Facts About Handel's 'Messiah'

By Miles Hoffman,

Published December 17, 2002 at 12:00 AM EST

Susan Stamberg talks with classical music commentator Miles Hoffman about a glorious holiday tradition — the singing of Handel's "Messiah." Hoffman answers the questions Stamberg has always wanted to ask, including: why do people stand up during the Hallelujah chorus, and by the way, how do you really pronounce the composer's name? Hint: it's not "Hondel."

Miles Hoffman

Morning Edition music commentator Miles Hoffman is the author of The NPR Classical Music Companion, now in its tenth printing from the Houghton Mifflin Company. Before joining Morning Edition in 2002, Hoffman entertained and enlightened the nationwide audience of NPR's Performance Today every week for 13 years with his musical commentary, "Coming to Terms," a listener-friendly tour through the many foreign words and technical terms peculiar to the world of classical music.

Susan Stamberg

Nationally renowned broadcast journalist Susan Stamberg is a special correspondent for NPR.

See stories by Susan Stamberg