Chapter 13: Love's Musicians

George Frederick Handel

       Whether a song has been inspired by angels, or whether a song bursts forth from the depths of human despair, it speaks to the facets of life that all people hold in common.  Music allows people to communicate with one another in ways that cannot be accomplished in conversation or writing. Even people who speak different languages can express feelings to one another that can’t be described any other way. Music increases understanding among people of different opinions and different backgrounds. No matter the style of music, its very existence is a gift from Divine Love for the entire world to enjoy.

          Throughout history, Love’s angels have inspired men and women to compose, play, and sing melodies that would raise both listeners and participants to higher realms of being, where memories of our divine origin dance and soar. One of the greatest of these enlightened musicians was George Frederick Handel.

Handel was a musical visionary, weaving biblical messages throughout his compositions, even though they were performed in opera houses and other secular venues. The 18^th century Church of England condemned his use of religious themes for the sake of entertainment. Even today, many church congregations do not applaud when the choir sings, because they sing to the glory of God, not for the benefit of other people! So for Handel to produce religious music for people to applaud was blasphemous.

          Handel’s dilemma was a hot topic of discussion among the Agents of Love. Apollo, Greek god of music; Meret, the Egyptian goddess of song; and Benzaiten met with Israfel, Uriel, and other divine lovers of music. Apollo said: “We must find a way to awaken people to the fact that sacred music should be enjoyed anywhere and everywhere,” and every angel and goddess of music agreed.

Handel’s soul had such a thin shell around it, the angelic ones found it easy to communicate with him. The divine musicians knew that the Governor of Ireland was planning a charitable benefit concert, so they pestered him until he asked Handel to write the oratorio for this event.  Next, they directed Charles Jennens, patron of the arts, to select certain biblical texts to make up a libretto for an oratorio. These texts were chosen to tell the story behind 1^st Timothy 3:16 where Saint Paul wrote: “And without controversy,  great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

“Today’s listeners will believe this oratorio is only about Jesus Christ,” the angels said. “But one day they will realize that God is manifest is all flesh, and all will be received up into glory.”

Then they led Jennens to take his libretto to Handel, and they stayed with the composer night and day, for twenty-four days, and filled his heart and soul with the music he would write for “Messiah.” 

          Handel was so inspired by the words of Jennens’s libretto and the heavenly music surrounding him, the remaining bit of shell around his soul melted, opening his vision to the glory of Divine Love. In his ecstasy he totally forgot the needs of his physical body, not stopping work to eat or sleep. Just as he finished putting the last notes of the Hallelujah Chorus on paper, his servant tip-toed into his room to take away the untouched supper tray.  Handel lifted his head, and with tears streaming down his face, smiled at his servant and said: “I did think I saw all heaven before me, and the Great God Himself.”

            Every single angel, god, and goddess of music faithfully attends the performance of Messiah whenever and wherever it is performed. In 1742 the oratorio premiered at the charitable benefit in Dublin, for which it had been written, and 400 pounds were raised, allowing 142 men to go free from debtor’s prison. A year later, Handel staged his masterpiece in London. The Church of England, headed by King George II, was still criticizing his tendency to perform religious music in nonreligious venues. But the king could not resist the clamoring of angelic voices that insisted he attend the performance of this oratorio.

King George was not sorry that he went. He sat transfixed throughout the program, and when the first magnificent notes of the Hallelujah Chorus sounded throughout the concert hall, the king rose to his feet. Of course the rest of the audience had to stand in respect to the king, but to this day, all listeners of the Hallelujah Chorus stand in respect to the Great Mystery of Divine Love which is felt in this triumphant music so much more than it can be understood in any words.

          Handel personally conducted more than thirty performances of Messiah, many which were benefit performances for charities. One of his biographers would write: “Perhaps the works of no other composer have so largely contributed to the relief of human suffering.”  Another biographer wrote that Handel’s Messiah “has probably done more to convince thousands of mankind that there is a God about us than all the theological works ever written.”  Handel’s generosity of spirit, and his desire to accomplish more than purely entertain his audience, would be an inspiration to future musicians who have joined his divine mission.

John Lennon

          With each passing century, the numbers of people with thinning soul shells increases, and more people have a genuine desire to assist others and contribute to good causes. In the 20^th century the angels and gods of music have promoted dozens of benefit concerts at which musicians have raised enormous sums for human rights and peace organizations, and for numerous charities. The subject matter for inspirational music has also expanded beyond religion to include songs about peace, justice, ecology, and the oneness of humanity. One of the world’s favorite peace songs, inspired by the Agents of Love, and written by John Lennon, tells us to imagine there’s no heaven above us, and yet the lyrics describe what might be called heaven on earth:

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

http://www.messiahcd.com/Information/about_The_Messiah/about_the_messiah.html