The History of Handel’s “Messiah'“
The story behind this piece of classical music goes back hundreds of years and has become one of Christianity's most enduring art pieces.
Who was Handel?
George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) was a German composer who wrote some of the greatest works of Western art music.
Handel was born into an upper-class family in Germany. As a child, he showed musical talent and began studying at age five. By age 11, he was a soloist in European concerts. After moving to Italy, he became a member of the court orchestra there.
Handel wrote his first opera, Almira when he was 19 years old, and it premiered on January 8, 1705, at the Theater am Gänsemarkt, Hamburg. He composed over 200 operas, 40 oratorios, 30 instrumental concertos, and 50 choral works. His compositions include the Water Music, Messiah, and Music for the Royal Fireworks Music.
Why did Handel write Messiah?
Handel wrote his famous oratorio, Messiah, in 1741. He was living in London, England, at the time and was also struggling with financial difficulties. While many of his operas had thrived for nearly two decades, their popularity was waning. Also, his father had died, leaving him with debts and no money to pay them off.
It's said that he wrote with such zeal people thought he had gone mad, writing so furiously that his pen would fly from his fingers. Yet, he composed the entire piece in just 24 days. For such a sizable piece to be completed so quickly, many have attributed it to nothing short of divine inspiration.
Upon completing it, Handel cried, "I think that I did see all heaven before me and the great God Himself!"
Handel's Messiah tells the story of Jesus Christ and features many well-known tunes. It tells of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection through its three parts. The words are a distillation of Christian doctrine written by scholar Charles Jennens and pulls from 14 books of the Bible, including Job, Isaiah, Lamentations, Haggai, Hebrews, and Revelations.
What Was Messiah's First Performance?
The Duke of Devonshire, then serving as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, invited Handel to give a season of concerts in Dublin during the winter of 1741-1742. It's unknown if Handel originally intended to perform Messiah during that time, and Jenners was mortified to hear it was being performed.
Messiah debuted at the Great Music Hall in Dublin on Christmas Day 1742. The venue had a 600-seat capacity; however, more than 700 people crammed inside to hear the performance. Handel's decision to perform Messiah in theaters instead of churches was incredibly controversial. But it was Handel's objective to reach wider audiences as he viewed the piece as evangelical.
Initially, six concerts of Messiah were scheduled for performance at Great Music Hall, but because of its popularity, a second series of dates was quickly arranged.
While composing Messiah, Handel was uncertain how many trained performers would be available, and it's said that Handel continued to make adjustments for future performances to compensate for production costs and available performers. As a result, some even believe Messiah has never been fully performed as he originally intended it to be.
Why Do We Stand During "Hallelujah Chorus"?
The popular belief is that during its London premiere, King George II was so moved by the "Hallelujah Chorus" that he jumped from his seat, and the entire audience followed his example. Since then, it has become a tradition to stand during the song.
What is Messiah's Legacy?
It would be more than a quarter of a century before the first performance of Messiah in America. The concert was held in a lower Manhattan tavern, Burns' Coffee House, on January 16, 1770.
Later in 1789, Mozart reorchestrated the piece to be sun in German and argued he wasn't trying to improve Handel's original work. "Handel knows better than any of what will make an effect," Mozart said. "When he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt."
It has been called "the greatest masterpiece of music ever composed." Some consider Handel's Messiah the most famous religious work in history. Beethoven even said that Handel was the greatest composer ever to live.