# Handel's Messiah



## jason4445 (Dec 16, 2010)

Handel's work is an important thing to me.  I fortunately was able to perform it in a community choir a few times, and listening to the movements got me through a few Christmases when I found myself alone, and the Christmas when my son was in Iraq.

The enitre work is over 50 movements in three parts and take about 3 hours to listen.  I am going to post eleven movements from the different parts and the verses that inspired that particular movement.

I meant to start it yesterday, so I will post the first two movements together so it will end at Christmas Day.

Part I starts with the prophecy of the Messiah's coming and makes celestial announcements of Christ's birth and the redemption of humanity through his appearance.  Many verse in this part taken from  Isaiah which is the heart and center of all Old Testament Messianic prophecy. These movements are performed by the London Symphony.

And the Glory of the Lord

Isaiah 40: 5
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 

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The second movement I am posting from part 1 is "Comfort Ye My People." Isaiah 40: 1 - 3
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God

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## FireHunter174 (Dec 16, 2010)

Took my wife last year for her birthday to see the Atlanta Symphony perform Handel's Messiah.  It was awesome.  My wife had never seen anything like it.


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## jason4445 (Dec 16, 2010)

It is awe-inspiring.  And like any classical or opera type music half of the enjoyment is knowing a bit of the history (verses) that inspired its composition. 

Handel gave the first performance of Messiah; in Dublin, Ireland in 1742 and the occasion was a benefit for people in debtor's prisons. The rehearsals attracted wide attention: one newspaper commented that Messiah was thought 'by the greatest Judges to be the finest Composition of Music that was ever heard'. Normally, the concert hall held 600 people; but to increase the capacity, women were asked not to wear hoopskirts, and men were asked to leave their swords at home.

'Messiah is in three parts. Part I starts with the prophecy of the Messiah's coming and makes celestial announcements of Christ's birth and the redemption of humanity through his appearance. Part II has been aptly described by one Handel scholar as 'the accomplishment of redemption by the sacrifice of Jesus, mankind's rejection God's offer and mankind's utter defeat when trying to oppose the power of the Almighty.' Part III expresses faith in the certainty of eternal life through Christ as redeemer.

Messiah is meditative rather than dramatic; it lacks plot action and specific characters. Messiah is Handel's only English oratorio that uses the New Testament as well as the Old. Charles Jennings, a millionaire and amateur literary man, complied the text by taking widely separated passages form the Bible--Isaiah, Psalms, and Job form the Old Testament; Luke, I Corinthians, and the Book of Revelations from the New.

The Hallelujah Chorus, which is always in modern times played as the last movement is really the ending of the second part of the composition.  Why does everyone stand?  The tradition is said to have originated with the first London performance of Messiah, which was attended by King George II. As the first notes of the triumphant Hallelujah Chorus rang out, the king rose to his feet and remained standing until the end of the chorus. Royal protocol has always dictated that when the monarch stands, everyone in their presence is also required to stand. Thus, the entire audience and orchestra stood when the king stood during the performance, initiating a tradition that has lasted more than two centuries. It is lost to history the exact reason why the King stood at that point, but the most popular explanations include:

He was so moved by the performance that he rose to his feet. He stood out of tribute to the composer.  As was and is the custom, one stands in the presence of royalty as a sign of respect. The Hallelujah chorus clearly places Christ as the King of Kings. In standing, King George II accepts that he too is subject to the Lord of Lords.


There is another story told about this chorus that Handel's assistant walked in to Handel's room after shouting to him for several minutes with no response. The assistant reportedly found Handel in tears, and when asked what was wrong, Handel held up the score to this movement and said, "I thought I saw the face of God."


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