Thefirst public performance of Handel’s Messiahwas held in Dublin, Ireland on this day in 1742. George Frideric Handel was a Baroque composer from Magdeburg who had lived in England for thirty years. The previous summer he was invited to Dublin by the Duke ofDevonshire, the Lord Lieutenant of Dublin, and the governors of threecharitable hospitals to conduct one of his works for the purpose ofcharity. Handel decided to compose a new work, and in twenty-five days ofintense labor, he completed the score to Messiah.The concert was greatly anticipated and even better received, and the threehospitals were able to split about $1800 in revenue.
