How Handel brought ‘The Messiah’ to life in bleak times In ”Every Valley,” Charles King compellingly recounts how the composer, in a mere three weeks, ...

Every Valley, The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel’s Messiah; By Charles King; Doubleday; 337 pp., $32.00 What is behind its staying power? Exploring that question is the ...

Handel’s “Messiah” is performed every Christmas season around the world. Originally composed in 1741, the English-language oratorio, almost entirely made up of text from the King James Bible ...

John Adams reviews “Every Valley,” Charles King’s new book about the artistic, social and political forces surrounding one of the greatest pieces of music ever created.

Today “Messiah” is associated with Christmas, but Handel’s themes — the renewal of life, a world freshly infused with grace — were keyed to Easter.

In the next concert March 25, Handel’s “Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day,“ a setting of poetry by John Dryden, took even fewer risks, at least for anyone with a love for music.

Handel’s “Messiah” is performed every Christmas season around the world. Originally composed in 1741, the English-language oratorio, almost entirely made up of text from the King James Bible ...