Dear members of the George Frideric Handel Society,
As you might have already heard, shortly before Easter also the Handel Festival in Halle had to be cancelled without substitution. That was to be feared and expected but remains a staggering blow for the Handel activities in Halle.
As in 2013 when the flood disaster compelled a cancellation, I deem this decision absolutely appropriate given the extraordinary situation of crisis Germany, Europe and the world is confronted with. Insofar I would like to express, in the name of our society, my gratitude to the mayor of the city of Halle, Dr. Bernd Wiegand, to the Advisory Board of the Handel Foundation and especially to the Director of the Handel Festival and Handel House in Halle, Clemens Birnbaum, for their prudence and decisiveness.
As matters stand it is my firm belief that we need to do everything in our power to pursue the existing continuities and great traditions of Handel performance and Handel scholarship here in Halle after this „forced break“.
The Handel society thinks about to catch up on its general assembly, the festival lecture, the Come together of Handel societies and the scholarly conference in autumn – ideally during or around the „little“ Handel Festival in Halle „Händel im Herbst“ (Handel in autumn, November 26th to 29th 2020). By this we would like to send a signal of the continuous commitment of Handel enthusiasts all around the world for Halle as a central and benchmark-setting place of Handel research and Handel performance.
The Handel Yearbook 2020 is in progress and you will receive a copy in time within the first or second week of June.
Please stay favourably disposed towards the aims of our society; we need the help and commitment of every member of our society more than ever.
See you again in Halle in good health!
With kindest regards,
Wolfgang Hirschmann
Here you will find the statement of the Handel House Foundation:
https://haendelhaus.de/de/node/1590