Handel’s “Messiah”

Dear Bro. George,
I read with interest the three articles about Handel’s “Messiah” in the November Tidings. I would like to offer a little information concerning its historical back­ground, gained mainly from Professor David Daniell’s comprehensive book, The Bible in English: Its History and Influence.

Following the work of Tyndale, Coverdale, Matthew and other translators came the King James Version of 1611. By the time of George Frederick Handel, who lived from 1685 to 1759, copies of the Bible in English were well into circula­tion and its contents and text well known. But at this time there was also the so-called Age of Enlightenment, in which the authority and text of the Bible were questioned and criticized. One party involved were the deists, believers in natural religion, who thought sins were forgiven without the need of any atoning sacrifice. They encouraged the denigration of traditional beliefs and of Scripture especially. Miracles were ridiculed, and apparent discrepancies between Old Testament and New Testament citations exploited, their main aim being to take out anything supernatural, especially the resurrection of Jesus, and any fulfill­ment of prophecy.

It was against this background of unbelief and skepticism that Handel wrote his oratorio “Messiah” and other Biblical works. Oratorio — oratory by music — was a fairly new musical form; it had been used by Italian composers from about 1700. In fact, previous to writing Messiah Handel had written Esther, Deborah, and Athaliah in 1733, Saul in 1737, and Israel in Egypt in 1739. Despite this output these were bad years for Handel; his compositions at this time were not much liked, his savings were gone, and he was suffering from stress as a result. He was thinking of leaving England and returning to his native Germany. In 1737 he suf­fered a stroke and virtually lost the use of his right hand, putting further musical composition in doubt. Fortunately a visit to the vapor baths at Aix-la-Chapelle and a prolonged session in them seemed to completely heal this affliction.

In 1741 Handel was invited to take part in a season of Oratorio in Dublin, and in August of the same year he received from Charles Jennens a libretto for Messiah, the text being entirely from the Bible. He accepted it with enthusiasm, set to work on it immediately and completed writing Messiah in 24 days. It seems incredible to us that a work of such magnitude — more than two hours of music, with parts for solo singers and choir as well as the parts for orchestra, every note having to be written by hand — should be written in such a short time, but apparently this was not unusual for Handel! Having completed Messiah he immediately began writing Samson, the largest of his Oratorios, and completed it within a month.

Messiah was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742, at the New Music Hall before an audience of 700, one hundred more than the hall was officially meant to hold, and was repeated on June 3 of the next year. Eight performances fol­lowed in London, in which it was only moderately received. In 1750 it was given a special charity performance at a Foundling Hospital in London. It was this performance that endeared it to the hearts and minds of people, and so it has remained ever since.

To quote from the writing of Charles Burnley in 1785: “And from that time to the present, this great work has been heard in all parts of the kingdom with in­creasing reverence and delight; it has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, fostered the orphan, and enriched succeeding managers of the Oratorios, more than any other single production in this or any country.”

Originally written for professional choirs who could perform it after a couple of rehearsals, from the middle of the nineteenth century provincial and amateur choirs have found it possible to learn Messiah in two or three months and per­form it. As a result Messiah has been a long-lasting witness to the Bible and its message of salvation.

Whereas his other Biblical oratorios may have been mainly dramatic storytelling of historical events, Messiah has a message for the participant and hearer which goes to the heart. “Comfort ye” are its opening words, and “Iniquity is pardoned” soon follows. But the forgiveness of our sins is made possible only through the sacrifice of the one who is the Lamb of God, who was despised, who bore our griefs, and with whose stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray and turned everyone to his own way — and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Messiah tells us also of the resurrection of Jesus — his soul was not left in hell — he ascended on high and all the angels are bidden to worship him. He will come again and rule despite the fury of the nations, his triumph being cel­ebrated in the Hallelujah chorus. The final praises to the Savior and Messiah are expressed in the words, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Amen.”

Writing Messiah touched the heart of the composer. It is said that during the 24 days of its composition Handel left untouched the food his servant brought to him, and that the ink of his pen mixed with his tears. When he had completed the work he is said to have exclaimed, “I did think I did see all heaven before me, and the Great God himself.”

Bearing in mind the attempts of the deists to discredit Scripture and any fulfill­ment of prophecy, it is worth noting that such a large proportion of the text is taken from the Old Testament. The text comes from the King James Version of the Bible, and whether or not this is one’s favorite translation, it has to be said that its vocabulary and phrases have a musical quality, owed largely to its inheritance from Tyndale. As we read our Bibles we come across many phrases that almost inevitably make us think of how Handel expressed them in his music: “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion,” “Lift up your heads, O ye gates,” “We shall not all sleep,” and “Behold, I show you a mystery” are just a few examples. As Profes­sor Daniell concludes his section on Handel’s Biblical outpouring, “Handel in Messiah made for everyone an unforgettable beauty with English Bible phrases that point to the core of the Christian faith.”