Magda Marx-Weber
Translation: Elizabeth Robinson
The stimulus for the composition of Messiah came from the librettist Charles Jennens. He wrote in July 1741 to a friend, that he hoped to be able to persuade Handel to compose a new biblical oratorio (“to set another Scripture Collection I have made for him”). Handel began work on the composition on 22 August 1741 and completed it on 14 September. He had received an invitation from the Irish viceroy to give several concerts in the 1741–42 winter season in Dublin. He travelled to Dublin with just a few of his own singers, without prior knowledge of the conditions there. Meanwhile, for the extremely successful first performance of the work on 13 April 1742, he had to adapt some of the arias to suit the abilities of the Irish singers. Since he also made alterations of this kind for later performances, a series of arias survive in several versions.
Charles Jennens (1700–73) had already provided Handel the libretto for Saul, and probably also Israel in Egypt; Belshazzar was to follow. As a prosperous and highly cultured landowner, he regarded himself as an equal partner in his collaboration with Handel. The collaboration was not without its tensions, but was imbued with mutual respect. The libretto of Messiah has hitherto received little attention, but recent research (by Ruth Smith and Tassilo Erhardt) has revealed it as a carefully thought out work in which Jennens pursued definite intentions. He was a resolute opponent of deism, then actively discussed in England, which challenged the view, among other things, that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. Drawing support from Richard Kidder’s influential book A Demonstration of the Messias in which the Truth of the Christian Religion is proved…, London, 1726, Jennens drew together quotations from the Old Testament which were intended to prove to the deists, and also to the Jews, that Christ is the promised Messiah. For this he chose first and foremost sections from the prophet Isaiah and the Psalms. He only drew on the New Testament (St. Luke, 1. Corinthians) as a supplementary source. The greater part of the texts would have been known to his audience from the readings for the church year in the Anglican Church, as they are found in the Book of Common Prayer.
We do not know whether Handel was interested in Jennens’ aims. However, he was evidently challenged by this libretto, both as a Christian and as a composer. It is also not known whether Jennens designated the different portions of the text to be set as choral movements, arias and recitatives, or whether this came about in discussion with Handel. At any rate, Handel succeeded in creating convincing settings of the sometimes sober biblical passages for chorus, aria or recitative. While it is a group which speaks in the choruses (“we”), the arias are opportunities for individual expression (“I”). The recitatives, whether unaccompanied (“secco”) or accompanied (“accompagnato”), have a function in moving the “plot” forwards. This is not dramatic as in Handel’s other oratorios, and there are no individual roles. Instead, elements of Anglican church music, of anthems flow into the work, which can rightly be described as an “anthem oratorio.”
Part One of the work deals with man’s longing for redemption, the announcement and birth of the Saviour, and then of his marvelous works. Instrumental movements, such as the introductory Sinfonia, play a much smaller role in Messiah than in Handel’s other oratorios. The orchestral forces are also more economical in comparison. Most numbers are only accompanied by strings, and a few also include two oboes. The arias are divided into two types: when the text does not dictate a particular emotion, but is more descriptive or reflective, Handel concentrates on the interpretation of the text with the help of musical-rhetorical figures. An example of this is the bass aria no. 10, “The people that walked in darkness.” The bass soloist, basso continuo and strings are in unison for long passages, and Handel expresses the searching wanderings in restless eighth note passages in chromatic figurations. He emphasizes the key words “darkness,” “light” and “death” in sustained low or high notes. By comparison, two arias in this first part are characterized by a unified emotion (“Affekt”) and avoid interpreting individual words. For the soprano aria no. 16, “Rejoice greatly,” Handel chose the bouncy rhythm of the gigue to express joy. A “Pifa” in siciliano rhythm, as encountered by Handel in Italy, opens the shepherds’ scene after the gospel according to St. Luke. The famous “shepherds’ aria” no. 17, “He shall feed his flock” is also a siciliano, and also one of the “Larghetto e piano” arias, as only Handel knew how to create. Textually and in key, this aria is linked with the final chorus of Part One, no. 18, “His yoke is easy,” a pairing of aria and chorus typical of the English anthem. The clarity of the chorus, in which two voices always merge in stirring active coloratura, is derived from Handel’s early chamber duets, which he drew on several times in Messiah. No. 11, “For unto us a child is born,” is also another of these duet choruses. The contrapuntal interplay of the voices lines is interrupted four times by homophonic calls (acclamations) at the words “Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God.” The well thought out contrasts between homophonic and contrapuntal writing make an essential contribution to the often overwhelming effect of Handel’s choruses. The chorus of angels no. 15 (“Glory to God”) conveys an impression of the great space between heaven and earth. The two trumpets (without timpani!) play “da lontano e un poco piano” according to Handel’s instruction, that is, from a distance and softly, so as not to drown out the angels’ music, which disappears into the distance at the end.
Part Two of the oratorio deals with the sufferings of Christ, his Resurrection and Ascension, the preaching of his gospel, the resistance to this gospel and finally the ultimate victory of the kingdom of God. The texts come from the Servant Songs of the Prophet Isaiah and from the psalms of suffering. In his setting, Handel was able to draw on the Passion music which he knew from Germany and Italy. The basic mood of the alto aria no. 20, “He was despised” is compassion, compassion for the suffering Saviour. Frequent use of diminished and augmented intervals and deceptive cadences result in a chromaticism like that found in Italian and German Passion music, for example in Johann Sebastian Bach. The contrasting central part of this da capo aria reflects the scourging of Christ in the chords with dotted rhythm in the strings. This figuration is also present in the following chorus no. 21, “Surely He hath borne our griefs.” Out of the compassion, self-accusation develops: our sins have caused Christ’s suffering. This major theme of Passion sermons of the 18th century also dominates Handel’s early contribution to German Passion music, his Passion after Barthold Heinrich Brockes. The chorus no. 22, “And with His stripes” is a double fugue in the “stile antico,” in which the instruments double the vocal parts. A movement of this kind was typically found in every major work of church music in the 18th century. In this case, for serious texts, the theme with a leap of a minor seventh was favored, as in works such as W. A. Mozart’s Requiem. In a busy fugato chorus no. 23, “All we like sheep,” depicts the flock running in different directions. In chorus no. 25, “He trusted in God,” Handel employs the turbulent, mocking tone of the turba choruses in German Passion settings. The accompagnato recitative no. 26, “Thy rebuke hath broken His heart” modulates in 18 measures from A flat major via A minor to B minor. In the face of God’s desertion of Jesus, the music loses its tonal foothold.
The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus cannot be be easily conveyed using the words of the Old Testament. This applies particularly to aria no. 32 “Thou art gone up on high,” which, with words from the enigmatic Psalm 68, is said to refer to the Ascension. This aria was usually omitted even in the 18th century. More convincing was the depiction of the glorification of Christ and the preaching of his gospel in a series of shorter, but more festive choruses. Notable is the dialogue between female and male voices in no. 30, “Who is the king of glory?,” which culminates in the acclamation “He is the king of glory.” The siciliano aria no. 34, “How beautiful are the feet,” is a point of repose between several lively choruses. With its wide-ranging melodic line and rushing accompaniment, the bass aria no. 36 “Why do the nations” is a typical Baroque vengeance aria. The famous “Hallelujah” is without doubt the most popular of Handel’s numerous Hallelujah choruses. In an effective structure, Handel first presents the three elements of this chorus: the acclamation “Hallelujah,” the homophonic sections “for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” and “The Kingdom of this world” and the fugato “and He shall reign for ever and ever,” before subsequently combining them with each other in many different ways. The long-held notes in the upper voices at the words “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” form the climax. They float above the lower parts like a cantus firmus in psalm settings.
Part Three of Messiah is concerned with the last things, the redemption and resurrection of each and every Christian. It begins with the soprano aria no. 40, “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” one of Handel’s unsurpassed larghetto arias. The wideranging melody emphasizes the key words in longheld notes. The aria evidently also had a special significance for Handel. The memorial to him, which he himself proposed and was created by the sculptor François Roubiliac in Westminster Abbey, shows the composer with a sheet of music bearing the beginning of this aria. In the following chorus no. 41, “Since by man came death,” Handel revealed the contrast between death (through Adam’s fall) and life (through Christ’s deed of redemption) presented by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. Handel portrays death in two slow unaccompanied phrases full of dissonance, and life in two fast sections accompanied by strings. The few completely unaccompanied choruses in Handel’s sacred compositions all relate to death. Tassilo Erhardt rightly sees a connection with the English tradition of funeral music here. The bass aria no. 43, “The Trumpet shall sound,” with obbligato trumpet, announces the resurrection of the dead on the Day of Judgment. Although the movement is headed “Pomposo, ma non allegro,” Handel refrains from using timpani, using trumpet instead, and is restrained in his use of fanfare-like writing. Handel set the questions “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (no. 44), as seemed obvious, as a duet, using one of his contrapuntal chamber duets. The answer comes from the following chorus, which is linked the duet, no. 45 “But thanks be to God.” Here the Redeemer is referred to for the first time in the entire work as “our Lord Jesus Christ,” and these words are particularly emphasized in the Adagio conclusion of the movement. In the large-scale final chorus “Worthy is the Lamb” two trumpets and timpani are employed, heard otherwise only in the “Hallelujah” chorus and here, as in that movement, effective contrapuntal sections alternate with homophonic acclamations. In the extremely elaborate Amen fugue, Handel twice reduces the fullness of sound and has the fugue theme played by two violins without accompaniment. These unusual instrumental passages enable him to achieve a powerfully intense conclusion with timpani and drums.
The effect of Messiah was unique and exceeded all of Handel’s other works. Even during his lifetime, the work was performed in the concert hall, theater and – later – in church. The “sacred oratorio,” as contemporaries called it, is neither liturgical nor music for worship, but a new type of devotional music which Handel created from elements of the English anthems, the Italian oratorio and German Passion music.