On this day in 1743 at t the London premiere of Handel's oratorio Messiah, the entire audience at the Covent Garden theater rose to their feet with King George II at the beginning of the "Hallelujah Chorus." Thus began the tradition of always standing during the singing of this glorious chorus.
Regrettably, this is a tradition that seems to be disappearing along with many other meaningful ways of civility. At one concert last year my family was the only in a hall of nearly 2,000 to stand for the first several measures.
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