Messiah Musings Part Five:

By Josiah Tazelaar

 Handel's "Messiah" is hugely popular in this country and in Canada, and in Great Britain, but much less so in the rest of the world.  Strange that this undeniably great oratorio simply is overlooked in Europe.  And has any other continent ever done it?  Maybe Australia/New Zealand, but not often at all.

    As mentioned before (quite often, matter of fact), "Messiah" is unique among Handel's oratorios in that it is not dramatic.  Most of this others are like operas with librettos inspired by stories from the Bible.  But every word in "Messiah" is directly from the Bible.  If you have a score, check at the start of each of the 51 vocal sections.  The book, chapter, and verse are notated.  Handel's librettist Charles Jannens opted for this rather than for dramatic scenes.  (Think about it:  if you were to do a musical composition on the life of Jesus would you do it any other way?  I mean, that would rival Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelung" in sheer length!)

    You'll see that the vast majority of quotations are from the Old (not the New) Testament.  The Old Testament prophesized the Coming of the Messiah.  The New Testament is believed by Christians to be the fulfillment of those prophesies.  The prophet most often quoted is Isaiah.  A few "Minor Prophets", such as Haggai, Zecheriah, and Malachi are also represented. 

    It is only after the "Pastoral Symphony" , or "Pifa", that Luke of the NEW Testament tells us of the Angel's appearance to the shepherds, but, after that, it is back to the Old Testament.  The emphasis of prophecy over "fact" is really apparent in the final chorus of Part 1.  It's a quote from Matthew all right, but, if you read the Bible, Jesus said:  "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."  But the oratorio's words are in the third person (His yoke....His burden): words of prophecy, not fulfillment. 

    Part 2 starts with John's Gospel quoting John the Baptist, in the process of baptizing Jesus, but, in the oratorio, set in the context of Jesus's passion and death.  And immediately, we go back to Isaiah's prophecy of Christ's suffering, and not the New Testament's accounts (contrast that with Bach's Passions treatments).  It is to the Psalms we go ("Messiah" #27-29) for the closest we get to a dramatic account of the Crucifixion, and then, more prophecy (#30,31)  All the way, through "The Lord Gave the Word" (#37), is Old Testament scripture.  An almost curious departure is #38 and #39 from the Book of Romans (NT), only to return to the Psalms (#40-43).  Then, suddenly, comes "Hallelujah!", out of the Book of Revelation, and, all of Part 3 is New Testament (with a most curious but extremely moving exception at the first part of "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth", which comes out of Job's suffering: a touch of genius!)  In mostly prophetic words from Corinthians, Romans, and Revelation, Handel's "Messiah" ends.

    Could it be that Handel, who composed all those oratorios featuring Old Testament (Jewish) heroes, was ambivalent about the New Testament and was writing about a Messiah that had (and still has) not come?

    No.  Handel was certainly a devout Christian, who probably never doubted the tenets of the faith. 

    But is there something troubling about "Messiah"?  (Something I certainly didn't expect until a read an article from the New York Times!)     Stay tuned!

Continue to Part Six

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

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