jan 1, 1741 - Messiah

Description:

During Handel's lifetime, Messiah was occasionally performed in consecrated buildings and could count, therefore , as a religious observance. The work is still regularly heard in churches. Messiah also exhibits Handel's theatrical affinities. Like most of his operas and oratorios, it opens with a French overture and has recitatives and arias. The audience came to hear their favorite opera singers, castratos included, perform in his oratorios.

Unusually among Handles' English oratorios, Messiah has a New Testament subject; the text was compiled by Charles Jennens, a wealthy dilettante who paid Handel for the privilege of collarborating with him and who had already provided the librettos for Saul and Israel in Egypt. The first of its three parts is concerned with prophesies of the coming of a MEssiah, thus using Old Testament scripture, and then with Jesus's Nativity. The second part deals with Jesus's Passion: his suffering and death. The concluding part offers an affirmation of Christian faith and glimpses of Revelation, which brings the work into line with the most traditional ecclesiastical oratorios and with the even older tradition of narrative pAssion settings. While Handel's earlier oratorios usually had characters and a clear narrative, Messiah clearly does not. Vocal soloists are still used but not to represent specific individuals.

Messiah has been continuously performed since 13 APril 1742, making it the oldest work in continuous performance (other than gregorian chant, although that has not been standard since 1963.

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