With Christmas coming, I always get out my holiday CDs to accompany me along my daily drives to work and play! One of my favorites is Handel's Messiah, which chronicals Christ's life from birth to death, and Resurrection. It is an Oratorio, or piece similar to opera with music and song advancing the story, but unlike opera which is musical theatre, an oratorio is a concert. So costumes or sets, but the orchestra and singers on stage. Handel, who was German, found himself in the mid-1700's in England. He loved it there, and the English loved him and his work.
He composed the Messiah in 1741 with text compiled by Charles Jennen, from the King James Bible, along with Psalms from the Book of Common Prayer. It is written in three parts: the Coming of Christ, His Passion and Death, and the Resurrection. Some arias are for the soprano or alto voice, others for baritone and even bass. It is gorgeous, each one with its own special beauty. Some are very familiar to us, like the Halleluiah chorus, but there are some other gems, like "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd".
Handel first performed the Messiah in Dublin in 1742 at the Great Music Hall (at right). This arose out of an invitation from the Duke of Devonshire, who was the First Lieutenant of Ireland at the time. The Londoners were aghast, but he deferred to the Duke, who probably footed the bill for the concert as well. Money talks!
Anyway, It is well worth a listen, especially at this time of year. Apart from all the holiday hoopla selections, like "Jingle Bell Rock", "Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Gramma Got run over by a Reindeer", it is nice to hear something that actually contemplates the true meaning of the season; that it is Jesus' birthday, and in that, there is great hope!
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