Every Valley

The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah

De: Charles King

Narrado por: Juliet Stevenson

NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE • From the bestselling historian and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, the moving untold story of the eighteenth-century men and women behind the making of Handel’s Messiah.

"A delicious history of music, power, love, genius, royalty and adventure."—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The World

"A book of power and glory, brimming with emotion and dazzling in its reach."—Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra and The Revolutionary

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.

©2024 Charles King (P)2024 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A work of vivid social and cultural commentary, it functions also as an in-depth study of artistic creation, how ‘Messiah’ came to be, but also of the unstoppable spigot that was Handel’s musical imagination.”—John Adams, The New York Times Book Review

“[C]ompelling. King transforms Handel's world into a place we can all recognize and understand as the foundation for our own.”—The Washington Post

"Masterfully interlocks the stories of the people and events that inspired and influenced the creation of Handel’s glorious Messiah. The serendipitous composition of the music for George Frideric Handel’s most famous work has been told many times, but maybe never so engagingly as in Every Valley... King has opened a dazzling skylight above Handel's time."—The Christian Science Monitor

18th Century Britain Comes Alive in "Every Valley"

"Every Valley" is not only a superb history of "there desperate lives and troubled times that made Handel's Messiah, it is an excellent short biography of G. F. Handel. Juliet Stevenson's narration represents the gold standard for narrators.

Fascinating threads of “The Messiah”

I enjoyed the larger context of the times and the people that surrounded the creation of “The Messiah.” I would have liked more information about Handel himself but even with that, highly recommend for those who enjoy British history.

Excellent writing and the wide scope of the subject.

If you want a narrow to description of Handel’s process in composing the Messiah or an analysis of the music, this book is probably not for you but I loved the author’s wide ranging probe of 18th century British history and how it framed the writing and performance of this famous Oratorio. Beautifully done!

Too much history of England!

I had high hopes for this book, especially after the first couple of chapters and the review in the Wall Street Journal. Sadly, the author writes a history of England with only a small amount of text concerning Handel, librettist Charles Jennens, and Messiah. If I had wanted a book about English history, I would have bought a book about English history. I would guesstimate that only ~20% of the book concerned the purported subject of Handel's Messiah. Next time, I will look for a shorter book about Handel's Messiah without all the extraneous history.

Great narration, one of Audible’s best narrators

Odd book, not actually much about Handel’s Messiah. Interesting nonetheless. At times. At other times, not so much.

Fascinating beginning to end.

This is wonderfully read and fascinating. So much to know about one piece of music. Very well written. There was one long and interesting thread about a slave kidnapped from Africa that was a gripping story but never quite linked to the Messiah’s origin. That was a little disappointing because the other threads wove together so well and connected to the Messiah. But still a great book to listen to and learn from.

The People who Made Handel’s Messiah

It was fascinating hearing all the voices that eventually came together to make Handel’s Messiah together

The narrator enhanced the story.

I was expecting much more about Handel's processes for writing. instead three-quarters of the book was backstory, some of which didn't connect well to the expected purpose of the book.

Fantastic way to learn history - written and read as if you are there.

Fantastic way to learn history - written and read as if you are there. Never tiresome. Always interesting.

A terrific history of the late 1600’s to 1750+ in Western Europe but thru a biography of Handel and the story of his creation of Messiah, and its excerpted Hallelujah. History of England, German, France, alliances, royalty, the ubiquitous trade in human beings.
Will listen more appreciatively to Handel’s Messiah. Highly recommend.

Messiah (the music) speaks for itself.

Miraculous music was born out of the mundane. Aspects of these stories were very interesting. I enjoyed gaining a better historical perspective of class, privilege, and shifting political landscapes. It's good to be reminded of how far we've come with childhood poverty and the rights of women (or lack of rights).

Surprisingly, what stayed with me was the fuller understanding of the broad and permanent effect of slavery. So much of the acheivements of what we call the Enlightenment, as well as the wealth and dominance of Europe and the United States was built on the keen ability to industrialized slavery based on race.

The paradox is that this moving masterpiece, Messiah, would not have come about without it.