Messiah Part I
Encyclopedia
Messiah
(HWV
56), the English-language oratorio
composed by George Frideric Handel
in 1741, is structured in three parts. This article covers Part I and describes the relation of the musical setting to the text supplied by Charles Jennens
. Part I begins with the prophecy of the Messiah and his birth
, shows the annunciation to the shepherds
, and reflects on his deeds. Part II
covers the Passion
, death, resurrection, ascension, and the later spreading of the Gospel. Part III
concentrates on Paul's teaching of the resurrection of the dead and Christ's glorification in heaven.
The popular Part I of Messiah is sometimes called the "Christmas" portion as it is frequently performed during Advent in concert, sing-along
, or as a Scratch Messiah
.
by Jennens is drawn from the Bible: mostly from the Old Testament
of the King James Bible, but with several psalms
taken from the Book of Common Prayer
. Regarding the text, Jennens commented: "...the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah ...".
Messiah differs from Handel's other oratorios in that it does not contain an encompassing narrative, instead offering contemplation on different aspects of the Christian Messiah:
: Part I corresponding with Advent
, Christmas
, and the life of Jesus; Part II with Lent
, Easter
, the Ascension
, and Pentecost
; and Part III with the end of the church year—dealing with the end of time. The birth and death of Jesus are told in the words of the prophet Isaiah
(the most prominent source for the libretto). The only true scene of the oratorio is the annunciation to the shepherds
which is taken from the Gospel of Luke
. The imagery of shepherd and lamb features prominently in many movements, for example: in the aria "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd" (the only extended piece to talk about the Messiah on earth), in the opening of Part II ("Behold the Lamb of God"), in the chorus "All we like sheep", and in the closing chorus of the work ("Worthy is the Lamb").
, and numerous oratorios on English libretti
. For Messiah, Handel used the same musical technique as for those works, namely a structure based on chorus and solo singing.
Only two movements in Messiah are purely instrumental: the overture (written as "Sinfony" in Handel's autograph) and the Pifa (a pastorale
introducing the shepherds in Bethlehem); and only a few movements are a duet or a combination of solo and chorus. The solos are typically a combination of recitative and aria. The arias are called Airs or Songs, and some of them are in da capo
form, but rarely in a strict sense (repeating the first section after a sometimes contrasting middle section). Handel found various ways to use the format freely to convey the meaning of the text. Occasionally verses from different biblical sources are combined into one movement, however more often a coherent text section is set in consecutive movements, for example the first "scene" of the work, the annunciation of Salvation, is set as a sequence of three movements: recitative, aria and chorus.
The movements marked "Recitative" are "secco", accompanied by only the continuo, whereas the recitatives marked "Accompagnato" are accompanied by additional string instruments. Handel used four voice parts, soprano
, alto
, tenor
and bass
in the solo and choral movements. The orchestra scoring is simple: oboe
s, strings
and basso continuo of harpsichord
, violoncello, violone
and bassoon
. Two trumpets and timpani
highlight selected movements, for example in Part I the song of the angels Glory to God in the highest. Handel uses both polyphon
and homophonic
settings to illustrate the text best. Even polyphon movements typically end on a dramatic long musical rest
, followed by a broad homophonic conclusion. Handel often stresses a word by extended coloratura
s, especially in several movements which are a parody of music composed earlier on Italian texts. He uses a cantus firmus
on long repeated notes especially to illustrate God's speech and majesty, for example "for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it" in movement 4.
edition of 1972 in the Hallische Händel-Ausgabe
. Not counting some short recitatives as separate movements, there are therefore 47 movements. In the table below, the Novello number (Nov) is given first and is the index for the notes to individual movements in the "movements" section, then the Bärenreiter number (Bär).
To emphasise the movements in which the oboes and the rarely used trumpets play, the summary below does not mention the regular basso continuo and the strings in movements. Details on the development of key
s, different tempo
markings time
s within a movement are given in notes on the individual movements. Movements originally in Italian are indicated in the Source column, however the exact origin is supplied in the notes on the movement. Typically a "scene" of recitative(s) and aria(s) is concluded with a choral movement.
, set for oboes and strings, is in two parts in the style of a French overture
(a slow first part and a fugue
). The fugue subject is presented by the unaccompanied violins, which is a feature that returns in the final Amen
of the oratorio. The key of E minor
has been interpreted as creating "a mood without hope".
are treated—foretelling the return to Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity
.
(preparing a way for the Lord). The voice illustrates the exaltation by long coloraturas, whereas "plain" is depicted with a long note. More word painting
occurs in a low note for "low" and a complicated figure for "crooked".
, dealing with the splendor of the temple, and of Malachi
who foretold the coming messenger. Malachi's words are continued in an aria and a chorus.
are given to a single male voice. In "and I will shake all nations", the "shake" is rendered several times in downward coloraturas of more than a measure, and in "and the desire of all nations shall come" the word "desire" is rendered once in upward coloraturas of more than two measures, accompanied by exited repetitions in the strings and continuo. The music then suddenly calms to an unaccompanied line on the words of the prophet Malachi
: "The Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple" .
. A prestissimo postlude concludes the dramatic scene. Handel wrote this dramatic scene in London in 1750 for the castrato Gaetano Guadagni
, after he had initially set the text as a recitative.
.
"—a signal observed by musicologist Rudolf Steglich as a unifying motif of the oratorio.
s in major and minor second
s, until the text switches to "but the Lord shall arise" (which the voice presents as a melisma of two measures), followed by coloraturas on "glory" and an upward octave leap to proclaim in the end "and kings [to the brightness of thy rising]".
, starting with the seconds of the movement before and proceeding in uneven steps, carefully marked for irregular phrasing. On "have seen a great light", the melody begins to leap, and finally reaches on the word "light" a long high note which the voice holds, while the celli continue their movement. The next occurrence of "darkness" is a broken downward melisma. In the second verse of the text, the gloom of the beginning is intensified by similar unsupported figures on "shadow of death", but once more relieved by "upon them has the light shined", again with the voice singing independently. The aria is not da capo, but follows exactly the two verses from the Old Testament poetry, where the second verse typically parallels the thought of the first.
, "For unto us a Child is born", in Isaiah's words . Marked piano, the sopranos enter a fugue first, singing a delicate theme with many rests. Their countersubject
to the tenors' entry is a shimmering coloratura for more than three measures. The words "and the government shall be upon his shoulders" appears in stately dotted rhythm, culminating in the names "Won-derful", "Coun-selor", "The Mighty God", "The Everlasting Father", "The Prince – of Peace", with the shimmering coloratura in the strings. A second and third round of the development from the tender "child is born" to the proclamation "Prince of Peace" is crowned by the fourth round, with the theme in the bass and the countersubject in soprano and alto in parallel thirds.
The movement is based on Handel's Italian cantata Nò, di voi non vo'fidarmi (HWV 189, July 1741), which had "originally expressed a distinctly secular kind of joy".
, and is taken from the Gospel of Luke
, .
, the Pifa, which takes its name from the shepherd-bagpipers, or pifferare, who played in the streets of Rome at Christmas time. The music in C major and swinging 12/8 time gently rises and falls like a cradle song
.
.
for "on earth". In great contrast, "goodwill towards men" is sung in a fast sequence of entries in imitation, with the word "goodwill" on another upward fourth. The sequence is repeated, but this time all four voices sing "glory" and "peace", the first in a high register, then low again with the bass dropping an octave. After the song the angels disappear, diminuendo, gradually thinned out in instrumentation, with more and more rests, and always rising.
(seen fulfilled by the Evangelist Matthew).
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...
(HWV
Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis
The Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis is the Catalogue of Handel's Works. It was published in three volumes by Bernd Baselt between 1978 and 1986, and lists every piece of music known to have been written by George Frideric Handel...
56), the English-language 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...
composed by George Frideric Handel
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...
in 1741, is structured in three parts. This article covers Part I and describes the relation of the musical setting to the text supplied by Charles Jennens
Charles Jennens
Charles Jennens was an English landowner and patron of the arts, who assembled the text for five of Handel's oratorios: Saul, Israel in Egypt, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, Messiah, and Belshazzar...
. Part I begins with the prophecy of the Messiah and his birth
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
, shows the annunciation to the shepherds
Annunciation to the shepherds
The Annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus...
, and reflects on his deeds. Part II
Messiah Part II
Messiah , the English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is structured in three parts. This listing covers Part II in a table and comments on individual movements, reflecting the relation of the musical setting to the text...
covers the Passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
, death, resurrection, ascension, and the later spreading of the Gospel. Part III
Messiah Part III
Messiah , the English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is structured in three parts. This listing covers Part III in a table and comments on individual movements, reflecting the relation of the musical setting to the text...
concentrates on Paul's teaching of the resurrection of the dead and Christ's glorification in heaven.
The popular Part I of Messiah is sometimes called the "Christmas" portion as it is frequently performed during Advent in concert, sing-along
Sing-along
Sing-along, community singing, group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing. One can use a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, hymns and drinking songs...
, or as a Scratch Messiah
Scratch Messiah
A Scratch Messiah, People's Messiah, Come Sing Messiah, Sing-it-yourself Messiah, or Sing along Messiah is an informal performance of Handel's Messiah in which the audience serves as the unrehearsed chorus, often supported by a carefully prepared core group...
.
Messiah, the oratorio
The librettoLibretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Jennens is drawn from the Bible: mostly from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
of the King James Bible, but with several psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
taken from the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
. Regarding the text, Jennens commented: "...the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah ...".
Messiah differs from Handel's other oratorios in that it does not contain an encompassing narrative, instead offering contemplation on different aspects of the Christian Messiah:
Structure and concept
The oratorio's structure follows the liturgical yearLiturgical year
The liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear in...
: Part I corresponding with Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
, Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, and the life of Jesus; Part II with Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
, Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, the Ascension
Feast of the Ascension
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is one of the great solemnities, in the Christian liturgical calendar, and commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day from Easter day...
, and Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
; and Part III with the end of the church year—dealing with the end of time. The birth and death of Jesus are told in the words of the prophet Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
(the most prominent source for the libretto). The only true scene of the oratorio is the annunciation to the shepherds
Annunciation to the shepherds
The Annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus...
which is taken from the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
. The imagery of shepherd and lamb features prominently in many movements, for example: in the aria "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd" (the only extended piece to talk about the Messiah on earth), in the opening of Part II ("Behold the Lamb of God"), in the chorus "All we like sheep", and in the closing chorus of the work ("Worthy is the Lamb").
Music
By the time Handel composed Messiah in London he was already a successful and experienced composer of Italian operas, and had created sacred works based on English texts, such as the 1713 Utrecht Te Deum and JubilateUtrecht Te Deum and Jubilate
Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate is a sacred choral composition in two parts, written by George Frideric Handel to celebrate the Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, ending the War of the Spanish Succession. The combination of a Te Deum and Jubilate, the Psalm 100, follows...
, and numerous oratorios on English libretti
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
. For Messiah, Handel used the same musical technique as for those works, namely a structure based on chorus and solo singing.
Only two movements in Messiah are purely instrumental: the overture (written as "Sinfony" in Handel's autograph) and the Pifa (a pastorale
Pastorale
For Beethoven's Pastoral symphony, see Symphony No. 6 Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood....
introducing the shepherds in Bethlehem); and only a few movements are a duet or a combination of solo and chorus. The solos are typically a combination of recitative and aria. The arias are called Airs or Songs, and some of them are in da capo
Da capo
Da Capo is a musical term in Italian, meaning from the beginning . It is often abbreviated D.C. It is a composer or publisher's directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space. In small pieces this might be the same thing as a repeat, but in larger works D.C...
form, but rarely in a strict sense (repeating the first section after a sometimes contrasting middle section). Handel found various ways to use the format freely to convey the meaning of the text. Occasionally verses from different biblical sources are combined into one movement, however more often a coherent text section is set in consecutive movements, for example the first "scene" of the work, the annunciation of Salvation, is set as a sequence of three movements: recitative, aria and chorus.
The movements marked "Recitative" are "secco", accompanied by only the continuo, whereas the recitatives marked "Accompagnato" are accompanied by additional string instruments. Handel used four voice parts, soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
in the solo and choral movements. The orchestra scoring is simple: oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
and basso continuo of harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, violoncello, violone
Violone
The term violone can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument...
and bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
. Two trumpets and timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
highlight selected movements, for example in Part I the song of the angels Glory to God in the highest. Handel uses both polyphon
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
and homophonic
Homophony
In music, homophony is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords. This is distinct from polyphony, in which parts move with rhythmic independence, and monophony, in which all parts move in parallel rhythm and pitch. A homophonic...
settings to illustrate the text best. Even polyphon movements typically end on a dramatic long musical rest
Rest (music)
A rest is an interval of silence in a piece of music, marked by a sign indicating the length of the pause. Each rest symbol corresponds with a particular note value:The quarter rest may also be found as a form in older music....
, followed by a broad homophonic conclusion. Handel often stresses a word by extended coloratura
Coloratura
Coloratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...
s, especially in several movements which are a parody of music composed earlier on Italian texts. He uses a cantus firmus
Cantus firmus
In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
on long repeated notes especially to illustrate God's speech and majesty, for example "for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it" in movement 4.
General notes
The following table is organized by movement numbers. There are two major systems of numbering the movements of Messiah: the historic Novello edition of 1959 (which is based on earlier editions and contains 53 movements), and the BärenreiterBärenreiter
Bärenreiter is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still maintains headquarters; it also has offices in Basel, London, New York and Prague...
edition of 1972 in the Hallische Händel-Ausgabe
Hallische Händel-Ausgabe
The Hallische Händel-Ausgabe is a multi-volume collection of the works of George Frideric Handel. It was first published in the 1950s: initially as an adjunct to the HG edition, but by 1958 as a collected edition in its own right...
. Not counting some short recitatives as separate movements, there are therefore 47 movements. In the table below, the Novello number (Nov) is given first and is the index for the notes to individual movements in the "movements" section, then the Bärenreiter number (Bär).
To emphasise the movements in which the oboes and the rarely used trumpets play, the summary below does not mention the regular basso continuo and the strings in movements. Details on the development of key
Key signature
In musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes unless otherwise altered with an accidental...
s, different tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
markings time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
s within a movement are given in notes on the individual movements. Movements originally in Italian are indicated in the Source column, however the exact origin is supplied in the notes on the movement. Typically a "scene" of recitative(s) and aria(s) is concluded with a choral movement.
Part I summary
| Nov | Bär | Title / First line | Form | Voice | Tempo marking | Scoring | Time | Key | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Symphony | French overture French overture The French overture is a musical form widely used in the Baroque period. Its basic formal division is into two parts, which are usually enclosed by double bars and repeat signs. They are complementary in styles , and the first ends with a half-cadence that requires an answering structure with a... |
Instrumental | Grave Allegro moderato |
Oboe | E minor | ||
| 2 | 2 | Comfort ye | Accompagnato | Tenor | Larghetto e piano | E major | |||
| 3 | 3 | Ev’ry valley | Aria | Tenor | Andante | E major | |||
| 4 | 4 | And the glory ... of the Lord | Chorus | Allegro | Oboe | A major | |||
| 5 | 5 | Thus saith the Lord Behold, I will send |
Accompagnato | Bass | D minor | ||||
| 6 | 6 | But who may abide But he is like a refiner's fire |
Aria | Alto | Larghetto Prestissimo |
3/8 |
D minor | ||
| 7 | 7 | And He shall purify | Chorus | Allegro | Oboe | G minor | Italian | ||
| 8 | 8 | Behold, a virgin shall conceive | Recitative | Alto | D major | ||||
| 9 | 8 | O thou that tellest good tidings Arise, shine |
Aria | Alto, Chorus |
Andante | 6/8 | D major | ||
| 10 | 9 | For behold, darkness | Accompagnato | Bass | Andante larghetto | D major | |||
| 11 | 10 | The people that walked | Aria | Bass | Larghetto | D major | |||
| 12 | 11 | For unto us a Child is born | Chorus | Andante allegro | Oboe | G major | Italian | ||
| 13 | 12 | Pifa | Pastorale | Instrumental | Larghetto e mezzo piano | 12/8 | C major | ||
| 14 | There were shepherds abiding | Recitative | Soprano | C major | |||||
| 15 | 13 | And lo, the angel of the Lord | Accompagnato | Soprano | Andante | F major | |||
| And the angel said | Recitative | Soprano | A major | ||||||
| 16 | 14 | And suddenly | Accompagnato | Soprano | Allegro | D major | |||
| 17 | 15 | Glory to God in the highest | Chorus | Allegro | Oboe, Trumpet |
D major | |||
| 18 | 16 | Rejoice greatly | Aria | Soprano | Allegro | B major | |||
| 19 | Then shall the eyes of the blind | Recitative | Alto | D major | |||||
| 20 | 17 | He shall feed His flock Come unto me |
Duet | Alto, Soprano |
Larghetto e piano | 12/8 | F major | ||
| 21 | 18 | His yoke is easy | Chorus | Allegro | Oboe | B major | Italian | ||
1
The SymphonySinfonia
Sinfonia is the Italian word for symphony. In English it most commonly refers to a 17th- or 18th-century orchestral piece used as an introduction, interlude, or postlude to an opera, oratorio, cantata, or suite...
, set for oboes and strings, is in two parts in the style of a French overture
French overture
The French overture is a musical form widely used in the Baroque period. Its basic formal division is into two parts, which are usually enclosed by double bars and repeat signs. They are complementary in styles , and the first ends with a half-cadence that requires an answering structure with a...
(a slow first part and a fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
). The fugue subject is presented by the unaccompanied violins, which is a feature that returns in the final Amen
Amen
The word amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Its use in Judaism dates back to its earliest texts. It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns. In Islam, it is the standard ending to Dua and the...
of the oratorio. The key of E minor
E minor
E minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
has been interpreted as creating "a mood without hope".
Scene 1
Scene 1 deals with general prophecies of salvation. In three movements, five consecutive verses from the Book of IsaiahBook of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
are treated—foretelling the return to Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
.
2
The first vocal movement (a tenor accompagnato) is based on three verses—the words of God beginning with "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people".3
The Air for tenor expands the words "Ev’ry valley shall be exalted", which are frequently heard during AdventAdvent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
(preparing a way for the Lord). The voice illustrates the exaltation by long coloraturas, whereas "plain" is depicted with a long note. More word painting
Word painting
Word painting is the musical technique of writing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song. For example, ascending scales would accompany lyrics about going up; slow, dark music would accompany lyrics about death.Tone painting of words goes at least as far back as Gregorian chant...
occurs in a low note for "low" and a complicated figure for "crooked".
4
The chorus enters the work for the first time, and joined by the oboes, announces the revelation of God's glory: "And the glory, the glory of the Lord". The alto begins, the other voices answer (mostly homophonically), and gradually the music grows to a denser texture. The words "for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it" are set as a cantus firmus of solemn and repeated long notes, which appear first in single voices, and then after a long rest, conclude the movement in affirmative homophony.Scene 2
Scene 2 speaks in three movements of the apparition of God. An accompagnato is based on the words of the prophet HaggaiHaggai
Haggai was a Hebrew prophet during the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the author of the Book of Haggai. His name means "my holiday"...
, dealing with the splendor of the temple, and of Malachi
Malachi
Malachi, Malachias or Mal'achi was a Jewish prophet in the Hebrew Bible. He had two brothers, Nathaniel and Josiah. Malachi was the writer of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Neviim section in the Jewish Tanakh...
who foretold the coming messenger. Malachi's words are continued in an aria and a chorus.
5
The bass begins the accompagnato: "Thus saith the Lord". Again the words of the Lord, as told by the prophet HaggaiBook of Haggai
The Book of Haggai is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanak, and has its place as the antepenultimate of the Minor Prophets or the "Book of the Twelve." It is a short book, consisting of only two chapters. The historical setting dates around 520 BCE before the Temple has been rebuilt...
are given to a single male voice. In "and I will shake all nations", the "shake" is rendered several times in downward coloraturas of more than a measure, and in "and the desire of all nations shall come" the word "desire" is rendered once in upward coloraturas of more than two measures, accompanied by exited repetitions in the strings and continuo. The music then suddenly calms to an unaccompanied line on the words of the prophet Malachi
Book of Malachi
Malachi is a book of the Hebrew Bible, the last of the twelve minor prophets and the final book of the Neviim...
: "The Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple" .
6
The prophecy continues in two movements. The Air for alto, as a human reaction to the words of God, shows the trembling in the expectation of the Lord's appearance twofold in a dramatic scene. The Air begins with the pensive question "But who may abide" and continues, in a sharp shift of time and tempo "Prestissimo", with the statement "For He is like a refiner's fire". Forceful downward runs, leaps and trills of the voice are accompanied by fiery figuration in the strings. Like a da capo, the pensive question is repeated, but in a short version, giving way once more to a prestissimo section. The statement returns a final time after a rest, marked Adagio, giving the soloist the opportunity to express it in an ultimate cadenzaCadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
. A prestissimo postlude concludes the dramatic scene. Handel wrote this dramatic scene in London in 1750 for the castrato Gaetano Guadagni
Gaetano Guadagni
Gaetano Guadagni was an Italian mezzo-soprano castrato singer, most famous for singing the role of Orpheus at the premiere of Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice in 1762.- Career :...
, after he had initially set the text as a recitative.
7
The chorus picks up the idea in the fugue "And he shall purify", with coloraturas on "purify", which may stand for a purifying fire. The movement is a parody of Quel fior che alla'ride (HWV 192, July 1741).Scene 3
After the rather general introduction, Scene 3 addresses Isaiah's specific prophecy about the virgin birth of a Messiah by expanding more verses from different chapters of the prophet.8
"Behold, a virgin shall conceive" is rendered in a short alto recitative, to be "called Emmanuel", translated to "God – with us", sung with a rest after "God". This very prophecy is quoted in the Gospel of MatthewGospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
.
9
As if the good news was spreading, the solo alto begins "O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion" , and is taken over by the chorus. It is the first music in a swinging 6/8 time. Coloraturas accent the words "mountain" and "glory", and the words "God" and "Lord" are set in long notes. The choir voices enter in imitation, as if gathering, but soon sing together, starting with "arise" on a pronounced "ascending fourthPerfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
"—a signal observed by musicologist Rudolf Steglich as a unifying motif of the oratorio.
10
In stark contrast, the bass sings the continuation in an accompagnato "For behold, darkness shall cover the earth" on a background of the strings playing mysterious repeated motifMotif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
s in major and minor second
Major second
In Western music theory, a major second is a musical interval spanning two semitones, and encompassing two adjacent staff positions . For example, the interval from C to D is a major second, as the note D lies two semitones above C, and the two notes are notated on adjacent staff postions...
s, until the text switches to "but the Lord shall arise" (which the voice presents as a melisma of two measures), followed by coloraturas on "glory" and an upward octave leap to proclaim in the end "and kings [to the brightness of thy rising]".
11
Although the text "The people that walked in darknesss" is taken from a different chapter of Isaiah , Handel treats the aria as a continuation of the accompagnato by similar motifs. The darkness is illustrated by the bass and the celli in unisonUnison
In music, the word unison can be applied in more than one way. In general terms, it may refer to two notes sounding the same pitch, often but not always at the same time; or to the same musical voice being sounded by several voices or instruments together, either at the same pitch or at a distance...
, starting with the seconds of the movement before and proceeding in uneven steps, carefully marked for irregular phrasing. On "have seen a great light", the melody begins to leap, and finally reaches on the word "light" a long high note which the voice holds, while the celli continue their movement. The next occurrence of "darkness" is a broken downward melisma. In the second verse of the text, the gloom of the beginning is intensified by similar unsupported figures on "shadow of death", but once more relieved by "upon them has the light shined", again with the voice singing independently. The aria is not da capo, but follows exactly the two verses from the Old Testament poetry, where the second verse typically parallels the thought of the first.
12
The choir concludes the scene, telling the news of Christmas, the birth of a sonNativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
, "For unto us a Child is born", in Isaiah's words . Marked piano, the sopranos enter a fugue first, singing a delicate theme with many rests. Their countersubject
Countersubject
In music, a countersubject is a melodic or thematic idea which is played against a primary subject of a fugue, ricercar, invention, sinfonia, or other contrapuntal piece of music...
to the tenors' entry is a shimmering coloratura for more than three measures. The words "and the government shall be upon his shoulders" appears in stately dotted rhythm, culminating in the names "Won-derful", "Coun-selor", "The Mighty God", "The Everlasting Father", "The Prince – of Peace", with the shimmering coloratura in the strings. A second and third round of the development from the tender "child is born" to the proclamation "Prince of Peace" is crowned by the fourth round, with the theme in the bass and the countersubject in soprano and alto in parallel thirds.
Scene 4
Scene 4 is the only real scene of the oratorio: the annunciation to the shepherdsAnnunciation to the shepherds
The Annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus...
, and is taken from the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
, .
13
The shepherds are introduced by an instrumental PastoralePastorale
For Beethoven's Pastoral symphony, see Symphony No. 6 Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood....
, the Pifa, which takes its name from the shepherd-bagpipers, or pifferare, who played in the streets of Rome at Christmas time. The music in C major and swinging 12/8 time gently rises and falls like a cradle song
Lullaby
A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
.
14
In a short recitative, the soprano tells "There were shepherds abiding in the field". Handel saved the soprano solo voice until this point in the narration, exactly as Bach had done in his Christmas OratorioChristmas Oratorio
The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
.
15
Vivid string accompaniment, as of wings in action, illuminates the accompagnato "And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them" which is sung by the soprano. With "And the angel said unto them", the soprano delivers in simple recitative the message "Fear not". The upward fourth, followed by a rest, stresses the phrases "for behold", "good tidings", "for unto you" and ultimately "which is Christ".16
With "And suddenly there was with the angel", the soprano continues to tell of the arrival of "a multitude of the heav'nly host". Singing more fourths and rests on "And suddenly" and "praising God", the music is supported by an even more vibrant accompaniment of the violins.17
Handel waited until the angels' song "Glory to God" to introduce the trumpets. He marked them as "da lontano e un poco piano" (from afar and somewhat quietly) and originally planned to place them offstage (in disparte), to create the effect of distance. In this initial appearance the trumpets appear without the regular timpani. Handel's setting of the famous words is strikingly simple and effective: "Glory to God, glory to God in the highest" is sung by the high voices (soprano, alto and tenor), whereas "and peace on earth" is given to the low voices of tenor and bass in unison, with the bass dropping an octaveOctave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
for "on earth". In great contrast, "goodwill towards men" is sung in a fast sequence of entries in imitation, with the word "goodwill" on another upward fourth. The sequence is repeated, but this time all four voices sing "glory" and "peace", the first in a high register, then low again with the bass dropping an octave. After the song the angels disappear, diminuendo, gradually thinned out in instrumentation, with more and more rests, and always rising.
Scene 5
Scene 5 summarizes the deeds of the Messiah on earth and the response of man. The text is compiled from Zechariah (who saw God's providential dealings), Isaiah's oracle of salvation for Israel, and his vision of the ShepherdBook of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
(seen fulfilled by the Evangelist Matthew).
18
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion" is a virtuoso coloratura aria of the soprano which might express any kind of great joy—as seen in an opera. An upward fourth followed by a rest accents "Rejoice", and further repeats of the word are rendered as seemingly endless coloraturas. "Behold, thy King cometh unto thee" is given in dotted rhythm and is reminiscent of the French overture. The middle section tells in mellow movement "He is the righteous Saviour and he shall speak peace unto the heathen"—with "peace" repeated several times as a long note. Finally, a da capo seems to begin, but only the first entry of the voice is exactly the same, followed by even more varied coloraturas and embellishments to end the aria.19
In prophetic words of Isaiah, the alto recitative relates the Saviour's actions: "Then shall the eyes of the blind open'd ... and the tongue of the dumb shall sing" .20
A summary of the Saviour's deeds is given in a compilation of words from both Isaiah and Matthew. The Old Testament part "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd" , is sung by the alto in music in 12/8 time which is reminiscent of the Pifa, but moving first down, then up. The New Testament part, in the Gospel words of Jesus, are changed to the third person "Come unto Him, all ye that labour" . The soprano sings the same melody, but elevated by a fourth from F major to B flat major.21
Matthew's gospel continues "My yoke is easy, and my burthen is light", however for the closing choral movement of Part I, the words are changed to "His yoke is easy, His burthen is light". Light and easy-going is the theme of a fugue, drawn from the duet for two sopranos "Quel fior che alla'ride" (HWV 192, July 1741). "His yoke" is again set as an upward fourth, and "easy" is a playful coloratura. The texture is intensified to the end, when all proclaim as a solemn statement "and His burthen is light".See also
- Messiah (Handel)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...
- Messiah Part IIMessiah Part IIMessiah , the English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is structured in three parts. This listing covers Part II in a table and comments on individual movements, reflecting the relation of the musical setting to the text...
- Messiah Part IIIMessiah Part IIIMessiah , the English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is structured in three parts. This listing covers Part III in a table and comments on individual movements, reflecting the relation of the musical setting to the text...
- Messiah on Wikisource (full text, scriptural references and sound samples)
- Messiah structure (structure of the parts and the Biblical sources)
- Händel-Gesellschaft (volumes 45 and 45a)
- Letters and writings of George Frideric Handel
External links
- Georg Friedrich Händel / Messiah (1742) / A Sacred Oratorio / Words by Charles Jennens opera.stanford.edu
- George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) / Messiah Simon Heighes, for The SixteenThe SixteenThe Sixteen are a choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers in 1979.The group's special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th century...
recording, 1997