King George II stood during a London performance
E556404
King George II stood during a London performance is a popular but historically unverified anecdote claiming that the king rose to his feet during Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” thereby starting the tradition of audiences standing for that section.
Statements (41)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
historical anecdote
ⓘ
popular legend ⓘ unverified story ⓘ |
| allegedAction | King George II rose to his feet ⓘ |
| allegedConsequence |
audience also stood
ⓘ
origin of tradition of standing during Hallelujah Chorus ⓘ |
| associatedWithCity | London NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithComposer | George Frideric Handel NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithCountry | Kingdom of Great Britain NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithMonarch | George II of Great Britain NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithMovement | Hallelujah Chorus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithPeriod | 18th century ⓘ |
| associatedWithWork | Messiah NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| chronologicalUncertainty | exact date of alleged event unknown ⓘ |
| commonlyBelieved | yes, among general audiences ⓘ |
| culturalImpact |
frequently repeated in program notes and popular histories
ⓘ
influenced custom of standing during Hallelujah Chorus ⓘ |
| describesEventInvolving |
George Frideric Handel
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
George II of Great Britain NERFINISHED ⓘ Hallelujah Chorus NERFINISHED ⓘ oratorio Messiah NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| describesEventLocation | London NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| describesEventType | musical performance ⓘ |
| documentationStatus | no contemporary eyewitness accounts known ⓘ |
| evidenceType | later anecdotal reports ⓘ |
| firstKnownAccountsDate | decades after Messiah’s premiere ⓘ |
| genre |
music-related legend
ⓘ
royal anecdote ⓘ |
| hasTraditionStatus | origin story for concert etiquette ⓘ |
| historicalReliability | disputed ⓘ |
| historicalVerification |
not supported by contemporary evidence
ⓘ
unverified ⓘ |
| linkedCustom | standing as sign of respect during sacred or monumental music ⓘ |
| linkedToWorkPremiereContext | early London performances of Messiah ⓘ |
| narrativeTheme | royal reverence for sacred music ⓘ |
| notedBy | music historians ⓘ |
| questionedBy | modern scholars ⓘ |
| relatedTradition | audiences stand during Hallelujah Chorus in many English-speaking countries ⓘ |
| scholarlyConsensus | story is likely apocryphal or uncertain ⓘ |
| subjectOf |
articles on myths about Handel’s Messiah
ⓘ
discussions of concert etiquette history ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.