Structure of Handel's Messiah
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- For the full text, scriptural references and sound samples, see Messiah on Wikisource
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...
(HWV 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, listed in tables for their musical setting and biblical sources.
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").
Scenes
The librettist arranged his compilation in "scenes", each concentrating on a topic.Part I: "The prophecy and realisation of God's plan to redeem mankind by the coming of the Messiah"
- Scene 1: "Isaiah's prophecy of salvation" (movements 2–4)
- Scene 2: "The prophecy of the coming of Messiah and the question, despite (1), of what this may portend for the World" (movements 5–7)
- Scene 3: "The prophecy of the Virgin Birth" (movements 8–12)
- Scene 4: "The appearance of the Angels to the Shepherds" (movements 13–17)
- Scene 5: "Christ's redemptive miracles on earth" (movements 18–21)
Part II: "The accomplishment of redemption by the sacrifice of Christ, mankind's rejection of God's offer, and mankind's utter defeat when trying to oppose the power of the Almighty"
- Scene 1: "The redemptive sacrifice, the scourging and the agony on the cross" (movements 22–30)
- Scene 2: "His sacrificial death, His passage through Hell and Resurrection" (movements 31–32)
- Scene 3: "His ascension" (movement 33)
- Scene 4: "God discloses his identity in Heaven" (movements 34–35)
- Scene 5: "Whitsun, the gift of tongues, the beginning of evangelism" (movements 36–39)
- Scene 6: "The world and its rulers reject the Gospel" (movements 40–41)
- Scene 7: "God's triumph" (movements 42–44)
Part III: "A Hymn of Thanksgiving for the final overthrow of Death"
- Scene 1: "The promise of bodily resurrection and redemption from Adam's fall" (movements 45–46)
- Scene 2: "The Day of Judgement and general Resurrection" (movements 47–48)
- Scene 3: "The victory over death and sin" (movements 49–52)
- Scene 4: "The glorification of the Messianic victim" (movement 53)
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 center of Part III is a sequence of six movements based on a passage from Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians
First Epistle to the Corinthians
The first epistle of Paul the apostle to the Corinthians, often referred to as First Corinthians , is the seventh book of the New Testament of the Bible...
on the resurrection of the dead, a passage that Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
also chose for Ein deutsches Requiem.
The movements marked "Recitative" (Rec.) are "secco", accompanied by only the continuo, whereas the recitatives marked "Accompagnato" (Acc.) 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...
(S), 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,...
(A), 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...
(T) 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...
(B) in the solo and choral movements. Only once is the chorus divided in an upper chorus and a lower chorus, it is SATB
SATB
In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work...
otherwise. 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 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s 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, in Part I the song of the angels, Glory to God in the highest, and with 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...
the closing movements of both Part II, Hallelujah, and of Part III, Worthy is the Lamb.. 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 homophon
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 homophon 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 tables are 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. The Novello number (Nov) is given first, then the Bärenreiter number (Bär).
Part I
| Nov/Bär | Title | Form | Bible source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Symphony | |||
| Scene 1 | ||||
| 2 | Comfort ye, comfort ye my people | Acc. T | Isaiah, a new Exodus | |
| 3 | Ev’ry valley shall be exalted | Air T | ||
| 4 | And the glory, the glory of the Lord | Chorus | ||
| Scene 2 | ||||
| 5 | Thus saith the Lord, the Lord of Hosts Behold, I will send my messenger |
Acc. B | |
Haggai, splendor of the temple Malachi, the coming messenger |
| 6 | But who may abide the day of His coming | Air A | ||
| 7 | And He shall purify | chorus | ||
| Scene 3 | ||||
| 8 | Behold, a virgin shall conceive | Rec. A | |
Isaiah, virgin birth, quoted by Matthew Gospel 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 / 8 | O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion Arise, shine |
Air A Chorus | |
|
| 10 / 9 | For behold, darkness shall cover the earth | Acc. B | ||
| 11 / 10 | The people that walked in darkness | Air B | ||
| 12 / 11 | For unto us a Child is born | Chorus | ||
| Scene 4 | ||||
| 13 / 12 | Pifa | Pastorale | ||
| 14 | There were shepherds abiding in the field | Rec. S | 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... , 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... |
|
| 15 / 13 | And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them | Acc. S | ||
| And the angel said unto them | Rec. S | |||
| 16 / 14 | And suddenly there was with the angel | Acc. S | ||
| 17 / 15 | Glory to God in the highest | Chorus | ||
| Scene 5 | ||||
| 18 / 16 | Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion | Air S | Zechariah, God's providential dealings | |
| 19 | Then shall the eyes of the blind open'd | Rec. A | Isaiah, oracle of salvation for Israel | |
| 20 / 17 | He shall feed His flock like a shepherd Come unto Him, all ye that labour |
Duet A S | |
Isaiah, the Shepherd Book 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... Matthew, praise of the Father Gospel 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... |
| 21 / 18 | His yoke is easy, His burthen is light | Chorus | ||
Part II
| No N / B | Title | Form | Bible source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scene 1 | ||||
| 22 / 19 | Behold the Lamb of God | Chorus | Testimony of John the Baptist John the Baptist John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River... |
|
| 23 / 20 | He was despised He gave his back to his smiters |
Air A | |
Songs of the suffering servant Servant songs The Servant songs are songs in the Book of Isaiah. They were first identified by Bernhard Duhm in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah. The songs are four poems written about a certain "servant of YHWH." God calls the servant to lead the nations, but the servant is horribly abused... 4, 3 |
| 24 / 21 | Surely, He hath borne our grieves and carried our sorrows | Chorus | Man of Sorrows Man of Sorrows Among the passages in the Hebrew Bible that have been identified by Christians as prefigurations of the Messiah, the Man of Sorrows of Isaiah 53 is paramount - the various theological traditions are discussed at that article... , 4 continued |
|
| 25 / 22 | And with His stripes we are healed | Chorus | ||
| 26 / 23 | All we like sheep, have gone astray | Chorus | ||
| 27 / 24 | All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn | Acc. T | Psalm 22 Psalm 22 Psalm 22 is the 22nd psalm in the Book of Psalms.-Aijeleth Shahar:Aijeleth Shahar or Ayelet HaShachar is found in the title of the Psalm. It is probably the name of some song or tune to the measure of which the psalm was to be chanted... |
|
| 28 / 25 | He trusted in God | Chorus | ||
| 29 / 26 | Thy rebuke hath broken His heart | Acc. T | Psalm 69 Psalm 69 Psalm 69 is the 69th psalm of the Book of Psalms.-Judaism:*Verse 7 is found in the repetition of the Mussaf Amidah on Rosh Hashanah.*Verses 14 and 32 is recited in the blessings before the Shema on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.... |
|
| 30 / 27 | Behold, and see if there be any sorrow | Arioso T | Book of Lamentations Book of Lamentations The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE.... |
|
| Scene 2 | ||||
| 31 / 28 | He was cut off out of the land of the living | Acc. T | Man of Sorrows Man of Sorrows Among the passages in the Hebrew Bible that have been identified by Christians as prefigurations of the Messiah, the Man of Sorrows of Isaiah 53 is paramount - the various theological traditions are discussed at that article... |
|
| 32 / 29 | But Thou didst not leave his soul in hell | Air T | Psalm 16 | |
| Scene 3 | ||||
| 33 / 30 | Lift up your heads | Chorus | Psalm 24 Psalm 24 ' is the 24th Psalm from the Book of Psalms.-Judaism:*Is the psalm of the day in the Shir Shel Yom for Sunday.*On days other than Shabbat, is recited when returning the Torah Scroll to the ark.*Verse 1 is part of Mishnah Tamid 7:4.... |
|
| Scene 4 | ||||
| 34 | Unto which of the angels said he at all time | Rec. T | Epistle to the Hebrews Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Its author is not known.The primary purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine of the Person of Christ and his... |
|
| 35 / 31 | Let all the angels of God worship Him | Chorus | ||
| Scene 5 | ||||
| 36 / 32 | Thou art gone up on high | Air A | Psalm 68 Psalm 68 -Judaism:*Is recited on Shavuot in some traditions.*Verses 5-6 are part of the prayers recited following Motzei Shabbat Maariv.*Verse 20 is part of Uva Letzion.*Verses 35-36 are the fourth and fifth verses of V'hu Rachum in Pesukei Dezimra.... |
|
| 37 / 33 | The Lord gave the word | Chorus | ||
| 38 / 34 | How beautiful are the feet of Him | Duet AI AII Chorus | |
|
| 39 / 35 | Their sound is gone out into all lands | Arioso T | |
Psalm 19, The glory of God Epistle to the Romans Epistle to the Romans The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ... |
| Scene 6 | ||||
| 40 / 36 | Why do the nations so furiously rage together | Air B | Psalm 2 Psalm 2 Psalm 2 is the second Psalm of the Bible. It tells us that we can either defy God and perish, or submit to him and be blessed. Psalm 2 itself does not identify its author, but Acts 4:25-26 clearly attributes it to David.-In the original Hebrew:... |
|
| 41 / 37 | Let us break their bonds asunder | Chorus | ||
| 42 | He that dwelleth in heaven | Rec. T | ||
| Scene 7 | ||||
| 43 / 38 | Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron | Air T | ||
| 44 / 39 | Hallelujah | Chorus | |
Book of Revelation Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"... |
Part III
| No N–B | Title | Form | Bible source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scene 1 | ||||
| 45 / 40 | I know that my Redeemer liveth | Air S | Book of Job, Messianic anticipation | |
| 46 / 41 | Since by man came death | Chorus | Paul on the Resurrection of the dead | |
| Scene 2 | ||||
| 47 / 42 | Behold, I tell you a mystery | Acc. B | Resurrection of the body | |
| 48 / 43 | The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be rais'd |
Air B | ||
| Scene 3 | ||||
| 49 | Then shall be brought to pass | Rec. A | Victory over death | |
| 50 / 44 | O death, where is thy sting? | Duet A T | ||
| 51 / 45 | But thanks be to God | Chorus | ||
| 52 / 46 | If God be for us, who can be against us | Air S | Paul's Assurance of salvation | |
| Scene 4 | ||||
| 53 / 47 | Worthy is the Lamb that was slain | Chorus | The creatures in heaven give praise | |
| Amen | Chorus |
Alternative movements
Handel revised the work several times for specific performances. The alternative movements are part of the Bärenreiter edition, the Novello numbers are given in brackets.| No. | Title | Form |
|---|---|---|
| 6a. | But who may abide | Air B |
| But who may abide | Rec. A | |
| (15) 13a. | But lo, the angel of the Lord | Arioso S |
| (18) 16a. | Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion | Air S |
| (19) | Then shall the eyes of the blind | Rec. S |
| (20) 17a. | He shall feed His flock | Air S |
| (36) 32a. | Thou art gone up on high | Air B |
| (36) 32b. | Thou art gone up on high | Air S |
| (38) 34a. | How beautiful are the feet | Air S |
| (38) 34b. | How beautiful are the feet | Air A |
| (39) 35a. | Their sound is gone out | Chorus |
| (43) | Thou shalt break them | Rec. T |
Sources
- Scores
- Deutsche Händelgesellschaft Edition, edited by Friedrich ChrysanderFriedrich ChrysanderKarl Franz Friedrich Chrysander was a German music historian and critic, whose edition of the works of George Frideric Handel and authoritative writings on many other composers established him as a pioneer of 19th-century musicology.Born at Lübtheen, in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Chrysander was the son...
, 1902 - Novello Edition, edited by Watkins ShawWatkins ShawHarold Watkins Shaw, OBE, known as Watkins Shaw , was a British musicologist and educator best known for his critical edition of Handel's Messiah compiled between 1957 and 1965, which version has largely supplanted that of Ebenezer Prout in British performance - The Times obituarist went so far as...
, first published in 1959, revised and issued 1965 - Bärenreiter Edition, edited by John Tobin, published in 1965
- PetersEdition PetersEdition Peters, also known as C.F.Peters Musikverlag, is a German music publishing house, founded in Leipzig in 1800.From the 1860s it was largely run by members the Hinrichsen family, who were Jewish. The company was confiscated by the Nazis and administered by the "Trustee of Jewish Property"....
Edition, edited by Donald BurrowsDonald Burrows (musicologist)Donald James Burrows is Professor of Music at the Open University, and a leading scholar of the music of George Frideric Handel.He read History and Music at Trinity Hall, Cambridge ....
, vocal score published 1972 - Handel's Messiah at the Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities
- Deutsche Händelgesellschaft Edition, edited by Friedrich Chrysander
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