Summary of “The Greatest Piece of Participatory Art Ever Created”

Overview of “The Greatest Piece of Participatory Art Ever Created” (Freakonomics Radio)

This is Part 1 of a three-episode Freakonomics Radio series about George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah: its origins, why it endures, and how it became a global participatory phenomenon. The episode mixes on-site reporting in Dublin (Fishamble Street, where Messiah premiered in 1742), interviews with performers and scholars, and a deep-dive into Charles King’s book Every Valley, which frames Messiah as a “musical monument to hope” born out of a violent, uncertain age.

Main themes and narrative arc

• Premiere and place

  • Messiah premiered on April 13, 1742 at the Music Hall on Fishamble Street, Dublin, originally tied to Easter and charity concerts rather than Christmas.
  • The Dublin premiere raised about £1,200 (roughly $300,000 today) and funded charitable works, such as releasing debtors from prisons.
  • Dublin keeps the tradition alive with annual outdoor performances and strong local attachment (e.g., a family on Fishamble Street with a Handel tradition).

• What Messiah is

  • Technically an oratorio—like opera in musical form but performed as a concert without staging, costumes, or action.
  • Text = selections from the Old and New Testaments assembled into a libretto that is not biblically chronological; it’s a curated theological/philosophical journey (comfort → suffering → vision of the world to come).
  • The most famous movement is the Hallelujah Chorus, which has seeped into popular culture and many musical genres.

• Participation and longevity

  • Messiah’s form invites participation: amateur choirs, community sing‑alongs, and public performances have kept it alive for centuries.
  • The Baroque performance practice (improvisation, virtuosity, variation) makes each performance a lived, participatory event—more akin to jazz than later, more rigid orchestral traditions.
  • Modern permutations are vast: period ensembles, gospel, metal, bluegrass, steel-drum versions, and mass community performances worldwide.

• Hope, agency, and the Enlightenment

  • Charles King argues Messiah’s core message is hope and human agency—“comfort ye” reframes the listener as an agent of comfort, not a passive recipient.
  • The work offered listeners a way to imagine and act toward a more just world amid 18th‑century wars, disease, and social upheaval.
  • Messiah fit into the era’s information boom (newspapers, printed pamphlets) and philanthropic energy—performances often tied to public projects and reform initiatives.

Key people featured

• George Frideric Handel — composer of Messiah; a major public figure and court composer in London who travelled the piece to Dublin.
• Charles Jennens — librettist (often overlooked in popular accounts); compiled the Biblical texts that Handel set to music. Jennens was politically and religiously conservative (a non-juror) while Handel worked for the Hanoverian court.
• Charles King — political scientist and author of Every Valley, which interprets Messiah’s history and cultural meaning.
• Prancius Odin — Dublin conductor/organizer credited with establishing the Fishamble Street public performances.
• Stuart Kinsella — tenor and Handel performer who guides reporting in Dublin.
• Michael Casey — Fishamble Street resident who used to play Messiah records from his window and helped spark the public commemorations.
• Mark Reisinger — music teacher and Handel specialist who describes Messiah’s musical features and emotional power.

Notable insights and quotes

• “Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill made low” — highlighted as a central, radical lyrical moment (Every Valley).
• Charles King: “It took a universe of pain to make a musical monument to hope.” — frames Messiah as a response to widespread suffering and a call to agency.
• On performance context: experiencing Messiah as a full, shaped work (“the 24-course meal” analogy) is much more powerful than hearing isolated hits like the Hallelujah Chorus.

Historical and musical takeaways

• Messiah was controversial because it placed sacred scripture in a secular concert setting, but its charitable aims and Handel’s prestige helped secure acceptance.
• The libretto’s reordering of Biblical texts creates a theological argument about human responsibility and hope, not simply a retelling of scripture.
• Baroque performance practice encouraged improvisation and individuality in performance—this is essential to understanding why Messiah became so adaptable and widely embraced.
• The work’s combination of theatrical sensationalism (Handel’s melodic gift) with sacred material made it emotionally compelling and democratizing—both professional and amateur singers could engage with it.

Why this episode matters

• It reframes Messiah not only as great music but as a social and political artifact: participatory, philanthropic, and rooted in the cultural dynamics of the early Enlightenment.
• Shows how art can function as a mechanism for communal hope and agency in times of crisis—an angle resonant with modern listeners (the host’s own rediscovery during COVID is a narrative example).

Practical recommendations / next steps for listeners

• Hear Messiah in context rather than just the Hallelujah Chorus—listen to a complete recording (episode frequently references the 2006 London Symphony Orchestra recording conducted by Sir Colin Davis).
• If possible, attend a local full-performance or community sing (the Dublin Fishamble Street Easter performance is a vivid example).
• Read Charles King’s Every Valley for a fuller historical and interpretive account.
• Consider the piece as an example of how art can catalyze public action—use it as a lens to think about cultural responses to contemporary crises.

What’s coming next in the series

• Part 2 will explore Handel’s entrepreneurial side, his financial ups and downs, and how he assembled the musicians for Messiah’s debut. It will also continue tracing the afterlife of Handel and the work’s broader cultural impact.

Credits: reporting from Dublin (Fishamble Street, Christchurch Cathedral, Henrietta Street), interviews with performers and scholars, and archival/historical context provided largely through Charles King’s Every Valley.