Messiah
The classic oratorio written by George Frederick Handel
is perhaps the most recognized piece of classical music in existence. Handel was born in Germany toward the end of
the 17th century – in 1685.
His father desired he enter the practice of law, but his early death
freed his son to pursue music. He moved
to Italy to compose opera, but a prohibition of opera from the pope at the time
caused him to compose less dramatic pieces and focus on music more spiritually
uplifting. There was a debate even over this
at the time, with some considering it blasphemous that an oratorio dealing with
spiritual matters could be performed in the same theater as a racy comedy the
night prior.
Handel had some level of success in Italy, but eventually
moved to England in 1712, becoming an English citizen in 1727. He achieved some further level of success in
England, but his star began to fade by 1841 at age 56 following a minor stroke,
poor health, failing vision, and poor investments that threatened to put him in
debtor’s prison.
In July of 1741, Charles Jennens, a Shakespearian scholar
and friend of Handel’s, wrote him a lengthy letter full of Scripture he had
been studying – prophecies of Christ as found mostly in the Old Testament, and
some in the New Testament, mainly from the book of Revelation.
Handel spent a great deal of time reading and re-reading
this letter, and in prayer. In mid-August,
he picked up pen and began to write. He organized
the verses into sections: Part I on the birth of Christ, Part II on the death
of Christ, and Part III on the resurrection and coming reign of Christ. He completed the entire 269-page oratorio in
an astonishing 3 weeks!
One musical scholar has estimated there are a quarter million
notes in Handel’s Messiah. If we presume
21 days and 10 hours of composition per day, Handel would have written down an
average of 15 notes per minute!
The first performance of his now-famous oratorio was in
Dublin. The public was invited to the
rehearsal performance on April 8th, 1842, intending an opening on April
13th. Word of how the rehearsal
moved those in attendance spread rapidly – so much so that local promoters had
to publish the request that ladies not wear ‘hoop’ dresses and that men leave
their swords at home so as to accommodate the expected crowd. The theater, with a capacity of 600, crammed
700 people inside before the doors were closed.
John Wesley was in one of the early performances of
Messiah (not ‘The’ Messiah!) and wrote of it in his diary, “there were some
parts that were affecting, but I doubt it has staying power.” His brother, composer Charles Wesley (“Hark!
The Herald Angels Sing”) was more sympathetic and ended up developing somewhat
of a friendship with Handel.
Messiah was originally intended as an Easter
performance. Over the years, the
relative dearth of classical music related to Christmas pushed Messiah into the
tradition of being a Christmas staple.
One of Handel’s early patrons was George “The Elector of
Hanover” prior to his becoming King of England – the same King of England that
gave the British colonists of America so much trouble later. As King, George attended a performance of Messiah
and was so moved during the Hallelujah chorus that he spontaneously rose to his
feet. Protocol dictated that when the
king stands, everyone stands – leading to the establishment of the tradition of
rising during that fantastic chorus.
Handel lived another 17 years, enjoying the fantastic
success that Messiah brought him. In
gratitude, he donated many of the royalties from the composition to orphanages,
debtor’s prison relief, and other charities.
He attended a performance just a few days before his death. On his deathbed, his final words were, “I want
to die in the sweet hope of rejoining my good God, my sweet Lord and Savior on
the day of His resurrection.”
