Messiah
A sacred oratorio in three parts (1742) Text assembled by Charles Jennens from parts of the Bible and the Prayer Book Psalter, HWV 56 The English tradition of attending a performance of The Messiah in the days leading up to Christmas goes back to the end of the eighteenth century. In the United Kingdom, you can go to a Singalong Messiah in December in even the smallest towns. Initially it seemed unlikely that this particular work would become Handel’s most popular vocal composition. In contrast to Handel’s dramatic oratorios, Charles Jennens’ carefully-constructed ‘libretto’ has no story but is a miscellany of texts from the Old and New Testaments, describing the advent of the Messiah. Jennens was an admirer of Handel and had already provided the texts for Saul (1738) and L’allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato (1741), just as he would later assist Handel with the composition of Belshazzar (1744). Despite their often difficult collaboration, Handel had an unusual degree of respect for the author and Jennens, for his part, began an important collection of Handel’s manuscripts after the composer’s death. The Messiah was composed in 1741 and was premièred a year later in Dublin. Handel revised the oratorio at different times during his life, but the best-known version (for the London Foundling Hospital) dates from 1754. This year the Nationale Reisopera is organising performances of The Messiah in Enschede for the ninth time. Following the successful presentation in Zwolle in 2010, the event can be enjoyed there this year, too. Helios Ensemble |
|
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
