Charles Jennens
Encyclopedia
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s: Saul
Saul (Handel)
Saul is an oratorio in three acts written by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Charles Jennens. Taken from the 1st Book of Samuel, the story of Saul focuses on the first king of Israel’s relationship with his eventual successor, David; one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred,...
, Israel in Egypt
Israel in Egypt (oratorio)
Israel in Egypt is a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel. Many historians believe the libretto was compiled by Handel's collaborator Charles Jennens, and it is composed entirely of selected passages from the Hebrew Bible, mainly from Exodus and the Psalms.Israel in Egypt...
, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato is a pastoral ode by George Frideric Handel based on the poetry of John Milton.-History:Handel composed the work over the period of 19 January to 4 February 1740, and the work was premiered on 27 February 1740 at the Royal Theatre of Lincoln's Inn Fields...
, Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah 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 the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
, and Belshazzar
Belshazzar (Handel)
Belshazzar is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. The libretto was by Charles Jennens, and Handel abridged it considerably. Jennens' libretto was based on the Biblical account of the fall of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus the Great and the subsequent freeing of the Jewish nation, as found in the...
. Much of this served to promote his own views concerning kingship (he was a supporter of the deposed Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
line).
Life
Jennens was born in LeicestershireLeicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
and educated at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. He lived at Gopsall
Gopsall
Gopsall is an area of Crown Estate land in North West Leicestershire, England. It is located between the villages of Appleby Magna, Shackerstone, Twycross and Snarestone....
, till 1747 together with his father, unmarried, melancholic and extravagant. His neighbours called him Suleyman the Magnificent. Lord Guernsey was his second cousin.
Jennens was friendly with Edward Holdsworth, sending the poet and classical scholar letters. He became a non-juror
Non-juror
A non-juror is a person who refuses to swear a particular oath.* In British history, non-jurors refused to swear allegiance to William and Mary; see Nonjuring schism...
, interested in "primitive Christianity
Primitive Apostolic Christianity (Sabbatarian)
Primitive Apostolic Christianity or Sabbatarianism is movement that attempts to reconstruct the earliest forms of Christianity. Adherents to this movement commonly refer to early Roman Christian requirements to be separated from Jewish traditions which began in Antisemitism and Antinomianism, as...
" and John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
. Jennens was an anti-Deist, in those days very popular. Richard Kidder
Richard Kidder
Richard Kidder was an English Anglican churchman, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1691 to his death. He was a noted theologian.He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was a sizar, from 1649, graduating 1652. He became a Fellow there in 1655, and vicar of Stranground,...
's book A Demonstration of the Messias influenced him.
Jennens owned scores of many operas, he already subscribed in 1725, and added corrections, bass figures, rejected pieces and dates. In regards to the libretto of Messiah, some scholars attribute Messiahs emphasis on the Old Testament — and choice of the Old Testament title "Messiah" — to Jennens' theological choices.
Jennens had an interesting collection of books by Shakespeare, on philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. Today many of his books can be found in the Henry Watson
Henry Watson
Henry Watson may refer to:*Henry Winfield Watson , Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania*Henry William Watson , British mathematician*Henry Keith Watson, member of the "L.A...
Music Library in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. A portrait of Charles Jennens by Thomas Hudson
Thomas Hudson (painter)
Thomas Hudson was an English portrait painter in the 18th century. He was born in 1701 in the West Country of the United Kingdom. His exact birthplace is unknown...
is currently on display in Handel House Museum
Handel House Museum
The Handel House Museum is a museum in Mayfair, London dedicated to the life and works of the German born baroque composer George Frideric Handel, who made his home in London in 1712 and eventually became a British citizen in 1727. Handel was the first occupant of 25 Brook Street, which he rented...
in London.