Program Notes

Messiah is without question the most popular of Handel’s works and the most-performed choral work in the classical tradition.  Composed in London over a span of 24 days in the late summer of 1741 to a libretto by Charles Jennens, it received its premiere in Dublin on April 13, 1742 near the end of Handel’s 7-month stay in Ireland.  The London premiere followed in March, 1743 to a mixed reception.  From 1749 until the composer’s death in 1759 it was performed every year, always at Eastertide in March or April.  Handel made revisions for every production to adapt to available soloists; one example is the aria “And who may abide the day of His coming,” originally for bass but revised for a virtuoso castrato in 1750, adding the coloratura section “For he is like a refiner’s fire” (the familiar version for bass was transposed by Mozart).  Several choruses were adapted from previous Handel works, a common practice by Handel and his contemporaries.  The work quickly gained popularity in England, on the Continent, and eventually in the United States.

Unlike most Handelian oratorios, Messiah is contemplative in nature with no dramatic action except for the annunciation of the nativity to the shepherds.  It is divided into three parts, similar to the structure of a three-act opera.  Jennens subdivided the parts into “scenes.” Because much of the text is so allusive, he published a pamphlet explaining his choices of scriptural selections.  Jennens selected texts mainly from Old Testament prophesies and psalms, adding short New Testament commentary in Parts I and III.  Part I consists of the prophecies of salvation and Christ’s birth, the annunciation to the shepherds, and Christ’s healing and redemption.  Part II concerns itself with Christ’s Passion, death, resurrection, and ascension, His reception into heaven, the beginnings of Gospel preaching, the world’s rejection of the Gospel, and God’s ultimate victory, concluding with the “Hallelujah” chorus.  Part III deals with the promise of eternal life (“I know that my Redeemer liveth”, “Since by man came death”), the Day of Judgment (“The trumpet shall sound”), the final conquest of sin, concluding with the acclamation of The Messiah (“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain”). 

The style of Messiah, as of English oratorio in general, is mostly a Handelian creation, a combination of Italian opera, English masque and anthem, French overture style, and German Protestant oratorio and Passion.  The role of the chorus is given more prominence than in Handel’s operas.  In Messiah Handel achieves his musical depiction through the contrast of minor and major keys (e.g. proceeding from the minor key of the opening “Sinfony” to the major key of the tenor recitative and aria “Comfort ye,” and “Every valley”), the minor keys of the Passion movements followed by the bright major keys of such movements as “Lift up your heads, O ye gates” and “Hallelujah!” There are some notable text painting effects in movements such as the tenor aria “Every valley” (especially on the words “crooked” and “straight”), “Glory to God” (at the end of which the instrumental coda fades away indicating the departure of the angels), and “All we like sheep” (the wayward lines on the word “astray” and the florid melismas on “turn”).  After the acclamation of the Messiah with “Worthy is the Lamb,” Handel concludes the work with a fugal “Amen” chorus, accentuating the ending with trumpets and timpani.

~Robert Acker and Alison Bleick

Courtesy of the Elgin Choral Union