Messiah (Handel)

Messiah (Handel)
George Frideric Handel · Public domain · source
Name	Messiah
Composer	George Frideric Handel
Native name	Messia
Native name lang	Italian
Key	D major (Part I opening), B-flat major (Haleluya chorus)
Catalogue	HWV 56
Genre	Oratorio
Period	Baroque
Composed	1741–1742
Performed	1742 premiere
Duration	c. 2.5–3 hours
Movements	Three parts
Text	libretto by Charles Jennens
Language	English
Publisher	John Walsh (London)

Messiah (Handel) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel with a libretto compiled by Charles Jennens. Premiered in 1742, the work is among the most performed choral works in Western music, noted for the famous "Hallelujah" chorus and its synthesis of biblical texts drawn from the Old Testament, New Testament and the Apocrypha. Handel's composition rapidly influenced the oratorio genre, choral tradition, and subsequent composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, and Joseph Haydn.

Background and Composition

Handel composed Messiah during a productive period following his move from Hanover to London, after successes with opera seria at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden and earlier oratorios like Esther (Handel). The libretto was assembled by Charles Jennens from passages in the King James Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Book of Isaiah among other texts, reflecting influences from Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas in its theological selection. Handel wrote Messiah in about 24 days in the autumn of 1741 at his country house in Burlington House; the work’s composition was informed by Handel’s previous choral writing for the Foundling Hospital and contacts with patrons such as the Earl of Shaftesbury and Queen Caroline. The oratorio’s English text and devotional content aligned with the tastes of London's Evangelical Revival and the networks of society concerts centered on patrons like John Rich.

Structure and Musical Content

Messiah is organized in three parts: Part I (the prophecy and birth of the Messiah), Part II (the passion, resurrection, and ascension), and Part III (the promise of eternal life and final judgment). The score weaves recitatives, arias, choruses, and instrumental sinfonias, employing techniques from Italian opera and French overture practice, alongside German contrapuntal models from Johann Sebastian Bach and Dieterich Buxtehude. Notable numbers include the soprano aria "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth", the alto "He Was Despised", and the choruses "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" and "Hallelujah". Handel’s orchestration calls for strings, oboes, bassoons, trumpets, timpani, and continuo, reflecting the resources of the Royal Opera House and the available London orchestras; the vocal parts engage soloists associated with theaters such as Drury Lane and choral forces drawn from institutions like the Foundling Hospital choir.

Premiere and Early Performance History

The oratorio premiered on 13 April 1742 at the New Music Hall, Dublin (commonly called the Great Music Hall, Fishamble Street) under Handel’s direction to benefit sufferers of famine and to raise funds for philanthropic causes; prominent attendees included Lord Chesterfield and representatives of the Irish Parliament. The London premiere took place in 1743 at Covent Garden with performers from Handel’s company and attracted subscriptions from nobility including Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Charles Jennens himself. Early performances alternated between public subscription concerts, charity benefits at the Foundling Hospital, and season performances at venues such as Haymarket Theatre and Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre.

Reception and Critical Legacy

Contemporary reception in Dublin and London was enthusiastic among audiences and patrons, though critics associated with the Italian opera faction debated its dramatic form. Over the 19th and 20th centuries Messiah became canonical, praised by figures including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Franz Joseph Haydn, and Gustav Mahler; critics like Charles Burney and commentators in the Edinburgh Review probed its religious and artistic merits. The work’s "Hallelujah" chorus inspired traditions such as audiences standing during performance—an anecdote often linked to a supposed gesture by King George II at the London premiere. Messiah influenced choral societies across Europe and America, including the Bach Choir and the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, shaping the rise of amateur choral culture and festivals like the Three Choirs Festival.

Performance Practice and Editions

Performance practice for Messiah reflects debates over forces, soloists, and continuo. Historically informed performances draw upon research into baroque pitch, period instruments from makers influenced by Schellhorn and Rococo models, and vocal techniques derived from treatises by Pier Francesco Tosi and Giovanni Battista Mancini. Notable editions include those by Novello & Co., the 19th-century arrangements by Felix Mendelssohn and Samuel Wesley, and modern critical editions from editors such as Christopher Hogwood and Rainer Rathert. Conductors including Sir Thomas Beecham, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Trevor Pinnock, and John Eliot Gardiner have advanced divergent practices from large Romantic choirs to one-voice-per-part historically informed ensembles.

Cultural Impact and Media Adaptations

Messiah’s music permeates concert halls, liturgy, radio, film, and television. The work has been adapted in arrangements for brass band and military band, quoted by composers such as Edward Elgar and Aaron Copland, and featured in media like the films of Alfred Hitchcock and broadcasts by the BBC. Annual performances at institutions such as St Paul’s Cathedral, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Sydney Opera House underscore its global reach, while recordings by Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, and Sir Colin Davis exemplify studio interpretations. Messiah remains a focal point for commemorations, charity concerts, and intercultural projects linking churches, conservatories, and civic ensembles.

Category:Oratorios by George Frideric Handel Category:1741 compositions