Handel's Messiah

Handel’s Messiah

. . . is often linked to Christmas, although in fact it follows equally closely the whole Story of the Redemption. The music was composed in 1741, and is a meditation on the Mysteries of the Faith, a musical setting of scriptural pieces with very few non-scriptural words. The scriptural text was compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible, and from the version of the psalms found in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Its first performance was in Dublin on 13 April 1742. Although the work is not absolutely original, in that he was quite happy to adapt and build upon Jennens' compilation of Biblical passages, in true Mediæval style, before copyright law grew to become the stranglehold it is now - Handel did feel a state of inspiration envelop him that did not leave him during the whole time of his composing.

Handel completed the score in less than four weeks of continuous work, hardly moving from his room, barely eating or sleeping during the whole episode until it was done. In the 19th & early 20th centuries the piece was staged ever more elaborately and portentously (might one even say ‘pretentiously’?) but in the later 20th century there was thankfully a reaction towards performances much nearer to how Handel and his contemporaries would have heard it.

The trends in performance of this piece are described in Wikipedia as follows:

Messiah for modest vocal and instrumental forces, with optional settings for many of the individual numbers. In the years after his death, the work was adapted for performance on a much larger scale, with giant orchestras and choirs. In other efforts to update it, its orchestration was revised and amplified by (among others) Mozart. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the trend has been towards authenticity; most contemporary performances show a greater fidelity towards Handel's original intentions, although "big Messiah" productions continue to be mounted.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handel’s_Messiah

I share the belief that it is one of the very best achievements of the human spirit, that will stand in the Hall of Fame with the Few and the Best for eternity.

Notice that each of the pieces is set to a different key. The Mocking of the Multitude around the Cross “He trusted in God, Let Him deliver Him” is set in ‘the remote and barbarous key of E minor’. Only twice does he come to the homely key of D major, one of these being the final “Amen”.

During one of the first performances, when the contralto had finished “He was despisèd”, a gentleman exclaimed, “Woman, for that may all thy sins be forgiven!” At one of the earliest performances, the Hallelujah Chorus swept the audience spontaneously to their feet. This has become a tradition kept up to this day. When Handel had completed the writing of the Hallelujah Chorus, his servant found him a long time later gazing silently out of the window. He whispered, “Methought that I saw the Heavens opened and the great God Himself”.

M. Ó Fearghail