Messiah - G.F. Handel

Written in 1741, George Frideric Handel's Messiah is a piece that was popularly received after it's modest premiere in Dublin Ireland in 1742. Composed in less than a month, Handel began writing on August 22, 1741, and finished on September 14 of the same year, completing the almost three hour work in 24 days. During it's initial premiere, Handel used an orchestra setting very similar to what we will be using in our performance; strings, two trumpets and a set of timpani. He also had his own organ shipped to Ireland for the performances. The first concert sets to include Messiah were charity concerts that benefitted prisoner's debt relief, The Mercer's Hospital and the Charitable Infirmary (all in Dublin).

All in all, Messiah is a very challenging work that tells the story of the announcement of Jesus Christ as told by the prophets in the old testament, the birth of Jesus Christ as told by the Gospels, and the Passion of Jesus, ending with His glorification in Heaven. Messiah productions have grown quite large over the years, being performed by ensembles of hundreds. However, there has been a trend that leans towards reproducing the work in a manner that is more true to Handel's original intentions.

Sources:

Burrows, D. (1991). Cambridge music handbooks: Handel: Messiah. Cambridge University Press.

Butt, John (2013). Programme notes. Three Choirs Festival. Gloucester

Glover, J. (2019). Handel in London: The making of a genius.

Shaw, G. B. (1989a). Shaw’s music: 1876-90 v. 1: Complete musical criticism. Bodley Head

Shaw, G. B. (1989b). Shaw’s music: 1890-93 v. 2: Complete musical criticism. Bodley Head