First things first, my apologies to all of my Jewish friends for not having gotten this post out last week when Hanukkah was in full effect. The realities of life were a little out of sync with my intentions last week but now I am ready to go. Even though Hanukkah may be over, with the current state of the world’s affairs at the moment I think that anything that I can do to lend support to my Jewish friends by way of my small blog is still a worthy endeavour at this time.
So here I go with the story of a composition by George Frideric Handel that has become a central part of Hanukkah celebrations around the world and one that has ties to a previous post about the carol “O Come All ye Faithful” that you can read here. “See, the Conquering Hero Comes” is a song from an oratorio composed by Handel called Judas Maccabaeus. This oratorio tells the story of how Judaism was saved through the heroic efforts of Judas Maccabaeus and others. This story, which I shall expand on below, is the foundation upon which Hanukkah festivities rest. However, as interesting a story as that is on its own, there are many other wrinkles to iron out including how the oratorio came to be written in the first place by a German composer (who was not Jewish), how Handel’s Jewish compositions have been suppressed by anti-semetic forces over the years, what political events of the day inspired its creation and how it all connects back to “O Come All Ye Faithful”. Sometimes history is too delicious to ignore. Let us begin.
Before starting on the rest of this post, I encourage you to go back and take a quick read through my post about “O Come All Ye Faithful”. There is some important information there that will provide context for why the oratorio Judas Maccabaeus was written and who Handel was attempting to honour.
If you did your homework and re-read the previous post, you will have learned that there was a lot of political maneuvering going on in England with regard to the line of succession to the English throne. In particular, you will have read that King Henry VIII created a law that banned Catholics from ascending to the throne. This caused a political backlash that resulted in the formation of an opposition group that became known as the Jacobites. It was speculated that the carol “O Come All Ye Faithful” was actually a call to arms by hymnist and Jacobite sympathizer John Francis Wade who was living in exile in France at the time. The cipher that was hidden within the lyrics of this carol was meant to rally supporters to the aid of Bonnie Prince Charlie of Scotland who, in turn, was set to invade England and reclaim the throne in the name of Catholicism. Bonnie Prince Charlie arrived to fight at a battle that became known as The Battle of Culloden in 1746. He was defeated by a man named Prince William Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland. Prince William was the youngest son of King George II who, in turn was the son of King George I, who was the man for whom Handel created his compositions that became known as “Water Music” *(which you can read about here).
Throughout his career as a composer, George Frideric Handel became known for creating grand orchestral works at the behest of members of the royal court for which he served. But he also became known for creating works based upon stories of a biblical nature. Thus, when The Battle of Culloden ended in victory for the House of Hanover and maintained the status quo with regard to Catholics being banned from the throne of England, Handel sought to honour the Duke of Cumberland’s great victory by creating an entire oratorio based on one of the greatest military victories in biblical history, which was when Judas Maccabaeus and his small band of zealots defeated the armies of the Seleucid Empire and helped preserve the religion of Judaism from disappearing forever.
*** As a reminder an oratorio is structured in the same manner as an opera. However, with an oratorio, there are no actors and no scenery. Instead, the stories being told are sung by choirs and soloists who all stand next to the orchestra. At this time in the history of classical music, oratorios were a fairly modern invention and were viewed with disdain by those who believed that the only proper form of musical storytelling was an opera.
Handel’s oratorio was a dramatic retelling of the events that played one of the most pivotal parts in all of Jewish history. This story concerned a time in history when the Greek-led Seleucid Empire ruled a vast region of land that included Jerusalem and the other territories mentioned in the Bible. For a while the Seleucids ruled with a compassionate hand but, in time, new overseers arrived and policies were enacted that forbid all Jewish customs and traditions. As part of this crackdown, the famous Temple was destroyed, Jewish citizens were forced to worship false idols and engage in pagan rituals and on and on it went. The Maccabean Revolt began when a former leader of Jewish people named Mattathias killed a man who was performing one of those pagan rituals. Mattathias was forced to flee into the desert. With his sons and a few faithful followers, a guerilla war was started against the Seleucid authorities that lasted for several years. Many of the raids and ambushes were led by Judas Maccabaeus, who was one of the sons of Mattathias. Without retelling every aspect of this campaign, there were many things that happened that are reenacted each year during Hanukkah celebrations. For instance, there was one time when Judas Maccabaeus and his followers found themselves under siege. They had very little oil for their lamps. The thought that they might run out of supplies before reinforcements arrived to relieve them. However, by some miracle, the oil lasted for eight days. Thus, during Hanukkah, Jewish families light one candle per day for eight days and place them in a candle holder known as a menorah in recognition of this momentous event from their history. In any case, Handel’s oratorio is structured in three parts. The first part describes the initial crackdown by Seleucid authorities. Part #2 involved the uprising and the struggles inherent in such a cause. Part #3 celebrates the great victory by Judas Maccabaeus and his followers. The song “See, the Conquering Hero Comes” centers upon Maccabaeus and his efforts at saving Judaism as a religion. This song is sung at Hanukkah services to this very day.
So as you can see, the career of George Fridiric Handel was as much about politics as it was about musical genius. Handel certainly knew how to play the game, as it were. He also knew how to create grand and glorious pieces of music that have stood the test of time for centuries. However, I would be remiss in writing this post if I did not take a moment to discuss politics, in general. As mentioned off of the top, Handel was a German composer who created many works that featured stories of Jewish strength, resilience and ultimately, their victory over the forces of oppression. In a perfect world, the terms “German” and “Jew” would merely be labels on an organizational chart. However, we all know that the politics of the world are such that these labels (as well as many others) often hold more meaning than they should. It serves the purposes of oppressors and dictators to create enemies out of people they seek to destroy. Thus, the politics of division are routinely practiced by authoritarian leaders as a means of having the entire weight of their power come down upon the heads of marginalized groups. We know from recent history that Jewish people in Germany and their occupied territories were made to feel the wrath of a German dictator’s full power during the time leading up to and including WWII. One of the many acts that Germany’s Nazi Party engaged in during their efforts to “purify” the German nation was to expunge any references to Jewish people, events and history from the Arts. This included Handel’s oratorio Judas Maccabaeus. Handel’s story was changed to be about a great German victory. There could not possibly be any Jewish heroes in Nazi Germany so soon there were none. History was rewritten to reflect the new politics of the land. And just like that, Judaism faced another existential crisis. However, this time instead of building a second temple to act as a symbol of Jewish strength and resolve, the state of Israel was created. Judaism survived as a religious force once again. “See, the Conquering Hero Comes” has continued to be sung despite a Nazi dictator’s best efforts to eradicate it from the face of the earth.
But seeing history rewritten so easily and cavalierly by those in power is scary. As consumers of information, we have to remain vigilant when it comes to being critical readers of what we are being served by those in charge. It is easy to become willing instruments of political oppression when we allow ourselves to accept the de-humanization of those different from ourselves. It happened in Nazi Germany. It happened in Rwanda just prior to that genocide. It is happening in America today with the recent words of former President Trump who is campaigning on a promise to round up immigrants and deport them to keep America purely for Americans.
In a perfect world, the topic of a German composer creating praiseworthy compositions about Jewish heroes would be simply that, a story to tell and to enjoy. However, it is difficult to separate politics from Art. We live in a world in which history continually repeats in cycles of oppression, warfare and conquest, with those of survival and rebirth. Against that backdrop, we have songs to sing and music to listen to which give us hope. This year, many of my Jewish friends have not felt as safe as they have in the past when it comes to displaying public pride in their faith. The lighting of the menorah has always been a political act of sorts but in these times, it is becoming a dangerous act as well. To those for whom “See, the Conquering Hero Comes” is an anthem, please know that I see you and value your existence. My wish for you and for those who are Palestinian and Ukrainian and Russian is to know peace and love and tolerance above all else. I don’t put much stock in the organizational labels of nations or religions. I believe in the inherent value of all humans. To me, people are people and I care about you all equally. I wish that the only politics involved was the politics of love and kindness and generosity. As a wise poet once said,
“Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky
Imagine all the people
Livin’ for today
Ah
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Livin’ life in peace
You
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one.” Imagine by John Lennon.
The link to the video for the composition “See, the Conquering Hero Comes” by George Frideric Handel can be found here.
The link to the official website for George Frideric Handel can be found here.
The link to a video that explains the origin of Hanukkah in greater detail than I did in this post can be found here.
***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2023 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com
A brilliant ,informative and timely post. Thank you Tom.