The choir at my father’s parish has a young tradition of singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah at Christmas each year. The story of this wonderful piece of music, and how it contributed to the care, education, and development of London orphans was retold in The Guardian by Caro Howell, the director of the Fourdling Museum, in 2014. I’ll summarize. Listen to two beautiful music videos at that site: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/13/handel-messiah-helped-london-orphans-foundling-hospital. {This link is not working from this page. Go to www.theguardian.com, type the date above & the phrase: Handel Messiah helped London Orphans…in the Search Box}
It was difficult and expensive to produce an opera, so Handel developed the Oratorio, a sacred story from the Bible, performed by an orchestra, soloists, and choral groups. The expense of sets, costumes, and props was avoided. Thomas Coram, a philanthropist, established London’s first charity, the Foundling Hospital. He worked 17 years to obtain a charter from the king for this venture, having been moved with compassion when he saw abandoned children on trash piles and on door steps while walking the London streets. This story reminds me of “The Madonna of the Streets”, and parallels the image of mothers spiritually abandoning their children prior to leaving them on the street. During this Christmas season, please pray for my cousins in the womb who are spiritually abandoned.
An accomplished artist, William Hogarth, designed the charity’s logo, then donated a large portrait of the founder, Thomas Coram, to be placed in the hospital. He convinced his friends to do likewise, and Joshua Reynolds, Allan Ramsay, and Thomas Gainsborough donated landscapes, portraitures, and maritime works to be hung in the facility. There were no art galleries at the time, so the people enjoyed seeing the artwork and visiting with the children, observing them singing and learning. They, too, were moved with compassion, and then would contribute to the charity and assist in its efforts.
Handel may have been influenced by his artist friends, and he approached William Hogarth, offering to give a benefit concert in the chapel of the hospital. The governors of the hospital agreed, and Handel was pleased because the venue had no troublesome associations, as did the theaters. Handel’s first benefit featured the Foundllng Hospital Anthem which had music from other works he had written. This was a common practice in the day. He often borrowed other composers’ works as well. The Anthem opens with a text from Psalm 41 - “blessed are they that consider the poor and needy…they deliver the poor that crieth, the fatherless.” This, too, reminds me of my many cousins being nurtured by mothers that are destitute and suffering from a problem pregnancy. In thanksgiving, let us offer a prayer to the Holy Family during this Christmas season. The Anthem ends with the Hallelujah Chorus from the Oratorio, Messiah. Many of the patrons at that initial benefit would not have been familiar with that work.
The benefit concert was given again the following year, featuring the entire Messiah, to a sell-out crowd. So many were turned away that Handel was asked to repeat it two weeks later, after which the charity made Handel a governor. Handel left a copy of the score and parts to the hospital, allowing them to stage the benefit concerts in the years to come. The hospital was in operation from the 1740’s until the 1950’s. A museum at the site displays the copy of the Messiah score and mementos left by the desperate mothers. The pieces of clothing and small items were left in order to help identify the mothers of the abandoned children, in case the fortunes changed for the mothers and families, and they returned to claim their child.
Everyone benefitted. The artists had a venue to display their paintings and music, the patrons enjoyed the fine arts, the hospital was able to keep afloat, and the abandoned children were cared for and educated in this nurturing environment. What a beautiful Christmas story! Hallelujah! Go to the link above to listen to the Hallelujah Chorus on the first video, or the entire Messiah on the second. Here is a meditation from Franciscan Media that might be helpful when faced with a troubling situation, similar to the one Joseph encountered on that first Christmas.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/sharing-the-word-for-december-18-2017-third-week-of-advent-year-2/
There is a modern-day version of the Foudling Hospital. Most states allow abandonment of infants by families who feel they cannot provide adequate care for the babies. Places where infants can be left anonymously include: Hospital Emergency Rooms, Firehouses, and Police Stations. Often, emergency boxes are in place that provide heat, cooling, and immediate notification to emergency personnel that an infant has been placed in the box. Learn more about an organization that distributes these boxes at: www.safehavenbabyboxes.com.
Gesu Bambino
Acrylic on Canvas by Erin Pigman Williams.
Merry Christmas,
Rose M. Bryo
P.S. 8/30/2021;
Two and a half years after writing this description of the abandonment of children on the streets of London, my father encountered a different kind of abandonment written by Elizabeth Mitchell in The Catholic Thing on 8/29/21. She explains how we must abandon our wants and desires of this world, step aboard the Abandonment Bus which is driven by Jesus, take a seat by the window, and allow Jesus to take the fork in the road, pause to take new passengers, and journey until our lives on this earth are complete.
By striving to do God’s will, discarding our selfish desires, we will eventually stop the child sacrifice, then welcome the little children to participate in creation with us. I invite you to read; “Waiting for God’s Best” at; https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2021/08/29/waiting-for-gods-best/ on 8/29/21.
“The Head of Christ” by Rembrandt, in Detroit Institute of the Arts.