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Home , Messiah (Handel), Messiah Part II

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George Frideric Handel (1685-1753)

Messiah (1741; rev. 1743-1750)

Messiah Chorus Part Two He trusted in God that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, if He delight in Him. Chorus (:9) Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. Accompagnato (tenor) (John 1:29) Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness. Air () He looked for some to have pity on Him, He was despised and rejected of men, but there was no man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. neither found He any to comfort Him. He gave His back to the smiters, (Psalm 69:21) and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; He hid not His face from shame and spitting. Air (tenor) ( 53:3; 53:6) Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow. Chorus (Lamentations 1:12) Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; He was wounded for our transgressions, Accompagnato () He was bruised for our iniquities; He was cut off out of the land of the living; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. for the transgression of Thy people was He stricken. (:4-5) (Isaiah 53:8)

Chorus Air (soprano) And with His stripes we are healed. But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell, nor didst (Isaiah 53:5) Thou suff er Thy Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10) Chorus Chorus All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, And the Lord hath laid on Him and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, the iniquity of us all. and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is the King of Glory? (Isaiah 53:6) The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Accompagnato (tenor) The Lord of Hosts: All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn; they shoot He is the King of Glory. out their lips, and shake their heads, saying: (:7-10) (Psalm 22:8) . . 1 . SJD.ORG .

Accompagnato (tenor) Chorus Unto which of the angels said He at anytime, *Please remain seated* Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee? ! (Hebrews 1:5) for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world is become Chorus the kingdom of our Lord and of His ; Let all the angels of God worship Him. and He shall reign for ever and ever. (Hebrews 1:6) King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah! Air (soprano) (Revelation 19:6; 11:15; 19:16) How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the of peace Part Three and bring glad tidings of good things. Air (soprano) (Romans 10:15) I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day Chorus upon the earth. Their sound is gone out into all lands, And though worms destroy this body, and their words unto the ends of the world. yet in my fl esh shall I see God. (Romans 10:18) For now is Christ risen from the dead, the fi rst fruits of them that sleep. Air () (Job 19:25-26; Corinthians 15:20) Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and why do the people imagine a vain thing? Chorus The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers Since by man came death, take counsels together against the Lord, and by man came also the resurrection of the dead. against His anointed. For as in Adam all die, (:1-2) even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (I Corinthians 15:21-22) Chorus Let us break their bonds asunder, Accompagnato (bass) and cast away their yokes from us. Behold, I tell you a mystery: (Psalm 2:3) we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, (tenor) in the twinkling of an eye, He that dwelleth in heaven at the last . shall laugh them to scorn; (I Corinthians 15:51-52) the Lord shall have them in derision. (Psalm 2:4) Air (bass) The trumpet shall sound, Air (tenor) and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; and we shall be changed. Thou shalt dash them in pieces For this corruptible must put on incorruption, like a potter’s vessel. and this mortal must put on immortality. (Psalm 2:9) (I Corinthians 15:52-53) . . 2 . SJD.ORG .

Recitative (alto) (1608-1759) Then shall be brought to pass broke new ground with Messiah, as there the saying that is written: had been nothing like it in the history of Death is swallowed up in victory. the . Handel had made his acquain- (I Corinthians 15:54) tance with the genre in Rome, the city where it had fi rst evolved, and later intro- Duet (alto and tenor) O death, where is thy sting? duced it to audiences. Traditionally, O grave, where is thy victory? the underlying concept of oratorio was The sting of death is sin, dramatic, where solo singers assumed the and the strength of sin is the law. roles of biblical characters and dramatized (I Corinthinans 15:55-56) a story through . Conversely, Messiah is a collection of scriptures compiled the- Chorus But thanks be to God, matically around the redemption of man- who giveth us the victory, kind. through our Lord Christ. (I Corinthians 15:57) Messiah is without question one of the most popular works in the choral and orchestral Air (soprano) repertoire today. The text for Messiah was If God be for us, selected and compiled from the Autho- who can be against us? rized (King James) Version of the Bible by Who shall lay anything , an aristocrat, musician, to the charge of God’s elect? and poet of modest talent and exceptional It is God that justifi eth, who is he that condemneth? ego. With Messiah, however, Jennens com- It is Christ that died, piled a with profound thematic co- yea rather that is risen again, herence and an acute sensitivity to the in- who is at the right hand of God, herent musical structure. With the fi nished who makes intercession for us. libretto in his possession, Handel began (Romans 8:31, 33-34) setting it to music on August 22, 1741, and Chorus completed it 24 days later. He was certainly Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, composing at a remarkable pace, but this and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, does not necessarily indicate he was in the to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, throes of devotional fervor, as legend has and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. often stated. Handel composed many of his Blessing and honour, glory and power works in haste, and immediately after com- be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. pleting Messiah he wrote his next oratorio, Amen. , in a similarly brief time span. (Revelation 5:12-14) Over-enthusiastic “Handelists” in the 19th century perpetuated all sorts of legends . . 3 . SJD.ORG . regarding the composition of Messiah. An story that mixes both Old and New Testa- often-repeated story relates how Handel’s ment sources. The second part deals with servant found him sobbing with emotion Christ’s mission and sacrifi ce, culminating while writing the famous “Hallelujah Cho- in the grand “Hallelujah Chorus.” The fi nal rus,” and the composer claiming, “I did and shortest section is an extended hymn think I did see all Heaven before me and of thanksgiving and an expression of faith. the great God Himself.” Supposedly Handel It begins with Job’s statement “I know that often left his meals untouched during this my Redeemer liveth” and closes with the compositional period, in an apparent dis- majestic chorus “Worthy is the Lamb,” fol- play of devotional fasting and monastic lowed by a sublime, fugal “Amen.” In its fo- self-denial. Present-day historians more fa- cus on Christ’s sacrifi ce, Messiah resembles miliar with Handel’s life and religious views the great Lutheran of Schütz and tend to downplay these stories. Religious Bach, but with much less direct narrative fervor is less like to have brought the wa- and more meditative commentary on the ter to Handel’s eyes in composing the new redemptive nature of Christ’s earthly mis- work than the sheer novelty and exciting sion. Handel scholar Robert Myers sug- uniqueness of the project in front of him. gested that “logically Handel’s master- Handel’s faith was sincere, but tended to piece should be called ‘Redemption,’ for be practical rather than mystical. its author celebrates the idea of Redemp- tion, rather than the personality of Christ.” The tradition of performing Messiah at For the believer and non-believer alike, began later in the . Handel’s Messiah is undoubtedly a majestic Although the work was occasionally per- musical edifi ce. formed during in , the ora- torio was usually regarded in as While a truly popular favorite around the an entertainment for the penitential season world, Messiah aspires to more than just a of , when performances of were reputation as an enjoyable musical event. banned. Messiah’s extended musical focus After an early performance of the work on Christ’s redeeming sacrifi ce also makes in London, Lord Kinnoul congratulated it particularly suitable for Passion Week and Handel on the “noble entertainment” he Holy Week, the periods when it was usually had recently brought to the city. Handel is performed during Handel’s lifetime. said to have replied, “My Lord, I should be sorry if I only entertained them; I wished Following the pattern of Italian to make them better.” Certainly Messiah opera, Messiah is divided into three parts. carries an ennobling message to people of The fi rst is concerned with prophecies of all faiths and credos, proclaiming “peace Christ’s coming, drawing heavily from mes- on earth, and goodwill towards men”— a sianic texts in the , and con- message that continues to be timely and cludes with an account of the Christmas universal. . . 4