This Christmas I had the opportunity to listen to Handel’s Messiah again and remember Stefan Zweig’s story about how this magnificent oratorio was forged. Händel lived in London, where he worked as a musician, teacher and opera promoter. He was a famous composer, but he was not successful in the business aspect of it and was going through serious financial difficulties. Perhaps because of that, or because of his irascible character, he suffered a stroke that left him unable to practice his profession.

Händel, however, never gave up. As recovery was very slow, doctors advised him to take a moderate dose of thermal waters. And he, despite having a weak heart, did not abandon the baths, with incessant exercises, trying to achieve a miracle. Against all odds, his tenacity paid off. Just a year after his stroke, his health had been restored and he was vigorously resuming his career.

However, luck is not on his side. The death of the Queen of England, the war with Spain and a great cold wave plunge the country into recession, and the opera promoter into serious financial trouble and virtual bankruptcy.

Handel wanders through the city in despair. He cannot write music, he hides from his creditors, he wonders why God saved him from illness and now nevertheless leads him to ruin and silence. He is dejected, he has no job, no assignments, no hope.

However, when he gets home he finds an envelope on his work table and upon opening it he discovers that it is a writing by the poet Jennens, author of several of the composer’s opera librettos. Jennens begs Händel to, with his unprecedented genius, compose an oratorio based on the texts he sends him.

But Handel, discouraged, despising the praise, gets irritated, puts the libretto aside and decides to go to bed. However, he can’t sleep. Restless, he tosses and turns in bed until, spurred by curiosity, he gets up and examines the manuscript.

The first words of The Messiah already move him: “Comfort ye”, “console yourselves”. She devours the text and immediately finds comfort and inspiration in it. It seems to him like a poem written expressly for him, and the score emerges spontaneously. He engages in a creative frenzy. He does not eat, he does not sleep, he works incessantly and completes the work in just three weeks.

It is Händel’s second resurrection, a titanic effort to return to life, which culminates in a magnum opus that still arouses admiration throughout the world.

The story of the composition of the Messiah, true or apocryphal, continues to have, like the oratorio itself, enormous validity. It is a story of courage and tenacity in the face of adversity. It combines talent, effort and creative drive. It is, in short, an example of resilience and how, when the mission is clear, people – and also teams and companies – know how to overcome difficulties and achieve great goals. It’s a good story to start the year.