What do you think?
Rate this book
Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah
From New York Times bestselling historian and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Charles King, the moving untold story of the eighteenth-century men and women behind the making of Handel’s Messiah
George Frideric Handel’s Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras, as well as by audiences singing along with the words on their cell phones.
But this work of triumphant joy was born in a worried age. Britain in the early Enlightenment was a place of astonishing creativity but also the seat of an empire mired in war, enslavement, and conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth. Against this turbulent background, prize-winning author Charles King has crafted a cinematic drama of the troubled lives that shaped a masterpiece of hope.
Every Valley presents a depressive dissenter stirred to action by an ancient prophecy; an actress plagued by an abusive husband and public scorn; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; and an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies and hatching a dangerous plan for getting back home. At center stage is Handel himself, composer to kings but, at midlife, in ill health and straining to keep an audience’s attention. Set amid royal intrigue, theater scandals, and political conspiracy, Every Valley is entertaining, inspiring, unforgettable.
George Frideric Handel’s Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras, as well as by audiences singing along with the words on their cell phones.
But this work of triumphant joy was born in a worried age. Britain in the early Enlightenment was a place of astonishing creativity but also the seat of an empire mired in war, enslavement, and conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth. Against this turbulent background, prize-winning author Charles King has crafted a cinematic drama of the troubled lives that shaped a masterpiece of hope.
Every Valley presents a depressive dissenter stirred to action by an ancient prophecy; an actress plagued by an abusive husband and public scorn; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; and an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies and hatching a dangerous plan for getting back home. At center stage is Handel himself, composer to kings but, at midlife, in ill health and straining to keep an audience’s attention. Set amid royal intrigue, theater scandals, and political conspiracy, Every Valley is entertaining, inspiring, unforgettable.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published October 29, 2024
About the author
Charles King
13 books193 followersCharles King is the author of eight books, including the New York Times-bestselling GODS OF THE UPPER AIR (2019), winner of the Francis Parkman Prize and the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award in biography and the Los Angeles Times history prize; MIDNIGHT AT THE PERA PALACE (2014), a New York Times Editors' Choice; and ODESSA: GENIUS AND DEATH IN A CITY OF DREAMS (2011), winner of a National Jewish Book Award. He is Professor of International Affairs and Government at Georgetown University.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 6, 2024
It took a universe of pain to make a musical monument to hope. from Every Valley by Charles King
The highlight of my choral singing career was performing the Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I had been singing alto since Third Grade, a part of school choirs and community choruses for decades. I had learned the Hallelujah chorus in high school. But, what a thrill to sing in the Academy of Music with one of the top orchestras in the country!
To tell the history of the Messiah, Every Valley vividly recreates the world of Georgian London, a time of political and religious turmoil, war, disease and high early childhood mortality rates, poverty, and cruel entertainments (including public hangings). There was a rise in literacy and publishing, a public demand for sensational stories, and operas were all the rage.
George Frideric Handel left Germany for London, which was on its way to becoming the largest city in Europe. He wrote music for royal occasions that we still hear in concert, including his Water Music that entertained King George I on his royal barge. His operas were so crowded that men were asked to leave their swords at home and women were begged to forgo their hoops.
It was the age of Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson; Johann Sebastian Bach and Vivaldi. John Gay created the first comic opera and Swift wrote satires that still sting. There was Grub Street and newspapers (written by novelists, that is reporters of novel facts) that kept the public riveted to scandals and crime stories. The Little Ice Age resulted in crop failures and famines. And a time of wars and political intrigue with supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie plotting to restore the Stuarts to the throne, and a splintering of Protestantism into suspect sects.
British trade reached across the world, and including transporting slaves. Georgia was being settled in America; the founders’ ideals soon abandoned as slaves were ‘leased’ to do the onerous work of settlement. One of Handel’s patrons supported Ignatius Sancho, a composer and playwright who was born on a slave ship.
She sang again of a man who knew sadness without being drowned by it, someone who taught that the opposite of fear was not bravery but understanding. […]By the end of the aria, it was wholly possible to believe that the greatest heroism was simple survival, that transcendence might even depend on knowing horror from the inside. from Every Valley by Charles King
The woman who sang in Handel’s operas was involved in a notorious scandal. Susannah Cibber was a popular actress whose husband sold her favors. She fell in love with the purchaser and they ran off together. Her husband took her to court, airing the sordid affair to the public. She was forgiven when her performance in the first presentation of the Messiah in Dublin profoundly moved listeners. She became the star of the stage, appearing with David Garrick.
The proceeds from the first performance of Messiah, went to charity, and later performances funded the first Foundling Hospital. Handel also donated concert profits to establish the Fund for Decay’d Musicians, which became the Royal Society of Musicians.
The story of how the Messiah came to be is unexpectedly filled with colorful characters, including the man who penned the libretto of Messiah. Charles Jennens was eccentric, often plagued by physical and mental distress. He was dedicated to his friend Edward Holdsworth and after Holdsworth’s death Jennens building him an elaborate memorial on his estate.
King does a marvelous job of explaining the Messiah and the message Jennens wanted to send. “Comfort ye” are the first words. “The Messiah is a work of anguish and promise, of profound worry and resounding joy, all expressed in ingenious, irresistible melodies,” King writes. It moved audiences then, and even the most secular of listeners are moved today.
At the end of the book you can read Jennens’ entire libretto.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.
The highlight of my choral singing career was performing the Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I had been singing alto since Third Grade, a part of school choirs and community choruses for decades. I had learned the Hallelujah chorus in high school. But, what a thrill to sing in the Academy of Music with one of the top orchestras in the country!
To tell the history of the Messiah, Every Valley vividly recreates the world of Georgian London, a time of political and religious turmoil, war, disease and high early childhood mortality rates, poverty, and cruel entertainments (including public hangings). There was a rise in literacy and publishing, a public demand for sensational stories, and operas were all the rage.
George Frideric Handel left Germany for London, which was on its way to becoming the largest city in Europe. He wrote music for royal occasions that we still hear in concert, including his Water Music that entertained King George I on his royal barge. His operas were so crowded that men were asked to leave their swords at home and women were begged to forgo their hoops.
It was the age of Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson; Johann Sebastian Bach and Vivaldi. John Gay created the first comic opera and Swift wrote satires that still sting. There was Grub Street and newspapers (written by novelists, that is reporters of novel facts) that kept the public riveted to scandals and crime stories. The Little Ice Age resulted in crop failures and famines. And a time of wars and political intrigue with supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie plotting to restore the Stuarts to the throne, and a splintering of Protestantism into suspect sects.
British trade reached across the world, and including transporting slaves. Georgia was being settled in America; the founders’ ideals soon abandoned as slaves were ‘leased’ to do the onerous work of settlement. One of Handel’s patrons supported Ignatius Sancho, a composer and playwright who was born on a slave ship.
She sang again of a man who knew sadness without being drowned by it, someone who taught that the opposite of fear was not bravery but understanding. […]By the end of the aria, it was wholly possible to believe that the greatest heroism was simple survival, that transcendence might even depend on knowing horror from the inside. from Every Valley by Charles King
The woman who sang in Handel’s operas was involved in a notorious scandal. Susannah Cibber was a popular actress whose husband sold her favors. She fell in love with the purchaser and they ran off together. Her husband took her to court, airing the sordid affair to the public. She was forgiven when her performance in the first presentation of the Messiah in Dublin profoundly moved listeners. She became the star of the stage, appearing with David Garrick.
The proceeds from the first performance of Messiah, went to charity, and later performances funded the first Foundling Hospital. Handel also donated concert profits to establish the Fund for Decay’d Musicians, which became the Royal Society of Musicians.
The story of how the Messiah came to be is unexpectedly filled with colorful characters, including the man who penned the libretto of Messiah. Charles Jennens was eccentric, often plagued by physical and mental distress. He was dedicated to his friend Edward Holdsworth and after Holdsworth’s death Jennens building him an elaborate memorial on his estate.
King does a marvelous job of explaining the Messiah and the message Jennens wanted to send. “Comfort ye” are the first words. “The Messiah is a work of anguish and promise, of profound worry and resounding joy, all expressed in ingenious, irresistible melodies,” King writes. It moved audiences then, and even the most secular of listeners are moved today.
At the end of the book you can read Jennens’ entire libretto.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.
November 7, 2024
I have two degrees in music and as a singer I have performed Messiah in its entirety well over 100 times, not counting the times when I sang solos or performed in individual choruses of the work. It’s popular for a reason - it’s a work of genius, accessible and as majestic on its hundredth hearing as it was on the first. I was looking forward to reading this book because of the description of “behind the scenes” stories and was eager to hear something beyond what I had studied in graduate school. I was disappointed. The truth is, the stories, history and people surrounding Handel and Messiah for the most part just aren’t very interesting.
It’s clear that Charles King wanted to present an Eric Larson-style narrative that would expand and illuminate Handel’s work. The publisher’s blurb even mentions that the material is “cinematic,” so it seems clear what hopes they had for the book. But King didn’t present the story in a way that kept us turning pages. Too much time was spent on historical details that had little relationship to Handel, and characters were introduced whose purpose in being there was not made clear until about 3/4 of the way through the story. I’m also curious to know how much a non-musician would understand. There were a lot of technical terms that I think would be inaccessible to the general public. Handel himself is not a main character - he only speaks once, and the author here chose to make him say words using a very bad transcription of a German accent.
The book also contains the complete original libretto (script) and extensive notes and bibliography. Thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
It’s clear that Charles King wanted to present an Eric Larson-style narrative that would expand and illuminate Handel’s work. The publisher’s blurb even mentions that the material is “cinematic,” so it seems clear what hopes they had for the book. But King didn’t present the story in a way that kept us turning pages. Too much time was spent on historical details that had little relationship to Handel, and characters were introduced whose purpose in being there was not made clear until about 3/4 of the way through the story. I’m also curious to know how much a non-musician would understand. There were a lot of technical terms that I think would be inaccessible to the general public. Handel himself is not a main character - he only speaks once, and the author here chose to make him say words using a very bad transcription of a German accent.
The book also contains the complete original libretto (script) and extensive notes and bibliography. Thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
November 9, 2024
Thank you to Charles King, the publisher and NetGalley for this advance reader copy.
I originally received this book this summer but was sadly unable to finish before the release date.
I enjoy a good memoir or a history of 20th century music, but I'm not at all a classical music aficionado so I’m not sure what compelled me to request this book but I’m glad I did.
This is partially a biography of the composer George Friderick Handel, but also a history of what led to his “Messiah” composition, including the scandals, indignities and injustices of those connected to it.
Charles King’s writing is scrupulous and somewhat beguiling for the subject matter. What could have been a very short biography on Handel’s life was made far more interesting by the seemingly disparate stories about its parts and players.
I’m glad to have read it and highly recommend it for music history buffs.
I originally received this book this summer but was sadly unable to finish before the release date.
I enjoy a good memoir or a history of 20th century music, but I'm not at all a classical music aficionado so I’m not sure what compelled me to request this book but I’m glad I did.
This is partially a biography of the composer George Friderick Handel, but also a history of what led to his “Messiah” composition, including the scandals, indignities and injustices of those connected to it.
Charles King’s writing is scrupulous and somewhat beguiling for the subject matter. What could have been a very short biography on Handel’s life was made far more interesting by the seemingly disparate stories about its parts and players.
I’m glad to have read it and highly recommend it for music history buffs.
Read
October 29, 2024Scandals abound in the making of The Messiah. Court cases, the slave trade, and grouchy old writers (Jonathan Swift) bring life to the book.
I really wasn’t expecting the story of Handel’s famous oratorio to be this juicy. Music flows throughout this fascinating dive into the creation of a masterpiece, but the tea flows just as strong.
An extremely interesting book and one I recommend checking out if you’re interested in music or history.
I really wasn’t expecting the story of Handel’s famous oratorio to be this juicy. Music flows throughout this fascinating dive into the creation of a masterpiece, but the tea flows just as strong.
An extremely interesting book and one I recommend checking out if you’re interested in music or history.
November 11, 2024
3.5 Stars for an interesting look at the world Handel lived in. I learned so much about Europe, politics and the creative process in this book. Parts had more detail than I needed but as a step into non-fiction this was a good read!
November 11, 2024
An examination of the connected threads of life in London from the end of the Stuart dynasty to the beginning of the Hanovers, centered around Handel and his music. King introduces people from all aspects of life in ways that often seem like digressions from the main story, only to tie them back together with music and money. The world has always been more connected than we are taught in school, and King does a magnificent job of proving it.
I began reading this on Wednesday, got to the part of the introduction where King discusses the circumstances in which he began writing Every Valley, and had to put it down for a few days. But the main thesis of the book - hope is how we get through the darkness - echoes even more strongly now. Handel's Messiah is a reflection on the world, on salvation and hope, and the underpinnings of our lives. The Age of Enlightenment examined the tenets of the world, looking for answers to universal questions we're still asking today.
King doesn't provide answers, but he lays out what Jennens was looking for in his libretto and how Handel turned those words to music. He shows how Susannah Cibber turned her pain and the music into freedom, how Thomas Coram's dedication to bettering the world brought the Messiah back into the light. He also reflects on how to succeed in the world, the money needed came from one of the worst economic choices humanity ever made and how Ayuba Diallo circled from freedom to slavery to freedom and how his life remained entwined in the slave trade from both sides. King never shies away from where the money came from, how one of the most glorious human achievements rests on one of its most terrible crimes.
I began reading this on Wednesday, got to the part of the introduction where King discusses the circumstances in which he began writing Every Valley, and had to put it down for a few days. But the main thesis of the book - hope is how we get through the darkness - echoes even more strongly now. Handel's Messiah is a reflection on the world, on salvation and hope, and the underpinnings of our lives. The Age of Enlightenment examined the tenets of the world, looking for answers to universal questions we're still asking today.
King doesn't provide answers, but he lays out what Jennens was looking for in his libretto and how Handel turned those words to music. He shows how Susannah Cibber turned her pain and the music into freedom, how Thomas Coram's dedication to bettering the world brought the Messiah back into the light. He also reflects on how to succeed in the world, the money needed came from one of the worst economic choices humanity ever made and how Ayuba Diallo circled from freedom to slavery to freedom and how his life remained entwined in the slave trade from both sides. King never shies away from where the money came from, how one of the most glorious human achievements rests on one of its most terrible crimes.
July 31, 2024
I want to thank NetGalley, Doubleday Books Publishing for the opportunity to read the ebook, “Every Valley” by Charles King.
Charles King traces the long and very interesting creation of George Frederich Handel’s “Messiah.” The world is so familiar with the great oratorio, but perhaps not at all familiar with the man who created the text, artists who originally performed it and so much about the cosmopolitan career of Handel himself.
I found the opening chapters of European history to be some of the most interesting. Author King, like all great historical analysts brings the period to life in great detail and with the wonderful gift of making it all pointed and exciting. Handel’s life and career in London was so rich and intricate and far more business-oriented than most of us know. As a composer and educator I found the details fascinating. “The Messiah” is one of the most famous and well-known musical masterpieces. It receives as many annual performances as any musical work ever. It’s long and very detailed history as told by Charles King is a tour-de-force of musical creation and the often vulnerable, but always fascinating human beings who with George Frederich Handel gave it life for all the world.
Book to be on sale October 29, 2024
August 3, 2024
LOVED this book!! If your heart leaps when you hear the opening chords of The Messiah, if your eyes tear up while singing the Hallelujah chorus, you must read this book!! The author tells the stories of unrelated lives that came together to produce the brilliance that is The Messiah. A great book for anyone with a love for classical music, British history, American colonial history, or anyone with a love for how random forces in the universe coming together to make something extraordinary.
October 31, 2024
Against the backdrop of 18th-century Britain’s turbulent political and social landscape, this book tells the story of the creation of Handel’s “Messiah.” This cinematic narrative weaves together the lives of diverse and unexpected characters whose experiences shaped this masterpiece of hope. The book is fascinating and entertaining.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
November 20, 2024
Interesting, ambitious ... A juggling act of historical stories somehow connected to Handel's Messiah, sometimes these connections are clear and enlightening, sometimes contrived and murky and adrift ... If you like history and classical music there is something here for you, I'm just not sure exactly what ... I think I will hold on to the basic origin story of the Messiah and leave the rest
November 20, 2024
3.5 - 3.75
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews