Messiah Part II
Messiah | |
---|---|
(Part II) | |
by King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer | |
Composed | 22 August 1741 London – 14 September 1741 : |
Movements | 23 in seven scenes |
Vocal | SATB choir and solo |
Instrumental |
Messiah, the oratorio
The
Messiah is not a typical Handel oratorio; there are no named characters, as are usually found in Handel's setting of the Old Testament stories, possibly to avoid charges of blasphemy. It is a meditation rather than a drama of personalities, lyrical in method; the narration of the story is carried on by implication, and there is no dialogue.
Structure and concept
The oratorio's structure follows the
.Music
When Handel composed Messiah in London, he was already a successful and experienced composer of Italian operas. He had started in 1713 to also compose sacred music on English texts, such as the
General notes
The following table is organized by movement numbers. There are two major systems of numbering the movements of Messiah: the historic
To emphasise the movements in which the oboes (ob) and the rarely used trumpets (tr) and timpani (ti) play, the summary below does not mention the regular basso continuo and the strings in movements. Details on the development of keys, different tempo markings times within a movement are given in notes on the individual movements.
Part II summary
Nov | Bär | Title / First line | Form | Tempo marking | Scoring | Time | Key |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
22 | 19 | Behold the Lamb of God | Chorus | Largo | ob | G minor | |
23 | 20 | He was despised | Air, alto | Largo | E-flat major | ||
24 | 21 | Surely, He hath borne our griefs | Chorus | Largo e staccato | ob | A-flat major | |
25 | 22 | And with His stripes we are healed | Chorus | Alla breve, moderato | ob | F minor | |
26 | 23 | All we like sheep | Chorus | Allegro moderato | ob | F major | |
27 | 24 | All they that see Him, laugh | Accompagnato, tenor | Larghetto | B-flat minor | ||
28 | 25 | He trusted in God | Chorus | Allegro | ob | C minor | |
29 | 26 | Thy rebuke hath broken His heart | Accompagnato, Tenor | Largo | various | ||
30 | 27 | Behold, and see | Arioso, Tenor | Largo e piano | E minor | ||
31 | 28 | He was cut off out | Accompagnato, tenor or soprano | B minor | |||
32 | 29 | But Thou didst not leave his soul | Air, tenor or soprano | Andante larghetto | A major | ||
33 | 30 | Lift up your heads | Chorus SSATB | A tempo ordinario | ob | F major | |
34 | Unto which of the angels | Recitative, tenor | D minor | ||||
35 | 31 | Let all the angels of God | Chorus | Allegro | ob | D major | |
36 | 32 | Thou art gone up on high | Air, alto, soprano, or bass | Allegro larghetto | 3/4 | D minor (alto and bass) / G minor (soprano) | |
37 | 33 | The Lord gave the word | Chorus | Andante allegro | ob | B-flat major | |
38 | 34 | How beautiful are the feet | Duet, alto or soprano & alto Chorus or Air, soprano or alto | Andante | ob | D minor (duet and chorus) / G minor (soprano) / C minor (alto) | |
39 | 35 | Their sound is gone out | Arioso, tenor or chorus | Andante larghetto | F major (tenor) / E-flat major (chorus) | ||
40 | 36 | Why do the nations so furiously rage | Air, bass | Allegro | C major | ||
41 | 37 | Let us break their bonds asunder | Chorus | Allegro e staccato | ob | 3/4 | C major |
42 | He that dwelleth in heaven | Recitative, Tenor | A major | ||||
43 | 38 | Thou shalt break them | Air, tenor | Andante | 3/4 | A minor | |
44 | 39 | Hallelujah | Chorus | Allegro | tr ti ob | D major |
Part II movements
Scene 1
Scene 1 is the longest scene of the oratorio and reflects the Passion, in Jennens' words "Christ's Passion; the scourging and the agony on the cross", in nine individual movements, including the longest one, the Air for alto "He was despised".[3] Part II is the only part opened by a chorus, and continues to be dominated by choral singing. Block observes that the emphasis on the Passion differs from modern western popular Christianity, which prefers to stress the nativity of the Messiah.[4]
22
Behold the Lamb of God
The opening chorus "Behold the Lamb of God" begins like a
23
He was despised
The text in this movement comes from Isaiah's fourth song about the Man of Sorrows: "He was despised, rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3), indicating that "the Messiah will play a substitutionary sacrificial role on behalf of his people".[4] Handel gives the pitiful description to the alto solo in the longest movement of the oratorio in terms of duration.[3] It is a da capo aria, showing two contrasting moods, set in E-flat major in the first section, C minor in the middle section. The vocal line begins with an ascending fourth on "he was" and adds another one on "despi-sed", ending as a sigh. The signal of a fourth has been observed by musicologist Rudolf Steglich as a unifying motif of the oratorio.[5] Handel breaks the beginning of the text up to a stammering "He was despised, – despised and rejected, – rejected of men, ... – despi-sed – rejected", the words interspersed with rests as long as the words, as if exhausted. Soft sighing motifs of the violins, an echo of the singing, drop into these rests. Hogwood interprets the unaccompanied passages as emphasizing "Christ's abandonment".[7] The middle section is also full of dramatic rests, but now the voice is set on a ceaseless agitated pattern of fast dotted notes in the instruments, illustrating the hits of the smiters in text from the third song (Isaiah 50:6), where the words appear in the first person: "He gave his back – to the smiters – ... and His cheeks – to them – that plucked off the hair. – He hid – not his face – from shame – and spitting."
24
Surely, He hath borne our griefs
The dotted rhythm returns in instruments and voices in the chorus "Surely, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows", the continuation of Isaiah's text, set in F minor. The chorus continues with the remainder of Isaiah 53:5 and ends on the words "the chastisement of our peace was upon him".
25
And with His stripes we are healed
In the same key the chorus continues with a fugue "And with His stripes we are healed". The theme begins with a sequence of five long notes, which Mozart quoted in the Kyrie-fugue of his Requiem. The characteristic ascending fourth opens the countersubject. The word "healed" is later stressed by both long melismas and long notes.
26
All we like sheep
Still continuing Isaiah's text, "All we like sheep, have gone astray" is set as a fast chorus in F-major on a walking bass with irregular patterns and leaps. The voices utter twice together "All we like sheep", then two voice parts move simultaneously in different directions on "have gone astray", with the last syllable extended to eleven notes. The next bit of the text "we have turned" is illustrated by fast coloraturas, lacking direction. In a dramatic sudden adagio, full of
27
All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn
The thought "All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn" is taken from
28
He trusted in God, that He would deliver Him
What they say is given to the chorus as a strict fugue in C minor: "He trusted in God, that He would deliver Him, if He delight in Him." Jonathan Keates observes that Handel depicts the mocking, menacing crowd here, comparable to the turbae in Bach's Passions.[10]
29
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart
The tenor returns to sing a verse of the Psalm 69: "Thy rebuke hath broken His heart" (Psalms 69:20). Aching chromatic chords picture the broken heart. The accompagnato begins in A-flat major, shifts without stability and ends in B major. The tenor voice, going to report death and resurrection in scene 2, is comparable to the Evangelist in the Passions of Bach.[10]
30
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow
The tenor
Scene 2
Scene 2 covers death and resurrection in two tenor solo movements.
31
He was cut off out of the land of the living
In a restrained way, the death of the Messiah is told in another tenor accompagnato, as foretold by Isaiah, "He was cut off out of the land of the living" (Isaiah 53:8). Long chords begin in B minor and end in E major.
32
But Thou didst not leave his soul in hell
His resurrection is again told by the tenor in an Air according to Psalm 16, "But Thou didst not leave his soul in hell" (Psalms 16:10).
Scene 3
Scene 3 refers in a chorus to the ascension.
33
Lift up your heads
"Lift up your heads" is a line from Psalm 24 (Psalms 24:7–10). Since the text has questions ("Who is the King of Glory?") and answers ("He is the King of Glory"), Handel divides the choir in the first section to a high, announcing group (sopranos I and II, alto) and a low, questioning group (alto, tenor, bass).
Scene 4
Scene 4 covers the Messiah's position in heaven, following the teaching from the Epistle to the Hebrews in two verses, Hebrews 1:5–6.
34
Unto which of the angels said he at any time
In a short recitative the tenor renders the first verse, quoting
35
Let all the angels of God worship Him
The second verse "Let all the angels of God worship Him" (Hebrews 1:6) is a festive chorus in D major.
Scene 5
Scene 5 alludes to Pentecost and the beginning of preaching the Gospel.
36
Thou art gone up on high
Pentecost is referred to rather indirectly, without naming the Holy Spirit. "Thou art gone up on high" from Psalm 68 (Psalms 68:18) reflects "gifts for men" and "that God might dwell among them", expressed in swinging 3/4 time. Originally written for bass, Handel rewrote the Air in London in 1750 for the castrato Gaetano Guadagni.[10] However, the earlier editions (Novello, Best and Prout) all give this air to the Bass, in D minor; the current Novello edition by Watkins Shaw, as well as the Bäreneiter edition by John Tobin and the CF Peters edition by Donald Burrows all give the air to Alto (in D minor), and they provide transpositions for Soprano and Bass as well.
37
The Lord gave the word
The thoughts are continued in an earlier verse from the same psalm (Psalms 68:11) as a chorus in B-flat major. "The Lord gave the word" is sung by just two voice parts, "Great was the company of the preachers" expanded for four parts with long coloraturas on "company".
38
How beautiful are the feet of Him
The preachers are described tenderly in a duet in D minor and 3/4 time, as written first by Isaiah (Isaiah 52:7) and quoted by Paul in his Epistle to the Romans (Romans 10:15: "How beautiful are the feet of Him". Two alto voices begin and are joined by the choir, stressing "good tidings", "break forth into joy" and culminating on a cantus firmus of one repeated note: "Thy God reigneth!" Block, quoting Genesis 18:2, reflects that you see the feet of a messenger if you "fall prostrate before a superior. In the Bible, when people are confronted by a heavenly messenger (angel) the natural response is to fall down on one's face before the messenger."[4] Handel's original version, a duet in D minor for two altos and chorus or soprano, alto and chorus, was later rewritten by him in 1749 as an aria for soprano in G minor and 12/8 time and in 1750 transposed for alto in C minor.
39
Their sound is gone out into all lands
Based on a number of Bible references, a tenor arioso describes the preachers further: "Their sound is gone out into all lands" (Romans 10:18, Psalms 19:4). In another Handel's version (so called version B), which is commonly preferred by performers now, the same text is set to new music and scored for chorus.
Scene 6
Scene 6 shows the difficulties and rejection of the preaching, based on four consecutive verses from Psalm 2, Psalms 2:1–4. It is the first text in the oratorio actually referring to the Messiah, the "anointed one" (verse 2).[4]
40
Why do the nations so furiously rage together
An Air for bass in
41
Let us break their bonds asunder
The choir continues the thought; the intention "Let us break their bonds asunder" is expressed in a fast succession of entries of the voices.
42
He that dwelleth in heaven
The text continues in a short tenor recitative: "He that dwelleth in heaven".
Scene 7
Scene 7 is called "God's triumph" by Jennens.
43
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron
A forceful Air for tenor tells of God's power against enemies, again taken from Psalm 2: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron" (Psalms 2:9).
44
Hallelujah
Part II closes with the Hallelujah chorus which became famous as a stand-alone piece, set in the key of
References
- ^ Vickers, David (2012). "Messiah (HWV 56) "A Sacred Oratorio"". gfhandel.org. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
- ^ a b Powell, David R. (2009). "The Bible and Handel's Messiah: Some Sources on Their Relation and Use". journal.atla.com. Theological Librarianship, An Online Journal of the American Theological Library Association. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
- ^ a b c Heighes, Simon (1997). "George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) / Messiah – Simon Heighes, for The Sixteen recording, Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder". hyperion-records.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Block, Daniel I. (2001). "Handel's Messiah: Biblical and Theological Perspectives" (PDF). Didaskalia. 12 (2). Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ a b
Luckett, Richard (1992). Handel's Messiah: A Celebration. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 978-0-575-05286-4.
- ^
ISBN 978-0-521-37620-4.
- ^ a b c d Hogwood, Christopher (1991). Handel: Messiah (CD). The Decca Recording Company Ltd. (Notes on the music, Edition de L'Oiseau-Lyre 430 488–2)
- ^
Manson Myers, Robert (1948). Handel's Messiah: A Touchstone of Taste. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 9780374960353.
- ^ "G. F. Handel's Compositions HWV 101–200". GFHandel.org. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ a b c Keates, Jonathan (2007). "Handel Messiah" (PDF). Barbican Centre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
External links
- Messiah (Handel) at Curlie
- Messiah (Handel): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Georg Friedrich Händel / Messiah (1742) / A Sacred Oratorio / Words by Charles Jennens opera.stanford.edu
- George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) / Messiah Simon Heighes, for The Sixteen recording, 1997
- Handel Messiah Lindsay Kemp, program notes for Colin Davis recording, 2006