Messiah (Handel)

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Messiah (HWV 56, 1741), is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. It is his most famous work and is among the most popular works in the Western choral literature.

Overview

The name of the oratorio is taken from Judaism and Christianity's concept of the messiah ("the anointed one"). In Christianity, the Messiah is Jesus. Handel himself was a devout Christian, and the work is a presentation of Jesus's life and its significance according to Christian doctrine, with the text of the oratorio taken from the King James Bible.

Messiah is Handel's most famous work (approached only by his Water Music) and remains immensely popular among concert-goers in the English-speaking world.

Although Handel called his oratorio simply "Messiah" (without "The"), the work is also widely but incorrectly referred to as The Messiah. This folk-title is so common that, to many ears, the correct version actually sounds wrong.

Although the work was conceived and first performed for Easter, it has become traditional since Handel's death to perform the Messiah oratorio during Advent, the preparatory period of the Christmas season, rather than at Easter. Christmas concerts often feature only the first section of Messiah plus the "Hallelujah" Chorus, although some ensembles like the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, Boston's Handel and Haydn Society, and New York's Musica Sacra feature the entire work as a Christmas concert. The work is also heard at Eastertide, and selections containing resurrection themes are often included in Easter services. The soprano aria I know that my Redeemer liveth is frequently heard at Christian funerals.

See also: Scratch Messiah

Structure

Surprisingly for a work of this title, much of the libretto comes from the Old Testament. The first section draws heavily from the book of Isaiah; that which prophesies the coming of the Messiah. There are few quotations from the Gospels, and these at the end of the first and the beginning of the second sections. These comprise the Angel going to the shepherds in Luke, two enigmatic quotations from Matthew and one from John: Behold the Lamb of God. The rest of the second section is composed of prophecies from Isaiah and quotations from the evangelists. The third section includes one quotation from Job (I know that my Redeemer liveth), the rest primarily from First Corinthians.

Interesting, too, is the interpolation of choruses from Revelation. The well-known Hallelujah chorus forms the end of Part II, and the finale chorus and Amen Worthy is the Lamb that was slain are both taken from Revelation -- the only book of prophecies in the New Testament.

The libretto was compiled by Charles Jennens and consists of fragments of verses from the King James Bible. Jennens conceived of the work much as an opera with three acts, each comprised of several scenes:

I -- The Birth

:i -- The prophecy of Salvation

:ii -- The prophecy of the coming of the Messiah

:iii -- Portends to the world at large

:iv -- Prophecy of the Virgin Birth

:v -- The appearance of the Angel to the shepherds

:vi -- Christ's miracles

II -- The Passion

:i -- The sacrifice, the scourging and agony on the cross

:ii -- His death, His passing through Hell, and His resurrection

:iii -- His Ascension

:iv -- God discloses His identity in Heaven

:v -- The beginning of evangelism

:vi -- The world and its rulers reject the Gospel

:vii -- God's triumph

III -- The Aftermath

:i -- The promise of redemption from Adam's fall

:ii -- Judgement Day

:iii -- The victory over death and sin

:iv -- The glorification of Christ

Looking at this breakdown, it becomes easy to determine which sections are deemed appropriate for Christmas, and which for Easter. Part I, numbers 1-18 correspond to scenes I i-v, and are primarily considered Christmas movements. Part I, numbers 19-20 and Part II, number 22 can be considered cross-over movements, with the rest being considered appropriate for Easter. In this schema, the Hallelujah chorus, considered by many to be a Christmas song, is firmly part of the Easter section. However, many choral societies perform the entire work at either time of year, much to the enjoyment of audiences.

Composition and premiere

In the summer of 1741 Handel, at the peak of his musical powers but depressed and in debt, began setting Charles Jennens' Biblical libretto to music at his usual breakneck speed. In just 24 days, Messiah was complete. However it was not first performed until 1742, at a charity concert on Fishamble Street near Dublin's Temple Bar district on 13 April after production difficulties and last-minute rearrangements of the score. As Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Jonathan Swift placed some pressure on the premiere and had it cancelled entirely for a period. He demanded that it be retitled A Sacred Oratorio and that revenue from the concert be promised to local hospitals for the mentally ill. Like many of Handel's compositions, it borrows liberally from earlier works, both his own and those of others.

It is said that while Handel was writing the Messiah, his valet would often find him weeping silently at his desk, overcome by the beauty and majesty of the music that was flowing from his pen. The secondary source of this story is a pamphlet of the Choral Society at Trinity College Dublin. The original source is not known to this author.

The premiere of Messiah took place at the Music Hall in Dublin on 13 April 1742. Handel led the performance from the harpsichord, and Matthew Dubourg conducted the orchestra. Dubourg was an Irish violinist, conductor and composer. He had worked with Handel as early as 1719 in London.

Handel conducted Messiah many times, often altering it to suit the needs of the moment. In consequence no single version can be regarded as the "authentic" one, and many more variations and rearrangements were added in subsequent centuries — a notable arrangement was one by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, translated into German. Most modern performances employ orchestra, chorus, and four soloists: bass, tenor, contralto or counter-tenor, and soprano.

The house where Handel wrote Messiah is now open to the public as the [Handel House Museum].

Language

Handel is famous for employing tone painting -- the musical technique of having the melody mimic its lyrics -- in many of his works. Perhaps the most famous and oft-quoted example of the technique is in Every valley shall be exalted, the tenor aria early in Part I of Messiah. On the lyric "...and every mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight and the rough places plain", Handel composes it thus:

The notes rise to the high F♯on the first syllable of mountain to drop an octave on the second syllable. The four notes on the word hill form a small hill, and the word low descends to the lowest note of the phrase. On crooked, the melody twice alternates between C♯ and B to rest on the B through the word straight. The word plain is written, for the most part, on the high E for three measures, with some minor deviation. He applies the same strategy throughout the repetition of the final phrase: the crooked's being crooked and plain descending down on three lengthy planes. He uses this technique frequently throughout the rest of the aria, specifically on the word exalted, which contains several sixteenth note (semiquaver) melismas and two leaps to a high E:

As was common in English-language poetry at the time, the suffix -ed of the past tense and past participle of weak verbs was often pronounced as a separate syllable as in this passage from And the glory of the Lord:

The word revealed would thus be pronounced in three syllables: [rɪˈviːlɛd]. In many published editions, an e that is silent in speech but is to be sung as a separate syllable is marked with a grave accent, thus: revealèd.

Hallelujah

The most famous movement is the Hallelujah chorus, which concludes the second of the three parts. The text is drawn from three passages in the New Testament book of Revelation:

And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. ([Revelation 19:6])

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. ([Revelation 11:15])

And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. ([Revelation 19:16])

In many parts of the world, it is the accepted practice for the audience to stand for this section of the performance. Tradition has it that on first hearing the chorus, King George II was so moved that he rose to his feet. As is true today, when the King stands, so do all subjects also rise; thus engendering the tradition. However, modern scholarship holds its origins in doubt: the King may not have even been present at the premiere.

Occasionally, people unfamiliar with the work have been known to leave after this movement, assuming this to be the end of the oratorio when this is, as noted above, merely the conclusion of the second of the three parts.

It is also interesting to note that here, again, is seen a common titling mistake. The name of the chorus is Hallelujah, not "The Hallelujah Chorus". The word "chorus" simply refers to the type of movement and is not part of the title. It is not incorrect to refer to it as "the Hallelujah chorus"; it is, however, incorrect to title it as such.

Movement Listing and Media

Handel's Messiah, as sung by the MIT Concert Choir:
(NOTE: As is mentioned above, Handel himself frequently changed the forces used in his oratorios. Today, most American choruses use the 1912 version edited by T. Tertius Noble, and the voicings and lyrics that follow are from this version. However, it is not uncommon for different voices to sing certain arias, for arias to be cut for time and difficulty constraints, and for some sections to be omitted entirely. This listing is by no means "official", simply that which is most commonly used today.)

PART I:

PART III (not recorded by MIT at Christmas):

No. 45. Air (Soprano): I know that my Redeemer liveth

:Job 19:25, 26

::I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

::And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.

:I Corinthians 15:20

::For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first-fruits of them that sleep.

No. 46. Chorus: Since by man came death

:I Corinthians 15:21

::Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

No. 47. Recit. accompanied (Bass): Behold, I tell you a mystery

:I Corinthians 15:51, 52

::Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

No. 48. Air (Bass): The trumpet shall sound

:I Corinthians 15:52, 53

::The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised in corruptible, and we shall be changed.

::For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

No. 49. Recitative (Alto): Then shall be brought to pass

:I Corinthians 15:54

::Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.

No. 50. Duet (Alto and Tenor): O death, where is thy sting?

:I Corinthians 15:55, 56

::O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

No. 51. Chorus: But thanks be to God

:I Corinthians 15:57

::But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

No. 52. Air (Soprano): If God be for us, who can be against us?

:Romans 8:31, 33, 34

::If God be for us, who can be against us? who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth?

::It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us.

No. 53. Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain

:Revelation 5:12, 13

::Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

::Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.

::Amen.

External links

• [Handel's Messiah Through the Centuries]
• [NY Musica Sacra]
• [Messiah] (at gfhandel.org)
• [Complete scores and sources in wiki format at Choral Public Domain Library]
• [An unusual performance of the Hallelujah Chorus (transposed for one-person choir)]
• [The bass solo "Who may abide"]
• [The house where Handel composed the Messiah is now a museum]

 

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