Handel's sacred music, Messiah, remains the greatest oratorio. Handel's Messiah facts, brief history, and first performance.
George Frideric Handel's Messiah, text from the Bible, remains the greatest sacred oratorio traditionally presented for Advent, Christmas, and Easter. Original language is in English, text was drawn from the King James version of the Bible, compiled by Charles Jennens.
The date of writing was from August 22 to September 14, 1741, in London, and the first performance was in April 13, 1742, in Dublin, Ireland. Messiah has three parts, and a total of 47 musical numbers. Other Handel oratorios include: Israel in Egypt, (1739) Saul, (1739) and Solomon. (1749)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), a German-born English composer, was born in Halle, Germany but lived most of his life in England. He was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, the latter a month younger.
Messiah's Brief History
Handel first performed Messiah in Dublin 265 years ago. He left no final version of this oratorio as he continuously revised and adapted it to suit performance conditions. In concert practice today only four solo voices are used: soprano, alto, tenor and bass, as the original duet for the two solo altos is replaced by the soprano aria "How beautiful are the feet." There are four-part mixed chorus, instruments including oboes, strings, trumpets, timpani, strings; and involving recitative, aria, duet, and chorus.
In the summer of 1741, Handel was believed in the midst of health crises. Charles Jennens, Handels collaborator, compiled the texts of "Messiah" from passages of the Holy Bible. The sacred music summarized the essential elements of the arrival of the Messiah as proclaimed by the prophets, His worldly sufferings, and His victorious death for mankind.
Handel set to work on Messiah August 22, 1741 finishing the first part on August 28, the second part on September 6, and the third and final part on September 14. The complete work was composed of 52 sections. This is such tremendous speed, an enormous achievement that could have happened with such devotion and undivided attention.
Messiah's First Performance
Handel had close friends in Ireland, one of them the English Viceroy. He visited Ireland on invitation arriving in Dublin on the 18th of November 1741. Two days before Christmas, he began a series of concerts which lasted until the end of March 1742. Many of his recent works that time were included in the programs, most of them oratorios yet unknown in Ireland. In particular, the premiere performance of the Messiah was a tremendous success, with the public and press unanimous in their opinion, with acclaims that they have just heard for the first time one of the greatest musical creations; this despite the short notice rehearsals by inadequate singers. An additional attraction has always been the large number of choruses included, larger than any other of Handel's oratorios.
Messiah's London Premieré
The first London performance of Messiah took place in Lent on March 23, 1743 at Covent Garden. Something significant and memorable happened that have a lasting effect. At the first measures of "Hallelujah" chorus, King George II stood up to express his admiration for the piece. Of course, the entire audience rose with him, and to this day audiences stand for that chorus, in reverence for the master and his work.
The enormously famous and mighty "Hallelujah" Chorus in Handel's Messiah is traditionally sung by Christians in church services during Christmas or Easter.
Other Famous Oratorios:
- Haydn's The Creation
- Haydn's The Seasons
- JS Bach's St Matthew Passion
- Mendelssohn's Elijah
Sources:
The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd Edition, Edited by Stanley Sadie (2000)
The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham (2002)
The World of the Oratorio by Kurt Pahlen (1990)
