetrievedOctober 16,2011.
  63. ^Jeremy Eichler (September 9, 2011)."H+H adds four years to contract with Christophers".Boston Globe.RetrievedOctober 16,2011.
  64. ^"Handel and Haydn Society Announces 2019-20 Season; Artistic Director Harry Christophers Will Step Down Following 2020-21 Season"(Press release). Handel and Haydn Society. January 24, 2019. Archived fromthe originalon January 26, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 27,2019.
  65. ^"Handel and Haydn Society Receives $10 Million Donation to Honor Harry Christophers; H+H Names Christophers Conductor Laureate"(Press release). Handel and Haydn Society. November 27, 2021.RetrievedNovember 18,2022.
  66. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,101
  67. ^"Handel and Haydn Society Names Jonathan Cohen 15th Artistic Director"(Press release). Handel & Haydn Society. November 14, 2022.RetrievedNovember 14,2022.
  68. ^"General News"(PDF).The Music Trade Review.XXVII(4): 5. July 23, 1898.RetrievedJuly 27,2012.
  69. ^Johnson,Hallelujah,173
  70. ^Bernstein, Jane (2007)."A Space for Music: Music on the Hill".Tufts Magazine.Winter. Archived fromthe originalon July 9, 2011.RetrievedJuly 27,2012.

Sources[edit]

  • Michael Broyles,"Music of the Highest Class": Elitism and Populism in Antebellum Boston(Yale University Press, 1992)
  • H. Earle Johnson,First Performances in America to 1900: Works with Orchestra(Detroit: College Music Society, 1979)
  • H. Earle Johnson,Hallelujah, Amen!: The Story of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston(Boston: B. Humphries, 1965)
  • H. Earle Johnson,Musical Interludes in Boston, 1795-1830(NY: Columbia University Press, 1943)
  • Teresa M. Neff, "In the Public Eye: the Handel and Haydn Society and Music Reviews, 1840-1860".Symposium sponsored by the American Literature Association:" Musical Intelligence in Antebellum Boston ", June 25, 2017
  • Teresa M. Neff and Jan Swafford, eds.,The Handel and Haydn Society: Bringing Music to Life for 200 Years(Jaffrey, NH: David R. Godine, 2014)

External links[edit]

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