Messiah (Handel)

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_(Handel)
Messiah (Handel)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Messiah (HWV 56)[1] is an English-language

oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric
Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by
Charles Jennens from the King James Bible, and
from the version of the Psalms included with the
Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed
in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its
London premiere nearly a year later. After an
initially modest public reception, the oratorio
gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of
the best-known and most frequently performed
choral works in Western music.[n 1]
Messiah
Oratorio by George Frideric Handel
Title page of Handel's autograph score
Text
Charles Jennens, from the King
Handel's reputation in England, where he had
lived since 1712, had been established through
James Bible and the Book of
his compositions of Italian opera. He turned to
Common Prayer
English oratorio in the 1730s in response to
Composed 22 August 174114 September 1741:
changes in public taste; Messiah was his sixth
London
work in this genre. Although its structure
Movements 53 in three parts
resembles that of opera, it is not in dramatic
form; there are no impersonations of characters
Vocal
SATB choir and solo
and no direct speech. Instead, Jennens's text is an
Instrumental 2 trumpets timpani 2 oboes 2
extended reflection on Jesus as the Messiah
violins viola basso continuo
called Christ. The text begins in Part I with
prophecies by Isaiah and others, and moves to
the annunciation to the shepherds, the only "scene" taken from the Gospels. In Part II, Handel
concentrates on the Passion and ends with the "Hallelujah" chorus. In Part III he covers the
resurrection of the dead and Christ's glorification in heaven.
Handel wrote 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 reproducing a greater fidelity to Handel's original intentions, although "big
Messiah" productions continue to be mounted. A near-complete version was issued on 78 rpm discs
in 1928; since then the work has been recorded many times.
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Contents
1 Background
2 Synopsis
3 Writing history
3.1 Libretto
3.2 Composition
4 Premiere and early performances
4.1 Dublin, 1742
4.2 London, 174359
5 Later performance history
5.1 18th century
5.2 19th century
5.3 20th century and beyond
6 Music
6.1 Organisation and numbering of movements
6.2 Overview
6.3 Part I
6.4 Part II
6.5 Part III
7 Recordings
8 Editions
9 See also
10 Notes and references
11 Sources
12 External links
Background
The composer George Frideric Handel, born in Halle, Germany in 1685, took up permanent
residence in London in 1712, and became a naturalised British subject in 1727.[3] By 1741 his
pre-eminence in British music was evident from the honours he had accumulated, including a
pension from the court of King George II, the office of Composer of Musick for the Chapel Royal,
andmost unusually for a living persona statue erected in his honour in Vauxhall Gardens.[4]
Within a large and varied musical output, Handel was a vigorous champion of Italian opera, which
he had introduced to London in 1711 with Rinaldo. He subsequently wrote and presented more than
40 such operas in London's theatres.[3]
By the early 1730s public taste for Italian opera was beginning to fade. The popular success of John
Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch's The Beggar's Opera (first performed in 1728) had heralded a
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spate of English-language ballad-operas that mocked the pretensions of

Italian opera.[5] With box-office receipts falling, Handel's productions
were increasingly reliant on private subsidies from the nobility. Such
funding became harder to obtain after the launch in 1730 of the "Opera
of the Nobility", a rival company to his own. Handel overcame this
challenge, but he spent large sums of his own money in doing so.[6]
The statue erected in

Handel's honour, in
Vauxhall Gardens,
London
Although prospects for Italian opera were declining, Handel remained

committed to the genre, but as alternatives to his staged works he
began to introduce English-language oratorios.[7] In Rome in 170708
he had written two Italian oratorios at a time when opera performances
in the city were temporarily forbidden under papal decree.[8] His first
venture into English oratorio had been Esther, which was written and
performed for a private patron in about 1718.[7] In 1732 Handel
brought a revised and expanded version of Esther to the King's
Theatre, Haymarket, where members of the royal family attended a
glittering premiere on 6 May. Its success encouraged Handel to write
two more oratorios (Deborah and Athalia). All three oratorios were
performed to large and appreciative audiences at the Sheldonian
Theatre in Oxford in mid-1733. Undergraduates reportedly sold their
furniture to raise the money for the five-shilling tickets.[9]
In 1735 Handel received the text for a new oratorio named Saul from its librettist Charles Jennens,
a wealthy landowner with musical and literary interests.[10] Because Handel's main creative
concern was still with opera, he did not write the music for Saul until 1738, in preparation for his
173839 theatrical season. The work, after opening at the King's Theatre in January 1739 to a warm
reception, was quickly followed by the less successful oratorio Israel in Egypt (which may also
have come from Jennens).[11] Although Handel continued to write operas, the trend towards
English-language productions became irresistible as the decade ended. After three performances of
his last Italian opera Deidamia in January and February 1741, he abandoned the genre.[12] In July
1741 Jennens sent him a new libretto for an oratorio; in a letter dated 10 July to his friend Edward
Holdsworth, Jennens wrote: "I hope [Handel] will lay out his whole Genius & Skill upon it, that the
Composition may excell all his former Compositions, as the Subject excells every other subject.
The Subject is Messiah".[13]
Synopsis
In Christian theology, the Messiah is the redeemer savior of the Jewish people and mankind. The
Messiah who is called Christ, is identified with the person of Jesus, known by his followers as the
Christ or "Jesus Christ". Handel's Messiah has been described by the early-music scholar Richard
Luckett as "a commentary on [Jesus Christ's] Nativity, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension",
beginning with God's promises as spoken by the prophets and ending with Christ's glorification in
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heaven.[14] In contrast with most of Handel's oratorios, the singers in Messiah do not assume
dramatic roles; there is no single, dominant narrative voice; and very little use is made of quoted
speech. In his libretto, Jennens's intention was not to dramatise the life and teachings of Jesus, but
to acclaim the "Mystery of Godliness",[15] using a compilation of extracts from the Authorized
(King James) Version of the Bible, and from the Psalms included in the 1662 Book of Common
Prayer.[16]
The three-part structure of the work approximates to that of Handel's three-act operas, with the
"parts" subdivided by Jennens into "scenes". Each scene is a collection of individual numbers or
"movements" which take the form of recitatives, arias and choruses.[15] There are two instrumental
numbers, the opening Sinfony[n 2] in the style of a French overture, and the pastoral Pifa, often
called the "pastoral symphony", at the mid-point of Part I.[18]
In Part I, the Messiah's coming and the virgin birth are predicted by the Old Testament prophets.
The annunciation to the shepherds of the birth of the Christ is represented in the words of Luke's
gospel. Part II covers Christ's passion and his death, his resurrection and ascension, the first
spreading of the gospel through the world, and a definitive statement of God's glory summarised in
the "Hallelujah". Part III begins with the promise of redemption, followed by a prediction of the
day of judgment and the "general resurrection", ending with the final victory over sin and death and
the acclamation of Christ.[19] According to the musicologist Donald Burrows, much of the text is so
allusive as to be largely incomprehensible to those ignorant of the biblical accounts.[15] For the
benefit of his audiences Jennens printed and issued a pamphlet explaining the reasons for his
choices of scriptural selections.[20]
Writing history
Libretto
Charles Jennens was born around 1700, into a prosperous landowning
family whose lands and properties in Warwickshire and Leicestershire
he eventually inherited.[21] His religious and political viewshe
opposed the Act of Settlement of 1701 which secured the accession to
the British throne for the House of Hanoverprevented him from
receiving his degree from Balliol College, Oxford, or from pursuing
any form of public career. His family's wealth enabled him to live a life
of leisure while devoting himself to his literary and musical
interests.[22] Although the musicologist Watkins Shaw dismisses
Jennens as "a conceited figure of no special ability",[23] Donald
Burrows has written: "of Jennens's musical literacy there can be no
doubt". He was certainly devoted to Handel's music, having helped to
finance the publication of every Handel score since Rodelinda in
1725.[24] By 1741, after their collaboration on Saul, a warm friendship
A portrait of Charles
Jennens from around
1740
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had developed between the two, and Handel was a frequent visitor to the Jennens family estate at
Gopsall.[21]
Jennens's letter to Holdsworth of 10 July 1741, in which he first mentions Messiah, suggests that
the text was a recent work, probably assembled earlier that summer. As a devout Anglican and
believer in scriptural authority, part of Jennens's intention was to challenge advocates of Deism,
who rejected the doctrine of divine intervention in human affairs.[14] Shaw describes the text as "a
meditation of our Lord as Messiah in Christian thought and belief", and despite his reservations on
Jennens's character, concedes that the finished wordbook "amounts to little short of a work of
genius".[23] There is no evidence that Handel played any active role in the selection or preparation
of the text, such as he did in the case of Saul; it seems, rather, that he saw no need to make any
significant amendment to Jennens's work.[13]
Composition
The music for Messiah was completed in 24 days of swift composition. Having received Jennens's
text some time after 10 July 1741, Handel began work on it on 22 August. His records show that he
had completed Part I in outline by 28 August, Part II by 6 September and Part III by 12 September,
followed by two days of "filling up" to produce the finished work on 14 September. The autograph
score's 259 pages show some signs of haste such as blots, scratchings-out, unfilled bars and other
uncorrected errors, but according to the music scholar Richard Luckett the number of errors is
remarkably small in a document of this length.[25] The original manuscript for Messiah is now held
in the British Library's music collection.[26]
At the end of his manuscript Handel wrote the letters "SDG"Soli Deo Gloria, "To God alone the
glory". This inscription, taken with the speed of composition, has encouraged belief in the
apocryphal story that Handel wrote the music in a fervour of divine inspiration in which, as he
wrote the "Hallelujah" chorus, "he saw all heaven before him".[25] Burrows points out that many of
Handel's operas, of comparable length and structure to Messiah, were composed within similar
timescales between theatrical seasons. The effort of writing so much music in so short a time was
not unusual for Handel and his contemporaries; Handel commenced his next oratorio, Samson,
within a week of finishing Messiah, and completed his draft of this new work in a month.[27][28] In
accordance with his frequent practice when writing new works, Handel adapted existing
compositions for use in Messiah, in this case drawing on two recently completed Italian duets and
one written twenty years previously. Thus, Se tu non lasci amore from 1722 became the basis of "O
Death, where is thy sting?"; "His yoke is easy" and "And he shall purify" were drawn from Quel
fior che alla'ride (July 1741), "Unto us a child is born" and "All we like sheep" from N, di voi non
vo' fidarmi (July 1741).[29][30] Handel's instrumentation in the score is often imprecise, again in line
with contemporary convention, where the use of certain instruments and combinations was
assumed and did not need to be written down by the composer; later copyists would fill in the
details.[31]
Before the first performance Handel made numerous revisions to his manuscript score, in part to
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match the forces available for the 1742 Dublin premiere; it is probable that his work was not
performed as originally conceived in his lifetime.[32] Between 1742 and 1754 he continued to
revise and recompose individual movements, sometimes to suit the requirements of particular
singers.[33] The first published score of Messiah was issued in 1767, eight years after Handel's
death, though this was based on relatively early manuscripts and included none of Handel's later
revisions.[34]
Premiere and early performances

Dublin, 1742
Handel's decision to give a season of concerts in Dublin in the
winter of 174142 arose from an invitation from the Duke of
Devonshire, then serving as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.[35] A
violinist friend of Handel's, Matthew Dubourg, was in Dublin as
the Lord Lieutenant's bandmaster; he would look after the tour's
orchestral requirements.[36] Whether Handel originally intended
to perform Messiah in Dublin is uncertain; he did not inform
Jennens of any such plan, for the latter wrote to Holdsworth on
2 December 1741: "... it was some mortification to me to hear
that instead of performing Messiah here he has gone into
Ireland with it."[37] After arriving in Dublin on 18 November
1741, Handel arranged a subscription series of six concerts, to
be held between December 1741 and February 1742 at the
Great Music Hall, Fishamble Street. These concerts were so
popular that a second series was quickly arranged; Messiah
figured in neither series.[35]
The Great Music Hall in

Fishamble Street, Dublin, where
Messiah was first performed
In early March Handel began discussions with the appropriate committees for a charity concert, to
be given in April, at which he intended to present Messiah. He sought and was given permission
from St Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals to use their choirs for this occasion. [38][39] These
forces amounted to 16 men and 16 boy choristers; several of the men were allocated solo parts. The
women soloists were Christina Maria Avoglio, who had sung the main soprano roles in the two
subscription series, and Susannah Cibber, an established stage actress and contralto who had sung
in the second series.[39][40] To accommodate Cibber's vocal range, the recitative "Then shall the
eyes of the blind" and the aria "He shall feed his flock" were transposed down to F major.[32][41]
The performance, also in the Fishamble Street hall, was originally announced for 12 April, but was
deferred for a day "at the request of persons of Distinction".[35] The orchestra in Dublin comprised
strings, two trumpets, and timpani; the number of players is unknown. Handel had his own organ
shipped to Ireland for the performances; a harpsichord was probably also used.[42]
The three charities that were to benefit were prisoners' debt relief, the Mercer's Hospital, and the
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Charitable Infirmary.[39] In its report on a public rehearsal, the Dublin News-Letter described the
oratorio as "... far surpass[ing] anything of that Nature which has been performed in this or any
other Kingdom".[43] Seven hundred people attended the premiere on 13 April.[44] So that the largest
possible audience could be admitted to the concert, gentlemen were requested to remove their
swords, and ladies were asked not to wear hoops in their dresses.[39] The performance earned
unanimous praise from the assembled press: "Words are wanting to express the exquisite delight it
afforded to the admiring and crouded Audience".[44] A Dublin clergyman, Rev. Delaney, was so
overcome by Susanna Cibber's rendering of "He was despised" that reportedly he leapt to his feet
and cried: "Woman, for this be all thy sins forgiven thee!"[45][n 3] The takings amounted to around
400, providing about 127 to each of the three nominated charities and securing the release of 142
indebted prisoners.[36][44]
Handel remained in Dublin for four months after the premiere. He organised a second performance
of Messiah on 3 June, which was announced as "the last Performance of Mr Handel's during his
Stay in this Kingdom". In this second Messiah, which was for Handel's private financial benefit,
Cibber reprised her role from the first performance, though Avoglio may have been replaced by a
Mrs Maclaine;[47] details of other performers are not recorded.[48]
London, 174359
The warm reception accorded to Messiah in Dublin was not repeated in London when Handel
introduced the work at the Covent Garden theatre on 23 March 1743. Avoglio and Cibber were
again the chief soloists; they were joined by the tenor John Beard, a veteran of Handel's operas, the
bass Thomas Rheinhold and two other sopranos, Kitty Clive and Miss Edwards.[49] The first
performance was overshadowed by views expressed in the press that the work's subject matter was
too exalted to be performed in a theatre, particularly by secular singer-actresses such as Cibber and
Clive. In an attempt to deflect such sensibilities, in London Handel had avoided the name Messiah
and presented the work as the "New Sacred Oratorio".[50] As was his custom, Handel rearranged
the music to suit his singers. He wrote a new setting of "And lo, the angel of the Lord" for Clive,
never used subsequently. He added a tenor song for Beard: "Their sound is gone out", which had
appeared in Jennens's original libretto but had not been in the Dublin performances.[51]
The custom of standing for the "Hallelujah" chorus originates from a belief that, at the London
premiere, King George II did so, which would have obliged all to stand. There is no convincing
evidence that the king was present, or that he attended any subsequent performance of Messiah; the
first reference to the practice of standing appears in a letter dated 1756, three years prior to Handel's
death.[52][53]
London's initially cool reception of Messiah led Handel to reduce the season's planned six
performances to three, and not to present the work at all in 1744to the considerable annoyance of
Jennens, whose relations with the composer temporarily soured.[50] At Jennens's request, Handel
made several changes in the music for the 1745 revival: "Their sound is gone out" became a choral
piece, the soprano song "Rejoice greatly" was recomposed in shortened form, and the transpositions
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for Cibber's voice were restored to their original soprano

range.[33] Jennens wrote to Holdsworth on 30 August 1745:
"[Handel] has made a fine Entertainment of it, though not near
so good as he might & ought to have done. I have with great
difficulty made him correct some of the grosser faults in the
composition ..." Handel directed two performances at Covent
Garden in 1745, on 9 and 11 April,[54] and then set the work
aside for four years.[55]
The chapel of the London's
Foundling Hospital, the venue for
regular charity performances of
Messiah from 1750
The 1749 revival at Covent Garden, under the proper title of

Messiah, saw the appearance of two female soloists who were
henceforth closely associated with Handel's music: Giulia Frasi
and Caterina Galli. In the following year these were joined by
the male alto Gaetano Guadagni, for whom Handel composed
new versions of "But who may abide" and "Thou art gone up on high". The year 1750 also saw the
institution of the annual charity performances of Messiah at London's Foundling Hospital, which
continued until Handel's death and beyond.[56] The 1754 performance at the hospital is the first for
which full details of the orchestral and vocal forces survive. The orchestra included fifteen violins,
five violas, three cellos, two double-basses, four bassoons, four oboes, two trumpets, two horns and
drums. In the chorus of nineteen were six trebles from the Chapel Royal; the remainder, all men,
were altos, tenors and basses. Frasi, Galli and Beard led the five soloists, who were required to
assist the chorus.[57][n 4] For this performance the transposed Guadagni arias were restored to the
soprano voice.[59] By 1754 Handel was severely afflicted by the onset of blindness, and in 1755 he
turned over the direction of the Messiah hospital performance to his pupil, J.C. Smith.[60] He
apparently resumed his duties in 1757 and may have continued thereafter.[61] The final performance
of the work at which Handel was present was at Covent Garden on 6 April 1759, eight days before
his death.[60]
Later performance history

18th century
During the 1750s Messiah was performed increasingly at festivals and cathedrals throughout the
country.[62] Individual choruses and arias were occasionally extracted for use as anthems or motets
in church services, or as concert pieces, a practice that grew in the 19th century and has continued
ever since.[63] After Handel's death, performances were given in Florence (1768), New York
(excerpts, 1770), Hamburg (1772), and Mannheim (1777), where Mozart first heard it.[64] For the
performances in Handel's lifetime and in the decades following his death, the musical forces used in
the Foundling Hospital performance of 1754 are thought by Burrows to be typical.[65] A fashion for
large-scale performances began in 1784, in a series of commemorative concerts of Handel's music
given in Westminster Abbey under the patronage of King George III. A plaque on the Abbey wall
records that "The Band consisting of DXXV [525] vocal & instrumental performers was conducted
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by Joah Bates Esqr."[66] In a 1955 article, Sir Malcolm Sargent,

a proponent of large-scale performances, wrote, "Mr Bates ...
had known Handel well and respected his wishes. The orchestra
employed was two hundred and fifty strong, including twelve
horns, twelve trumpets, six trombones and three pairs of
timpani (some made especially large)."[67] In 1787 further
performances were given at the Abbey; advertisements
promised, "The Band will consist of Eight Hundred
Performers".[68]
In continental Europe, performances of Messiah were departing
from Handel's practices in a different way: his score was being
drastically reorchestrated to suit contemporary tastes. In 1786,
Johann Adam Hiller presented Messiah with updated scoring in
Berlin Cathedral.[69] In 1788 Hiller presented a performance of
his revision with a choir of 259 and an orchestra of 87 strings,
10 bassoons, 11 oboes, 8 flutes, 8 horns, 4 clarinets, 4
trombones, 7 trumpets, timpani, harpsichord and organ.[69] In
1787 advertisement for Messiah
1789, Mozart was commissioned by Baron Gottfried van
at Westminster Abbey with 800
Swieten and the Gesellschaft der Associierten to re-orchestrate
performers
several works by Handel, including Messiah.[70][n 5] Writing for
a small-scale performance, he eliminated the organ continuo,
added parts for flutes, clarinets, trombones and horns, recomposed some passages and rearranged
others. The performance took place on 6 March 1789 in the rooms of Count Johann Esterhzy, with
four soloists and a choir of 12.[72][n 6] Mozart's arrangement, with minor amendments from Hiller,
was published in 1803, after his death.[n 7] The musical scholar Moritz Hauptmann described the
Mozart additions as "stucco ornaments on a marble temple".[77] Mozart himself was reportedly
circumspect about his changes, insisting that any alterations to Handel's score should not be
interpreted as an effort to improve the music.[78] Elements of this version later became familiar to
British audiences, incorporated into editions of the score by editors including Ebenezer Prout.[72]
19th century
In the 19th century, approaches to Handel in German and English-speaking countries diverged
further. In Leipzig in 1856, the musicologist Friedrich Chrysander and the literary historian Georg
Gottfried Gervinus founded the Deutsche Hndel-Gesellschaft with the aim of publishing authentic
editions of all Handel's works.[64] At the same time, performances in Britain and the United States
moved away from Handel's performance practice with increasingly grandiose renditions. Messiah
was presented in New York in 1853 with a chorus of 300 and in Boston in 1865 with more than
600. [79][80] In Britain a "Great Handel Festival" was held at the Crystal Palace in 1857, performing
Messiah and other Handel oratorios, with a chorus of 2,000 singers and an orchestra of 500.[81]
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In the 1860s and 1870s ever larger forces were assembled.

Bernard Shaw, in his role as a music critic, commented, "The
stale wonderment which the great chorus never fails to elicit
has already been exhausted";[82] he later wrote, "Why,
instead of wasting huge sums on the multitudinous dullness
of a Handel Festival does not somebody set up a thoroughly
rehearsed and exhaustively studied performance of the
Messiah in St James's Hall with a chorus of twenty capable
artists? Most of us would be glad to hear the work seriously
The Handel Festival at The Crystal
performed once before we die."[83] The employment of huge
Palace, 1857
forces necessitated considerable augmentation of the
orchestral parts. Many admirers of Handel believed that the
composer would have made such additions, had the appropriate instruments been available in his
day.[84] Shaw argued, largely unheeded, that "the composer may be spared from his friends, and the
function of writing or selecting 'additional orchestral accompaniments' exercised with due
discretion."[85]
One reason for the popularity of huge-scale performances was the ubiquity of amateur choral
societies. The conductor Sir Thomas Beecham wrote that for 200 years the chorus was "the national
medium of musical utterance" in Britain. However, after the heyday of Victorian choral societies,
he noted a "rapid and violent reaction against monumental performances ... an appeal from several
quarters that Handel should be played and heard as in the days between 1700 and 1750".[86] At the
end of the century, Sir Frederick Bridge and T. W. Bourne pioneered revivals of Messiah in
Handel's orchestration, and Bourne's work was the basis for further scholarly versions in the early
20th century.[87]
20th century and beyond

Although the huge-scale oratorio tradition was perpetuated by such
large ensembles as the Royal Choral Society, the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir and the Huddersfield Choral Society in the 20th century,[88]
there were increasing calls for performances more faithful to Handel's
conception. At the turn of the century, The Musical Times wrote of the
"additional accompaniments" of Mozart and others, "Is it not time that
some of these 'hangers on' of Handel's score were sent about their
business?"[89] In 1902, the musicologist Ebenezer Prout produced a
new edition of the score, working from Handel's original manuscripts
rather than from corrupt printed versions with errors accumulated from
one edition to another.[n 8] However, Prout started from the assumption
that a faithful reproduction of Handel's original score would not be
practical:
Ebenezer Prout in 1899
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[T]he attempts made from time to time by our musical societies to give Handel's music
as he meant it to be given must, however earnest the intention, and however careful the
preparation, be foredoomed to failure from the very nature of the case. With our large
choral societies, additional accompaniments of some kind are a necessity for an effective
performance; and the question is not so much whether, as how they are to be written.[75]
Prout continued the practice of adding flutes, clarinets and trombones to Handel's orchestration, but
he restored Handel's high trumpet parts, which Mozart had omitted (evidently because playing them
was a lost art by 1789).[75] There was little dissent from Prout's approach, and when Chrysander's
scholarly edition was published in the same year, it was received respectfully as "a volume for the
study" rather than a performing edition, being an edited reproduction of various of Handel's
manuscript versions.[90] An authentic performance was thought impossible: The Musical Times
correspondent wrote, "Handel's orchestral instruments were all (excepting the trumpet) of a coarser
quality than those at present in use; his harpsichords are gone for ever ... the places in which he
performed the 'Messiah' were mere drawing-rooms when compared with the Albert Hall, the
Queen's Hall and the Crystal Palace.[90] In Australia, The Register protested at the prospect of
performances by "trumpery little church choirs of 20 voices or so".[91]
In Germany, Messiah was not so often performed as in Britain;[92] when it was given,
medium-sized forces were the norm. At the Handel Festival held in 1922 in Handel's native town,
Halle, his choral works were given by a choir of 163 and an orchestra of 64.[93] In Britain,
innovative broadcasting and recording contributed to reconsideration of Handelian performance.
For example, in 1928, Beecham conducted a recording of Messiah with modestly sized forces and
controversially brisk tempi, although the orchestration remained far from authentic.[94] In 1934 and
1935, the BBC broadcast performances of Messiah conducted by Adrian Boult with "a faithful
adherence to Handel's clear scoring."[95] A performance with authentic scoring was given in
Worcester Cathedral as part of the Three Choirs Festival in 1935.[96] In 1950 John Tobin conducted
a performance of Messiah in St Paul's Cathedral with the orchestral forces specified by the
composer, a choir of 60, a counter-tenor alto soloist, and modest attempts at vocal elaboration of
the printed notes, in the manner of Handel's day.[97] The Prout version sung with many voices
remained popular with British choral societies, but at the same time increasingly frequent
performances were given by small professional ensembles in suitably sized venues, using authentic
scoring. Recordings on LP and CD were preponderantly of the latter type, and the large scale
Messiah came to seem old-fashioned.[98]
The cause of authentic performance was advanced in 1965 by the publication of a new edition of
the score, edited by Watkins Shaw. In the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, David Scott
writes, "the edition at first aroused suspicion on account of its attempts in several directions to
break the crust of convention surrounding the work in the British Isles."[99] By the time of Shaw's
death in 1996, The Times described his edition as "now in universal use".[100][n 9]
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Messiah remains Handel's best-known work, with

performances particularly popular during the Advent
season;[46] writing in December 1993, the music
critic Alex Ross refers to that month's 21
performances in New York alone as "numbing
repetition".[102] Against the general trend towards
authenticity, the work has been staged in opera
houses, both in London (2009) and in Paris
Messiah staged at the English National Opera,
(2011).[103] The Mozart score is revived from time to
2009
time,[104] and in Anglophone countries "singalong"
performances with many hundreds of performers are
popular.[105] Although performances striving for authenticity are now usual, it is generally agreed
that there can never be a definitive version of Messiah; the surviving manuscripts contain radically
different settings of many numbers, and vocal and instrumental ornamentation of the written notes
is a matter of personal judgment, even for the most historically informed performers.[106] The
Handel scholar Winton Dean has written:
[T]here is still plenty for scholars to fight over, and more than ever for conductors to
decide for themselves. Indeed if they are not prepared to grapple with the problems
presented by the score they ought not to conduct it. This applies not only to the choice of
versions, but to every aspect of baroque practice, and of course there are often no final
answers.[101]
Music
Organisation and numbering of movements
The numbering of the movements shown here is in accordance with the Novello vocal score (1959),
edited by Watkins Shaw, which adapts the numbering earlier devised by Ebenezer Prout. Other
editions count the movements slightly differently; the Brenreiter edition of 1965, for example,
does not number all the recitatives and runs from 1 to 47.[107] The division into parts and scenes is
based on the 1743 word-book prepared for the first London performance.[108] The scene headings
are given as Burrows summarised the scene headings by Jennens.[15]
Part I
Part II
Part III
Scene 1: Isaiah's prophecy of

salvation
Scene 1: Christ's Passion
Scene 1: The promise of eternal

life
1. Sinfony (instrumental)
22. Behold the Lamb of

God (chorus)
45. I know that my
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2. Comfort ye my people
(tenor)
3. Ev'ry valley shall be
exalted (air for tenor)
4. And the glory of the
Lord (anthem chorus)
23. He was despised and

Redeemer liveth (soprano)
rejected of men (alto)
46. Since by man came
24. Surely he has borne
death (chorus)
our griefs and carried our
Scene 2: The Day of Judgment
sorrows (chorus)
25. And with his stripes
47. Behold, I tell you a
we are healed (fugue
mystery (bass)
Scene 2: The coming judgment
chorus)
48. The trumpet shall sound
26. All we like sheep have
5. Thus saith the Lord of
(bass)
gone astray (duet chorus)
hosts (accompanied
27. All they that see him
Scene 3: The final conquest of
recitative for bass)
laugh him to scorn (secco
sin
6. But who may abide the
recitative for tenor)
day of His coming
28. He trusted in God that
49. Then shall be brought to
(soprano, alto or bass)
he would deliver him
pass (alto)
7. And he shall purify the
(fugue chorus)
50. O death, where is thy
sons of Levi (chorus)
29. Thy rebuke hath
sting (alto and tenor)
broken his heart (tenor or
51. But thanks be to God
Scene 3: The prophecy of
soprano)
(chorus)
Christ's birth
30. Behold and see if
52. If God be for us, who
there
be
any
sorrow
(tenor
8. Behold, a virgin shall
can be against us (soprano)
or soprano)
conceive (alto)
Scene 4: The acclamation of the
9. O thou that tellest good
Scene 2: Christ's Death and
Messiah
tidings to Zion (air for alto
Resurrection
and chorus)
53. Worthy is the Lamb
10. For behold, darkness
31. He was cut off (tenor
(chorus)
shall cover the earth (bass)
or soprano)
Amen (chorus)
11. The people that walked
32. But thou didst not
in darkness have seen a
leave his soul in hell
great light (bass)
(tenor or soprano)
12. For unto us a child is
born (duet chorus)
Scene 3: Christ's Ascension
Scene 4: The annunciation to the
shepherds
33. Lift up your heads, O

ye gates (chorus)
13. Pifa ("pastoral

Scene 4: Christ's reception in
symphony": instrumental) Heaven
14a. There were shepherds
abiding in the fields (secco
34. Unto which of the
recitative for soprano)
angels (tenor)
14b. And lo, the angel of
35. Let all the angels of
the Lord (accompanied
God worship Him
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recitative for soprano)

(chorus)
15. And the angel said unto
them (secco recitative for Scene 5: The beginnings of
Gospel preaching
soprano)
16. And suddenly there
36. Thou art gone up on
was with the angel
high (soprano, alto, or
(accompanied recitative for
bass)
soprano)
37. The Lord gave the
17. Glory to God in the
word (chorus)
highest (chorus)
38. How beautiful are the
feet (soprano, alto, or
Scene 5: Christ's healing and
chorus)
redemption
39. Their sound is gone
18. Rejoice greatly, O
out (tenor or chorus)
daughter of Zion (soprano)
19. Then shall the eyes of Scene 6: The world's rejection
the blind be opened (secco of the Gospel
recitative for soprano or
40. Why do the nations so
alto)
furiously rage together
20. He shall feed his flock
(bass)
like a shepherd (alto and/or
41. Let us break their
soprano)
bonds asunder (chorus)
21. His yoke is easy (duet
42. He that dwelleth in
chorus)
heaven (tenor)
Scene 7: God's ultimate victory
43. Thou shalt break them
with a rod of iron (tenor)
44. Hallelujah (anthem
and fugue chorus)
Overview
Handel's music for Messiah is distinguished from most of his other oratorios by an orchestral
restrainta quality which the musicologist Percy M. Young observes was not adopted by Mozart
and other later arrangers of the music.[109] The work begins quietly, with instrumental and solo
movements preceding the first appearance of the chorus, whose entry in the low alto register is
muted.[41] A particular aspect of Handel's restraint is his limited use of trumpets throughout the
work. After their introduction in the Part I chorus "Glory to God", apart from the solo in "The
trumpet shall sound" they are heard only in "Hallelujah" and the final chorus "Worthy is the
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The final bars of the "Hallelujah"

chorus, from Handel's manuscript
Lamb".[109] It is this rarity, says Young, that makes these brass

interpolations particularly effective: "Increase them and the
thrill is diminished".[110] In "Glory to God", Handel marked the
entry of the trumpets as da lontano e un poco piano, meaning
"quietly, from afar"; his original intention had been to place the
brass offstage (in disparte) at this point, to highlight the effect
of distance.[30][111] In this initial appearance the trumpets lack
the expected drum accompaniment, "a deliberate withholding of
effect, leaving something in reserve for Parts II and III"
according to Luckett.[112]
Although Messiah is not in any particular key, Handel's tonal

scheme has been summarised by the musicologist Anthony Hicks as "an aspiration towards D
major", the key musically associated with light and glory. As the oratorio moves forward with
various shifts in key to reflect changes in mood, D major emerges at significant points, primarily
the "trumpet" movements with their uplifting messages. It is the key in which the work reaches its
triumphant ending.[113] In the absence of a predominant key, other integrating elements have been
proposed. For example, the musicologist Rudolf Steglich has suggested that Handel used the device
of the "ascending fourth" as a unifying motif; this device most noticeably occurs in the first two
notes of "I know that my Redeemer liveth" and on numerous other occasions. Nevertheless, Luckett
finds this thesis implausible, and asserts that "the unity of Messiah is a consequence of nothing
more arcane than the quality of Handel's attention to his text, and the consistency of his musical
imagination".[114] Allan Kozinn, The New York Times music critic, finds "a model marriage of
music and text ... From the gentle falling melody assigned to the opening words ("Comfort ye") to
the sheer ebullience of the "Hallelujah" chorus and the ornate celebratory counterpoint that supports
the closing "Amen", hardly a line of text goes by that Handel does not amplify".[115]
Part I
No. 2. Recit. accompanied (Tenor): Comfort ye my people
0:00
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The opening Sinfony is composed in E minor for strings, and is Handel's first use in oratorio of the
French overture form. Jennens commented that the Sinfony contains "passages far unworthy of
Handel, but much more unworthy of the Messiah";[114] Handel's early biographer Charles Burney
merely found it "dry and uninteresting".[41] A change of key to E major leads to the first prophecy,
delivered by the tenor whose vocal line in the opening recitative "Comfort ye" is entirely
independent of the strings accompaniment. The music proceeds through various key changes as the
prophecies unfold, culminating in the G major chorus "For unto us a child is born", in which the
choral exclamations (which include an ascending fourth in "the Mighty God") are imposed on
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material drawn from Handel's Italian cantata N, di voi non vo'fidarmi.[41] Such passages, says the
music historian Donald Jay Grout, "reveal Handel the dramatist, the unerring master of dramatic
effect".[116]
The pastoral interlude that follows begins with the short instrumental movement, the Pifa, which
takes its name from the shepherd-bagpipers, or pifferare, who played their pipes in the streets of
Rome at Christmas time.[111] Handel wrote the movement in both 11-bar and extended 32-bar
forms; according to Burrows, either will work in performance.[33] The group of four short
recitatives which follow it introduce the soprano soloistalthough often the earlier aria "But who
may abide" is sung by the soprano in its transposed G minor form.[117] The final recitative of this
section is in D major and heralds the affirmative chorus "Glory to God". The remainder of Part I is
largely carried by the soprano in B flat, in what Burrows terms a rare instance of tonal stability.[118]
The aria "He shall feed his flock" underwent several transformations by Handel, appearing at
different times as a recitative, an alto aria and a duet for alto and soprano before the original
soprano version was restored in 1754.[41] The appropriateness of the Italian source material for the
setting of the solemn concluding chorus "His yoke is easy" has been questioned by the music
scholar Sedley Taylor, who calls it "a piece of word-painting ... grieviously out of place", though he
concedes that the four-part choral conclusion is a stroke of genius that combines beauty with
dignity.[119]
Part II
The second Part begins in G minor, a key which, in
No. 23. Air (Alto): He was
Hogwood's phrase, brings a mood of "tragic
despised
presentiment" to the long sequence of Passion
numbers which follows.[45] The declamatory
opening chorus "Behold the Lamb of God", in fugal
form, is followed by the alto solo "He was despised"
in E flat major, the longest single item in the
oratorio, in which some phrases are sung unaccompanied to emphasise Christ's abandonment.[45]
Luckett records Burney's description of this number as "the highest idea of excellence in pathetic
expression of any English song".[120] The subsequent series of mainly short choral movements
cover Christ's Passion, Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection, at first in F minor, with a brief F major
respite in "All we like sheep". Here, Handel's use of N, di voi non vo'fidarmi has Sedley Taylor's
unqualified approval: "[Handel] bids the voices enter in solemn canonical sequence, and his chorus
ends with a combination of grandeur and depth of feeling such as is at the command of
consummate genius only".[121]
The sense of desolation returns, in what Hogwood
calls the "remote and barbarous" key of B flat minor,
for the tenor recitative "All they that see
him".[45][122] The sombre sequence finally ends with
the Ascension chorus "Lift up your heads", which
No. 44. Chorus: Hallelujah
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Handel initially divides between two choral groups,

the altos serving both as the bass line to a soprano
choir and the treble line to the tenors and basses.[123] For the 1754 Foundling Hospital performance
Handel added two horns, which join in when the chorus unites towards the end of the number.[45]
After the celebratory tone of Christ's reception into heaven, marked by the choir's D major
acclamation "Let all the angels of God worship him", the "Whitsun" section proceeds through a
series of contrasting moodsserene and pastoral in "How beautiful are the feet", theatrically
operatic in "Why do the nations so furiously rage"towards the Part II culmination of
"Hallelujah". This, as Young points out, is not the climactic chorus of the work, although one
cannot escape its "contagious enthusiasm".[124] It builds from a deceptively light orchestral
opening,[45] through a short, unison cantus firmus passage on the words "For the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth", to the reappearance of the long-silent trumpets at "And He shall reign for
ever and ever". Commentators have noted that the musical line for this third subject is based on
Wachet auf, Philipp Nicolai's popular Lutheran chorale.[45][125]
Part III
The opening soprano solo in E major, "I know that my
Redeemer liveth" is one of the few numbers in the oratorio that
has remained unrevised from its original form.[126] Its simple
unison violin accompaniment and its consoling rhythms
apparently brought tears to Burney's eyes.[127] It is followed by
a quiet chorus that leads to the bass's declamation in D major:
"Behold, I tell you a mystery", then the long aria "The trumpet
shall sound", marked pomposo ma non allegro ("dignified but
not fast").[126] Handel originally wrote this in da capo form, but
First page of the concluding
shortened it to dal segno, probably before the first
chorus "Worthy is the Lamb":
performance.[128] The extended, characteristic trumpet tune that
From Handel's manuscript
precedes and accompanies the voice is the only significant
instrumental solo in the entire oratorio. Handel's awkward,
repeated stressing of the fourth syllable of "incorruptible" may have been the source of the
18th-century poet William Shenstone's comment that he "could observe some parts in Messiah
wherein Handel's judgements failed him; where the music was not equal, or was even opposite, to
what the words required".[126][129] After a brief solo recitative, the alto is joined by the tenor for the
only duet in Handel's final version of the music, "O death, where is thy sting?" The melody is
adapted from Handel's 1722 cantata Se tu non lasci amore, and is in Luckett's view the most
successful of the Italian borrowings.[127] The duet runs straight into the chorus "But thanks be to
God".[126]
The reflective soprano solo "If God be for us" (originally written for alto) quotes Luther's chorale
Aus tiefer Not. It ushers in the D major choral finale: "Worthy is the Lamb", leading to the
apocalyptic "Amen" in which, says Hogwood, "the entry of the trumpets marks the final storming
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of heaven".[126] Handel's first biographer, John Mainwaring, wrote in 1760 that this conclusion
revealed the composer "rising still higher" than in "that vast effort of genius, the Hallelujah
chorus".[127] Young writes that the "Amen" should, in the manner of Palestrina, "be delivered as
though through the aisles and ambulatories of some great church".[130]
Recordings
Many early recordings of individual choruses and arias from Messiah reflect the performance styles
then fashionablelarge forces, slow tempi and liberal reorchestration. Typical examples are
choruses conducted by Sir Henry Wood, recorded in 1926 for Columbia with the 3,500-strong choir
and orchestra of the Crystal Palace Handel Festival, and a contemporary rival disc from HMV
featuring the Royal Choral Society under Malcolm Sargent, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall.[131]
The first near-complete recording of the whole work (with the cuts then customary)[n 10] was
conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1928. It represented an effort by Beecham to "provide an
interpretation which, in his opinion, was nearer the composer's intentions", with smaller forces and
faster tempi than had become traditional.[94] His contralto soloist, Muriel Brunskill, later
commented, "His tempi, which are now taken for granted, were revolutionary; he entirely
revitalised it".[88] Nevertheless, Sargent retained the large scale tradition in his four HMV
recordings, the first in 1946 and three more in the 1950s and 1960s, all with the Huddersfield
Choral Society and the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.[88] Beecham's second recording of the
work, in 1947, "led the way towards more truly Handelian rhythms and speeds", according to the
critic Alan Blyth.[88] In a 1991 study of all 76 complete Messiahs recorded by that date, the writer
Teri Noel Towe called this version of Beecham's "one of a handful of truly stellar
performances".[88]
In 1954 the first recording based on Handel's original scoring was conducted by Hermann
Scherchen for Nixa,[n 11] quickly followed by a version, judged scholarly at the time, under Sir
Adrian Boult for Decca.[132] By the standards of 21st-century performance, however, Scherchen's
and Boult's tempi were still slow, and there was no attempt at vocal ornamentation by the
soloists.[132] In 1966 and 1967 two new recordings were regarded as great advances in scholarship
and performance practice, conducted respectively by Colin Davis for Philips and Charles
Mackerras for HMV. They inaugurated a new tradition of brisk, small scale performances, with
vocal embellishments by the solo singers.[n 12] Among recordings of older-style performances are
Beecham's 1959 recording with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with orchestration
commissioned from Sir Eugene Goossens and completed by the English composer Leonard
Salzedo,[88] Karl Richter's 1973 version for DG,[135] and David Willcocks's 1995 performance
based on Prout's 1902 edition of the score, with a 325-voice choir and 90-piece orchestra.[136]
By the end of the 1970s the quest for authenticity had extended to the use of period instruments and
historically correct styles of playing them. The first of such versions were conducted by the early
music specialists Christopher Hogwood (1979) and John Eliot Gardiner (1982).[137] The use of
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period instruments quickly became the norm on record, although some conductors, among them Sir
Georg Solti (1985), continued to favour modern instruments. Gramophone magazine and The
Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music highlighted two versions, conducted respectively by
Trevor Pinnock (1988) and Richard Hickox (1992). The latter employs a chorus of 24 singers and
an orchestra of 31 players; Handel is known to have used a chorus of 19 and an orchestra of 37.[138]
Performances on an even smaller scale have followed.[n 13]
Several reconstructions of early performances have been recorded: the 1742 Dublin version by
Scherchen in 1954, and again in 1959, and by Jean-Claude Malgoire in 1980[141] There are several
recordings of the 1754 Foundling Hospital version, including those under Hogwood (1979),
Andrew Parrott (1989), and Paul McCreesh.[142][143] In 1973 David Willcocks conducted a set for
HMV in which all the soprano arias were sung in unison by the boys of the Choir of King's
College, Cambridge,[144] and in 1974, for DG, Mackerras conducted a set of Mozart's
reorchestrated version, sung in German.[88]
Editions
The first published score of 1767, together with Handel's documented adaptations and
recompositions of various movements, has been the basis for many performing versions since the
composer's lifetime. Modern performances which seek authenticity tend to be based on one of three
20th-century performing editions.[107] These all use different methods of numbering movements:
The Novello Edition, edited by Watkins Shaw, first published as a vocal score in 1959,
revised and issued 1965. This uses the numbering first used in the Prout edition of 1902.[107]
The Brenreiter Edition, edited by John Tobin, published in 1965, which forms the basis of
the Messiah numbering in Bernd Baselt's catalogue (HWV) of Handel's works, published in
1984.[107]
The Peters Edition, edited by Donald Burrows, vocal score published 1972, which uses an
adaptation of the numbering devised by Kurt Soldan.[107]
The Oxford University Press edition by Clifford Bartlett, 1998.[145]
The edition edited by Friedrich Chrysander and Max Seiffert for the Deutsche Hndel-Gesellschaft
(Berlin, 1902) is not a general performing edition, but has been used as a basis of scholarship and
research.[107]
See also
Letters and writings of George Frideric Handel
Notes and references
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Notes
1. Since its earliest performances the work has often been referred to, incorrectly, as "The Messiah". The
article is absent from the proper title.[2]
2. The description "Sinfony" is taken from Handel's autograph score.[17]
3. It is possible that Delaney was alluding to the fact that Cibber was, at that time, involved in a scandalous
divorce suit.[46]
4. Anthony Hicks gives a slightly different instrumentation: 14 violins and 6 violas.[58]
5. Swieten provided Mozart with a London publication of Handel's original orchestration (published by
Randal & Abell), as well as a German translation of the English libretto, compiled and created by
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and Christoph Daniel Ebeling.[71]
6. A repeat performance was given in the Esterhza court on 7 April 1789,[73] and between the year of
Mozart's death (1791) and 1800, there were four known performances of Mozart's re-orchestrated
Messiah in Vienna: 5 April 1795, 23 March 1799, 23 December 1799 and 24 December 1799.[74]
7. Hiller was long thought to have revised Mozart's scoring substantially before the score was printed.
Ebenezer Prout pointed out that the edition was published as "F. G. [sic] Hndels Oratorium Der
Messias, nach W. A. Mozarts Bearbeitung" "nach" meaning after rather than in Mozart's arrangement.
Prout noted that a Mozart edition of another Handel work, Alexander's Feast published in accordance
with Mozart's manuscript, was printed as "mit neuer Bearbeitung von W. A. Mozart" ("with new
arrangement by W. A. Mozart)."[75] When Mozart's original manuscript subsequently came to light it
was found that Hiller's changes were not extensive.[76]
8. Many of the editions before 1902, including Mozart's, derived from the earliest printed edition of the
score, known as the Walsh Edition, published in 1767.[75]
9. In 1966 an edition by John Tobin was published.[101] More recent editions have included those edited by
Donald Burrows (Edition Peters, 1987) and Clifford Bartlett (Oxford University Press, 1999).
10. The numbers customarily omitted were: from Part II, "Unto which of the angels"; "Let all the angels of
God worship Him"; and "Thou art gone up on high"; and from Part III, "Then shall be brought to pass";
"O death, where is thy sting?", "But thanks be to God"; and "If God be for us".[132]
11. This recording was monophonic and issued on commercial CD by PRT in 1986; Scherchen re-recorded
Messiah in stereo in 1959 using Vienna forces; this was issued on LP by Westminster and on
commercial CD by Deutsche Grammophon in 2001. Both recordings have appeared on other labels in
both LP and CD formats. A copyright-free transfer of the 1954 version (digitized from original vinyl
discs by Nixa Records) is available on YouTube: part 1 (http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=zhb3s4E8-CA), part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfQnICqY3j4), part 3
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M48k_QBXKeU).
12. The Davis set uses a chorus of 40 singers and an orchestra of 39 players;[133] the Mackerras set uses
similarly sized forces, but with fewer strings and more wind players.[134]
13. A 1997 recording under Harry Christophers employed a chorus of 19 and an orchestra of 20.[139] In
1993, the Scholars Baroque Ensemble released a version with 14 singers including soloists.[140]
References
1. Also catalogued as HG xlv; and HHA i/17.Anthony Hicks (2001). "Kuzel, Zachary Frideric". In Sadie,
Stanley; Tyrrell, John. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. x (2 ed.). London:
Macmillan. p. 785.
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2. Myers, Paul (Transcription of broadcast) (December 1999). "Handel's Messiah". Minnesota Public
Radio. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
3. Lynam, Peter. "Handel, George Frideric". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 15 June 2011.(subscription
required)
4. Luckett, p. 17
5. Steen, p. 55
6. Steen, pp. 5758
7. Burrows (1991), p. 4
8. Burrows (1991), p. 3
9. Luckett, p. 30
10. Luckett, p. 33
11. Luckett, pp. 3841
12. Burrows (1991), pp. 67
13. Burrows (1991), pp. 1011
15. Burrows (1991), pp. 5557
16. Luckett, p. 73
17. Burrows (1991), p. 84
18. Burrows (1991), pp. 7374
20. Vickers, David. "Messiah, A Sacred Oratorio". GFHandel.org. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
21. "Mr Charles Jennens: the Compiler of Handel's Messiah". The Musical Times and Singing Class
Circular. 43 (717): 72627. 1 November 1902. doi:10.2307/3369540. JSTOR 3369540.
22. Burrows (1991), pp. 910
23. Shaw, p. 11
24. Smith, Ruth. "Jennens, Charles". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 16 June 2011.(subscription)
25. Luckett, p. 86
26. "Messiah by George Frideric Handel". British Library. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
27. Burrows (1991), pp. 8 and 12
28. Shaw, p. 18
29. Shaw, p. 13
30. Burrows (1991), pp. 6162
31. Shaw, pp. 2223
32. Burrows (1991), p. 22
33. Burrows (1991), pp. 4144
34. Burrows (1991), p. 48
35. Shaw, pp. 2426
36. Cole, Hugo (Summer 1984). "Handel in Dublin". Irish Arts Review (198487). 1 (2): 2830.
37. Burrows (1991), p. 14
39. Burrows (1991), pp. 1719
41. Hogwood, pp. 1721
42. Butt, John. Programme notes: Gloucester, Three Choirs Festival, 30 July 2013.
43. Luckett, p. 126
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46. Kandell, Jonathan (December 2009). "The Glorious History of Handel's Messiah". Smithsonian
magazine.
47. Shaw, p. 30
48. Luckett, p. 131
49. Shaw, pp. 3134
50. Burrows (1991), pp. 2427
51. Burrows (1991), pp. 3031
52. Luckett, p. 175
53. Burrows (1991), pp. 2829
54. Luckett, p. 153
55. Burrows (1991), pp. 3435
56. Shaw, pp. 4247
57. Shaw, pp. 4950
58. Hicks, p. 14
59. Hogwood, pp. 18 and 24
60. Shaw, pp. 5152
61. Luckett, p. 176
62. Shaw, pp. 5561
63. Burrows (1991), p. 49
64. Leissa, Brad, and Vickers, David. "Chronology of George Frideric Handel's Life, Compositions, and his
Times: 1760 and Beyond". GFHandel.org. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
65. Burrows (1994), p. 304
66. "History: George Frederic Handel". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
67. Sargent, Malcolm (April 1955). "Messiah". Gramophone. p. 19. (subscription required)
68. "Advertisement". The Daily Universal Register. 30 May 1787. p. 1.
69. Shedlock, J. S. (August 1918). "Mozart, Handel, and Johann Adam Hiller". The Musical Times. 59
(906): 37071. doi:10.2307/908906. JSTOR 908906.(subscription required)
70. Steinberg, p. 152
71. Holschneider, Andreas (1962). "Hndel--Bearbeitungen: Der Messias,Kritische Berichte". Neue Mozart
Ausgabe, Series X, Werkgruppe 28, Band 2. Kassel: Brenreiter: 4042.
72. Robbins Landon, p. 338
73. Steinberg, p. 150
74. Link, Dorthea (1997). "Vienna's Private Theatrical and Musical Life,178392, as reported by Count Karl
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76. Towe, Teri Noel (1996). "George Frideric Handel Messiah Arranged by Mozart". Classical Net.
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Association, 30th Session (19031904): 11327. JSTOR 765308. (subscription required)
78. Kandell, Jonathan (December 2009). "The Glorious History of Handel's Messiah". Smithsonian
Magazine. The Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
79. "Musical". The New York Times. 27 December 1853.
80. "The Great Musical Festival in Boston". The New York Times. 4 June 1865. (subscription required)
81. "Handel Festival, Crystal Palace". The Times. 15 June 1857. p. 6.
82. Laurence (Vol. 1), p. 151
83. Laurence (Vol. 2), pp. 24546
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84. Smither, Howard E. (August 1985). " 'Messiah' and Progress in Victorian England". Early Music. 13 (3):
33948. doi:10.1093/earlyj/13.3.339. JSTOR 3127559. (subscription required)
85. Laurence (Vol. 1), p, 95
86. Beecham, pp. 67
87. Armstrong, Thomas (2 April 1943). "Handel's 'Messiah' ". The Times. p. 5.
88. Blyth, Alan (December 2003). "Handel's Messiah Music from Heaven". Gramophone. pp. 5260.
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89. "The Sheffield Musical Festival". The Musical Times. 40 (681): 738. November 1899. JSTOR 3367781.
90. Cummings, William H. (January 1903). "The 'Messiah' ". The Musical Times. 44 (719): 1618.
doi:10.2307/904855. JSTOR 904855. (subscription required)
91. "Handel's Messiah". The Register (Adelaide, S.A.): 4. 17 December 1908.
92. Brug, Manuel (14 April 2009). "Der 'Messias' ist hier immer noch unterschtzt". Die Welt. (German text)
93. van der Straeten, E. (July 1922). "The Handel Festival at Halle". The Musical Times. 63 (953): 48789.
doi:10.2307/908856. JSTOR 908856. (subscription required)
94. "Messiah (Handel)". The Gramophone. January 1928. p. 21. (subscription required)
95. Dickinson, A. E. F. (March 1935). "The Revival of Handel's 'Messiah' ". The Musical Times. 76 (1105):
21718. doi:10.2307/919222. JSTOR 919222. (subscription required)
96. "The Three Choirs Festival". The Manchester Guardian. 7 September 1935. p. 7.
97. " 'Messiah' in First Version Performance at St. Paul's". The Times. 25 February 1950. p. 9. and " 'The
Messiah' in its Entirety A Rare Performance". The Times. 20 March 1950. p. 8.
98. Larner, Gerald. "Which Messiah?", The Guardian, 18 December 1967, p. 5
99. Scott, David. "Shaw, Watkins". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
100. "Harold Watkins Shaw Obituary". The Times. 21 October 1996. p. 23.
101. Dean, Winton.; Handel; Shaw, Watkins; Tobin, John; Shaw, Watkins; Tobin, John (February 1967).
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JSTOR 953965. (subscription required)
102. Ross, Alex (21 December 1993). "The Heavy Use (Good and Bad) of Handel's Enduring Messiah". The
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Bohlen, Celestine (20 April 2011). "Broadway in Paris? A Theater's Big Experiment". The New York
Times.
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107. Burrows (1991), pp. ix and 86100
108. Burrows (1991), pp. 8384
109. Young, p. 63
110. Young, p. 64
111. Luckett, p. 93
112. Luckett, p. 87
113. Hicks, pp. 1011
115. Kozinn, Allan (24 December 1997). "Messiah Mavens Find that its Ambiguities Reward All Comers".
The New York Times. pp. E10.
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116. Grout & Palisca, p. 445

117. Burrows (1991), p. 87
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120. Luckett, p. 95
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123. Luckett, p. 97
124. Young, p. 42
125. Luckett, pp. 10204
127. Luckett, pp. 10406
128. Burrows (1991), p. 99
129. Luckett, p. 191
130. Young, p. 45
131. Klein, Herman (August 1926). "Messiah". The Gramophone. p. 39. (subscription required)
132. Porter, Andrew, in Sackville West, pp. 33745
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135. Fiske, Roger (November 1973). "Handel Messiah". The Gramophone. p. 125. (subscription required)
136. See TfmGeorge Frideric Handel's Messiah (Liner notes). David Willcocks, Mormon Tabernacle Choir,
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Colchester, Essex: Chandos. 1992. 0522(2).
139. Heighes, Simon. Notes to Hyperion CD CDD 22019 (http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk
/al.asp?al=CDD22019) (1997)
140. Finch, Hilary (April 1993). "Handel Messiah". The Gramophone. p. 109. (subscription required)
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Beecham, Sir Thomas (1959). Messiah An Essay. London: RCA. OCLC 29047071. CD
09026-61266-2
Burrows, Donald (1991). Handel: Messiah. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-37620-3.
Burrows, Donald (1994). Handel. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816470-X.
Grout, Donald; Palisca, Claude V. (1981). A History of Western Music (3rd ed.). London: J M Dent &
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Hicks, Anthony (1991). Handel: Messiah (CD). The Decca Recording Company Ltd. OCLC 25340549.
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Hogwood, Christopher (1991). Handel: Messiah (CD). The Decca Recording Company Ltd. (Notes on
the music, Edition de L'Oiseau-Lyre 430 4882)
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Bernard Shaw, Volume 1 (18761890). London: The Bodley Head. ISBN 0-370-31270-8.
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Bernard Shaw, Volume 2 (18901893). London: The Bodley Head. ISBN 0-370-31271-6.
Luckett, Richard (1992). Handel's Messiah: A Celebration. London: Victor Gollancz.
ISBN 0-575-05286-4.
Robbins Landon, H. C. (1990). The Mozart compendium: a guide to Mozart's life and music. London:
Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01481-7.
Sackville-West, Edward; Desmond Shawe-Taylor (1956). The Record Guide. London: Collins.
OCLC 500373060.
Shaw, Watkins (1963). The story of Handel's "Messiah". London: Novello. OCLC 1357436.
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Steinberg, Michael (2005). Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide. New York: Oxford University
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(UK): Cambridge University Press. OCLC 23474813.
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External links
For the full text, scriptural references and sound samples,
see Messiah on Wikisource
Messiah (Handel): Scores at the International Music Score
Library Project
Handel's Messiah (http://scores.ccarh.org/handel/messiah/)
at the Center for Computer Assisted Research in the
Humanities
Wikimedia Commons
has media related to
Messiah.
Wikisource has
original text related to
this article:
Messiah
Der Messias, ed. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 572:

Score (http://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/nma/nma_cont.php?vsep=206&gen=edition&
l=1&p1=-1) and critical report (http://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/nma
/nma_cont.php?vsep=207&l=1&p1=-1) (German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Messiah_(Handel)&oldid=739213031"

Categories: 1741 compositions Oratorios based on the Bible
Oratorios by George Frideric Handel United States National Recording Registry recordings
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26 of 26
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Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (HWV 56)[1] is an English-language

Title page of Handel's autograph score

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

spate of English-language ballad-operas that mocked the pretensions of

The statue erected in

Although prospects for Italian opera were declining, Handel remained

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Premiere and early performances

The Great Music Hall in

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

for Cibber's voice were restored to their original soprano

The 1749 revival at Covent Garden, under the proper title of

Later performance history

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

by Joah Bates Esqr."[66] In a 1955 article, Sir Malcolm Sargent,

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the 1860s and 1870s ever larger forces were assembled.

20th century and beyond

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah remains Handel's best-known work, with

Scene 1: Isaiah's prophecy of

Scene 1: Christ's Passion

Scene 1: The promise of eternal

22. Behold the Lamb of

45. I know that my

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

23. He was despised and

33. Lift up your heads, O

13. Pifa ("pastoral

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

recitative for soprano)

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The final bars of the "Hallelujah"

Lamb".[109] It is this rarity, says Young, that makes these brass

Although Messiah is not in any particular key, Handel's tonal

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

No. 44. Chorus: Hallelujah

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Handel initially divides between two choral groups,

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Notes and references

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

116. Grout & Palisca, p. 445

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Der Messias, ed. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 572:

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Messiah_(Handel)&oldid=739213031"

Messiah (Handel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This page was last modified on 13 September 2016, at 12:06.

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