Book Report

"Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times that Made Handel's Messiah" by Charles King

I must highlight and tag statements in the pages of the books I read. I might as well share some of the ideas that I write on my sticky notes and in the margins of the pages. Here is my first "book report". I'm really focusing on the main things I take away from the books. This is quite fitting for the start of the new year.

Understanding

I finished the book “Every Valley” by Charles King right before Christmas. The book tells the story of how Handel’s Messiah was composed and first performed. It details the turbulent 1700s and how social and political adversities affected music. It details how the songs' lyrics express hope during a time of great depression. I could not help but see the connections to modern-day life compared to what life was like then.

Messiah was composed in the Age of Enlightenment. A catalyst for the rise in innovative ideas was the printing press and the increase in literacy.

“Anyone with a point of view and access to a print shop seemed to have a plan for fixing everyone else’s insanity.”

“Information was available in ways that seemed new, fast, and out of control."

“For the first time ever, it became possible to earn a living just from having something to say.”

It reminds me of the internet, the World Wide Web. I remember thinking in high school when the internet was new to the public. I realized how quickly I could access so much information. We had access to hundreds of newspapers. Thousands of different perspectives on thousands of topics. It gave me quicker access to information and made it easier to express my ideas to other people.

The second age of enlightenment. The rebirth of information spreading into the world faster than before. I am starting to see a downside to unlimited, fast access to information. It creates inconsistencies. People who have no or minimal perspective or experience on a topic communicate about it as though they are experts. The crazy person who stood at the bus stop talking to themselves and looking disheveled is writing conspiracy theories on internet sites. People might doubt things they hear at a bus stop, but tweets are frequently accepted as fact without hesitation. The perspective they share is the nightmare they created in their mind.

Hopelessness

“The hyp”

The feeling of doom and hopelessness.

“state of agitated melancholy”

How does mental health change with the age of enlightenment? Did the crazy amount of information introduced make depression worse? or did it improve it? A common saying is “ignorance is bliss.” Someone might be less depressed if they do not know exactly how bad something is. Too much Information may lead to less hope. People invent alternate realities to cope with adversity. What happens when people leave their imaginary world and must face real-life difficulties? The internet makes it easier to invent a safe world to live in. People no longer must listen to conflicting opinions. They never get an article rejected because it was poorly written or said something that could cause harm and lead to a lawsuit. They can easily create a website and start a blog post.

Enlightenment… to come out of the darkness. Do curiosity and exposure to diverse perspectives help people better handle adversity? Having the power to read and learn from others may also lead to hope. Resilience develops with every time exposed to a new idea or concept. The more we learn from our misfortunes, the more confident we become that we can bounce back from adversity.

Having Hope again

“…someone who taught that the opposite of fear was not bravery but understanding.”

“It was the strangest possible formula for hope but one that, by the final notes, one could begin to see clearly: that the way to overcome one’s enemies was to shock them into witnessing their own cruelty-to force them, like Swift’s Gulliver, to confront their worst, ugliest selves.”

Understanding leads to hope. The more we learn about the world around us, the more we learn new ways to cope with adversity. The more diverse people are, the greater our opportunity to find hope. The age of Enlightenment was a time when people decided that there were other ways to live. The printing press and the internet allow us to meet new people and share our perspectives. It will enable us to work together to find solutions to problems. It helps us realize that we are not alone. There will always be harmful information spread. But having access to diverse perspectives is more likely to bring hope.

References:

King, Charles; Every Valley (2024) Vintage Books