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First Word
Around 1700, a
devout “Anglican” and believer in scriptural authority named Charles
Jennens was born into a prosperous and wealthy land owning family. - He
funded George Frederic Handle in his
music endeavors and provided him with the text that was to be used for the
“Messiah” which was first performed in 1742. - Most of his audiences were ignorant
of Biblical facts and a pamphlet was prepared by Jennings
271 years later at every
performance a pamphlet is given out with the scripture verses.
Jennens intention was to
challenge advocates of Deism, who rejected the doctrine
of God’s Divine Intervention in human affairs.
The Text
- The
text
Jennens gave Handel was taken right out of the King James Version of the
Bible mostly from Isaiah the prophet of the Old Testament.
It begins with the prediction of the Virgin Birth of
the Messiah by “Preparing the way”.
- The
figure
of the "Messiah" or redeemer is identified with the person
of Jesus, known by his followers as the Christ or "Jesus Christ".
- It then picks up in
the New Testament with
text from Matthew, Luke and Revelation with the announcement to
the Shepard’s of the birth of the Messiah and moves on to cover the
passion and death of Christ; His Resurrection and Ascension
and ends with the Day of Judgment and the general resurrection
of the dead.
- The melody is passed
around to the different instruments in the orchestra like a bolero and the
Choir does the same thing passing the words back and forth antiphonally.
Very little is spoken Inspired Words,
Inspired Music. - The following is just some of the scriptures.
Isa 40:1-3 – Prepare the
way for the Lord
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare
ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. KJV
Isa 40:4 – Make His path
straight and smooth
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and
every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall
be made straight, and the rough places plain: KJV
Isa 40:5 – He will be
revealed – God has spoken it
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and
all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
KJV
Matt 1:23 – He will be born of a virgin
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring forth a son; and shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us
Isa 40:9 – He will be born in Jerusalem
9 O Zion Jerusalem Judah
Isa 60:1 – It happened
1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is
risen upon thee. KJV
Isa 9:6 – A child is born – The Prince of Peace –
The mighty God
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince
of Peace. KJV
Luke 2:8-14 – Shepard’s in the field – Angels
singing
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the
field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of
the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men
KJV
Isa 35:5-6 – He will heal the blind, deaf, dumb
and lame.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears
of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of
the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in
the desert.
KJV
Isa 40:11 – He will gather, feed and lead them
like a Shepard
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather
the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently
lead those that are with young. KJV
Matt 11:28-29 – Come and find rest from your burdens.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
KJV
Rev 19:6 - Rev 11:15 - Rev
19:16 – The Hallelujah Chorus
6 Alleluia: for the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth.
15 The kingdoms of this world is become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of
his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
16 KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
The Performance
- German-born British Baroque composer
Handel had established himself famously for his anthems, organ concertos, Italian
opera, and English oratorio. - That is why the Messiah has a lot of
soloist and sounds much like an opera.
- He wrote the Messiah for
modest vocals and instruments; dropping most of the brass trumpets,
emphasizing the strings, woodwinds, percussion and the magnificent
Harpsichord.
- While he already had
the words from scripture, he had to determine how they were to be sung and
when repeated and it’s still hard for me to picture how he wrote every
single note that every instrument played; and determined when they played
it; bowed or plucked; loud or muted; solo or combined. An instrument like the harpsichord,
piano and organ usually plays four notes at a time. GOOD GRIEF.
- The Messiah is quite
lengthy and most “performances” are most often shortened with the content
order rearranged to finish in an hour.
The Hallelujah Chorus is actually scene 7 of part II, but is
usually moved to be at the end of Part
- The
story
goes on to say that Handel wrote the music under “Divine Inspiration” in only 24 days and as he wrote the
“Hallelujah Chorus” he
saw “all heaven before him” - At the end, in tears Handel wrote “SDG” Soil Deo Gloria; To
God alone the glory.
- The
custom of standing for the "Hallelujah
Chorus" originates from a belief that at the
Part
I – from Wikipedia
Scene 1:
Isaiah's prophecy of salvation
1. Sinfony (instrumental)
2. Comfort ye my people (tenor)
3. Ev'ry valley shall be exalted (tenor)
4. And the glory of the Lord (chorus)
Scene 2: The coming judgment
5. Thus saith the Lord of hosts (bass)
6. But who may abide the day of His coming (alto
or bass)
7. And he shall purify the sons of Levi (chorus)
Scene 3: The prophecy of Christ's birth
8. Behold, a virgin shall conceive (alto)
9. O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion
10. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth
(bass)
11. The people that walked in darkness have seen a
great light (bass)
12. For unto us a child is born (chorus)
Scene 4: The annunciation to the shepherds
13. Pifa ("pastoral symphony":
instrumental)
14a. There were shepherds abiding in the fields
(soprano)
14b. And lo, the angel of the Lord (soprano)
15. And the angel said unto them (soprano)
16. And suddenly there was with the angel
(soprano)
17. Glory to God in the highest (chorus)
Scene 5: Christ's healing and redemption
18. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion
19. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened
(soprano)
20. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd (alto
and soprano)
21. His yoke is easy (chorus)
Part
II
Scene 1: Christ's Passion
22. Behold the Lamb of God (chorus)
23. He was despised and rejected of men (alto)
24. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our
sorrows (chorus)
25. And with his stripes we are healed (chorus)
26. All we like sheep have gone astray (chorus)
27. All they that see him laugh him to scorn
(tenor)
28. He trusted in God that he would deliver him
(chorus)
29. Thy rebuke hath broken his heart (tenor or
soprano)
30. Behold and see if there be any sorrow (tenor
or soprano)
Scene 2: Christ's Death and Resurrection
31. He was cut off (tenor or soprano)
32. But thou didst not leave his soul in hell
(tenor or soprano)
Scene 3: Christ's Ascension
33. Lift up your heads, O ye gates (chorus)
Scene 4: Christ's reception in Heaven
34. Unto which of the angels (tenor)
35. Let all the angels of God worship Him (chorus)
Scene 5: The beginnings of Gospel preaching
36. Thou art gone up on high (soprano)
37. The Lord gave the word (chorus)
38. How beautiful are the feet (soprano)
39. Their sound is gone out (chorus)
Scene 6:
The world's rejection of the Gospel
40. Why do the nations so furiously rage together
(bass)
41. Let us break their bonds asunder (chorus)
42. He that dwelleth in heaven (tenor)
Scene 7:
God's ultimate victory
43. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron
(tenor)
44. Hallelujah (chorus)
Part
III
Scene 1: The promise of eternal life
45. I know that my Redeemer liveth (soprano)
46. Since by man came death (chorus)
Scene 2: The Day of Judgment
47. Behold, I tell you a mystery (bass)
48. The trumpet shall sound (bass)
Scene 3: The final conquest of sin
49. Then shall be brought to pass (alto)
50. O death, where is thy sting (alto and tenor)
51. But thanks be to God (chorus)
52. If God be for us, who can be against us
(soprano)
Scene 4: The acclamation of the Messiah
53. Worthy is the Lamb (chorus)
Amen (chorus)
Looking Back
- As a lad in
elementary school I remember rehearsing Handel’s Messiah with about ten
other boys. - We met in a class
room at church for weeks singing just our part, all in unison, with no
harmony.
- I remember the day we were to have our
first rehearsal with a bunch of other schools and churches in our Church
auditorium. We were placed with
about 40 other kids singing the same thing that we had practiced. – There
were over 200 vocalist in the rehearsal. ( the church could hold 700 )
- As we begin to sing,
the words just would not come out of my mouth; not from fright, but of
- I went on to have the
privilege of being a part of the Messiah about seven more times and I
still get tears.
- I can’t help but
think that I will be over whelmed when I get to heaven. I will join a bunch of other folks
singing bass along with BILLIONS of others singing in Four Part Harmony
“The Hallelujah Chorus”; standing giving GOD THE GLORY. - I just hope
I am able to stand.
Our Ability
We don’t have to wait till
we get to heaven to glorify God;
HERE and NOW ; we can get involved
with our church by joining whatever
ability or gifts we have,
to the gifts of the other in the church.
WE CAN “DO THE WORD” NOW .
James 1:22 –
Don’t just hear the word – DO IT
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do
what it says. NIV
1 Cor 12:7 – The gifts are for the common good of
the body
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the
common good. NIV
1 Cor 12:4-6 – Everyone does not have the same
gift
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works
all of them in all men. NIV
1 Cor 12:12 –
Your gift is a part of the body
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and
though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
NIV
1 Cor 12:18 – God
has arranged how your gift fits in
18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one
of them, just as he wanted them to be. 1NIV
HANDEL’S
MESSIAH
IS THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST,
THE SON OF GOD SET
TO MUSIC.
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
I am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical information, and scripture verses. Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further than I otherwise ever could have.
Annotated Reference Bible – Dake
God without Religion – Andrew Farley
Handel’s Messiah – The Music
King James Version Bible - KJV
Mere
Christianity
– C.S. Lewis
Naked Gospel; The – Andrew Farley
Neighboring Faiths – Winfred Corduan
New Evidence
that demands a verdict; The – Josh McDowell
New International Version Bible - NIV
Why I am a
Christian
– Michael A. Gorman
Wikipedia
Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The - Tenney
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