Handel's

Messiah
by Si Wages .
, Prom a Pooto. printed irt the J oumal Following. the
first perfonnance of Messiah in Apri11742.
Thls is the season of Messiah! At this tiine: of year
Handel's great oratorio will be perlonrted in
churches and concert halls throughout the world.
For almost 250 years audiences are moved from the
grave overture to the majestic Hallelujah Chorus. It
truly is a musical masterpiece.
George Frideric Handel was hom in Halle,
Germany, within a month of Bach's Birth, 1685.
His father was a barber/surgeon and desired that hiS
son become a lawyer. His mother was the. daughter
of a Lutheran pastor. About the age of 17 he went to
Hamburg and discovered opera with its great
amalgamation of French, German, and Italian styles.
From Hamburg he moved to Italy then to Hanover
and finally to London in 1712where he remained the .
rest of his life. Handel had developed a_reputation
with his operas but it is his 26 oratorios that are the
most known of his vocal works.
The oratorio is a text of Scripture set to music. In
contrast to opera, an oratorio is not acted out on
stage. lts drama is developed by the music. , The
text is usually four soloists (Soprano, Alto, Tenor,
and Bass) with a chorus and orchestra
accompaniment Handel's first oratorio, The
Resurrection, was composed in Rome in 1708 . .
Other notable . ones are Israel in Egypt, Saul,
Solomon, and, Esther . .
the finished work of an opera or oratorio is the .
The Counsel ofChalcedon o December. 1990 o Page l4
collaboration of two talents--the composer and the
librettist. One librettist that Handel had collaborated
with on several previous projects was . Charles
Jennens. In writing to a friend, Jennens reveals:
"Handel says he will do nothing next winter, but I
hope I shall persuade him to set another Scripture
collection I have made for him and perform it for his
own benefit in Passion week. I hope he will lay out
his whole genius and skill upon it; that the
composition may excel all his former compositions,
as the subject excels every other subject. The
subject is Messiah."
Handel was persuaded and he set . to work. For
twenty-four days in his study in London Handel
wrote fervently and swiftly, maybe almost
continuously if the stories are true that have come
from . this For example, his servant
brought him food; when the servant returned the
food was often untouched. While working on the
"Hallelujah Chorus", his servant found him with
tears .in his eyes. He exclaimed, "I did think I did
see all . heaven before me and the great God
Himself!" That same serVant brought him
chocolates and found his master weeping over a
page of the score ' bearing the words, "He was
despised and rejected of men."
In those twenty-four days Handel created notes on
265 pages of manuscript from a plan Jennens had
devised from the words of both the Old and New
Testament, to wit: "And without controversy, great
is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested iil
the flesh, justified by the Spirit, seen of
preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, received up in glory; in whom are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge.''
Jennens took ali his words from one or another
version of the English Bible, most from the King
James Version of 1611, some from the Great Bible
of 1539. Instead of recounting the events of Jesus'
life in just the words of the four Gospels, he always
began with an Old Testament prophecy followed by
a New Testament account that validated the
prophecy. The result was a masterlullibretto--the
weaving of spiritual thoughts that Handel brilliantly
cfeated in vocal and instrumental line. When it was
completed it was a work quite different from all that
preceded it. .
It would be hard to imagine that Handel'.s religious
themes would be opposed for public presentation.
However, in Handel's day the use of Biblical words
in . a theater was revolutionary, and those who
opposed Handel went.to great extremes to keep his
oratorios from being successful. It is purported that
his enemies hired boys to . tear down the
advertisements of his perlormances. One critic wrote: "An
oratorio either is an act of religion or it is not; if it is, I ask if
the playhouse is a fit temple to perform it in, or a company of
players ... fit ministers of God's Word?" Thirteen years after it
was first performed in London a friend of Handel wroted to
him " ... When in the grand choruses the whole audience
solemnly rose in joint acknowledgement that He who for our
sakes had been despised and rejected of men was their creator,
redeemer, king of Kings, Lord of Lords! To be sure, the
playhouse is an unfit place for such a solemn performance ... "
It was in an atmosphere of doubt that caused Han!iel much
anguish before the first London performance. It had been
initially performed in Dublin ten months prior without
controversy. Handel struggled with the decision to perform it
in London because the oversensitive Bishop of London might
fail to recognize Handel's efforts to distance Messiah from that
vulgar form of entertainment-"Opera". He struggled with the
title. Would it evoke charges of sacrilege?
Christ
College
We believe In the full authority of the Bible as
l!l(]lressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith.
We are Reformed in theology.
We teach a comP.rehenslve Biblical World-view
arising from the historic Biblical Reformed Faith.
God's Word is the foundation of all knowled2e.
We have a high view of God's revealed Moral
Law In both Old and New Covenants.
We believe in the ultimate of God's
Sovereign Grace which will impact tbe world.
We believe In very limited civil government,
a free enterP.rlse economic and
Christian Schooland home-school education.
We offer a Bachelors degree and an Associate
(2-year) degree, with initial in Theology,
Philosophy .I. History, Political Economy, Litera
tore, and Lbrlstian Education.
If you are interested in more information or a Catlalogue,
please write us. We also welcome inquiries concerning
potential fmancial conlnbutions. Write:
Administrative Offices
Christ College
P.O. Box 11135
Lynchburg, Virginia 24506
Christ College does not discriminate on the
basis of race, color, or ellmic or national origin.
For the most part on that London premiere night, the listeners
found the music not to their liking, the oratorion, after all,
had no story. The soloists had too little to do and the chorus
too much. It was different and the audience was not ready for
it Yet we are told that at least one person of some
importance was impressed---the King. It was reported that
during the "Hallelujah Chorus" the King was so moved that
he, then the rest of the audience, stood and remained
until the chorus ended.
I think it is fitting to conclude with this anecdote: When a
nobleman complimented Handel on the great entertainment of
Messiah Handel replied, "My Lord, I should be sorry if I only
entertained them; I wished to make them better." By God's
grace, those who believe the message of Messiah will be made
better. Bibliography:
Jacobi, Peter; The Messiah Book; New York: St Martins Pre!is. 1982
Smilb, J.S. and Carlson, B.; A Gift of Music; Westchester, ll.: Crossway
Boolcs. 1978 .Q
You may think that a book about the growth of a coal
company would be uninstructive. Think again.
Otto Scott's recently published (1989) Buried Treasure
diStributed by Ross House Books, P.O. Box 67 Vallecito,
CA. 95251 provides many astute obsetvations and economic
insights for the reader.
Buried Treasure is the story of the formation and growth of
Arch Mineral over a nineteen year period (1969-1988).
Formed in a time when it was very difficult to get into the
coal industry, Arch has grown to a point when it has good
coal reserves, good contracts. for that coal, and employs 3,000
people while providing an excellent return to its investors.
The buried treasure is, of course, coal. Yet there is buried
treasure here for the discerning reader. That treasure is in the
form of economic principles that must not go unnoticed by
the wise.
God's providence is evident in the economic realm. The
company was founded in 1969 in St Louis by Merle Kelce
and Orin Atkins. However much more than two men with a
vision is needed for a company to be successful. Millions of
dollars were needed to buy reserves and set up other aspects of
the operation. Kelce, Atkins, and others had known various
(continued on page 22)
The Counsel of Chalcedon December 1990 Page 15