So well did Choram do his job of winning supporters that the Foundling Hospital
soon became a mecca for fashionable high society. Handel wasn’t the only
artist to be drawn to its cause. The famous painter Hogarth also became an
ardent supporter. Indeed, when Messiah was performed, one of Hogarth’s recent
paintings was auctioned off for a large sum before the concert.
The date of this performance — in effect the third ‘premiere’ for Handel’s work
— was 1 May 1750, and the success was overwhelming, the whole work having to
be repeated two weeks later. Handel’s Messiah became a musical institution and
was performed at the Hospital every year for the next twenty-five years. Handel
himself conducted every performance until his death in 1757.
In his will, Handel, who had been made a Hospital Governor, bequeathed a copy
of the score of Messiah to its members. This still has pride of place today in the
Hospital Museum.
Messiah: The Work
The man who had the original idea for Messiah was not
Handel but his literary collaborator Charles Jennens,
a reasonably gifted writer and a staunch churchman.
It was Jennens’ idea to abandon the usual historical
thread of an oratorio, and substitute his own choice
of scripture so as to present Jesus of Nazareth as
the Messiah . Jennens laid out his word-portrait in
three parts: first as the fulfilment of ancient prophecy,
second as the executed Son of God, and third as the
risen Saviour, King of Heaven and Earth. Fired up by
the clarity of this exposition and the epic quality of
Jennens’ choice of texts, Handel wrote the music in an
astonishing three-and-a-half weeks.
Charles Jennens
Twenty-one little sections make up Part One of the oratorio. Some of these come
from the terrifying ‘divine judgement’ school of prophecy such as Malachi (For He
is like a Refiner’s Fire) and Haggai (And I will Shake the Heavens and the Earth).
Most of the text however is taken from Isaiah, who prophesies divine forgiveness
(Comfort Ye, My People ) and foresees the Messiah as the Light of the World
(Arise, Shine for thy Light is Come ), and a glorious leader who is singled out from
birth (For Unto Us a Child is Born ).
An instrumental pastorale appears halfway through. The soft bagpipe drone
of the shepherds alternates with their reedy pipes, and heralds the famous
Christmas story as told in St. Luke’s gospel (There were Shepherds Abiding in the
Field ). After the story, the comforting moral appears in a triptych of his own that
Handel uses frequently: Recitative ( Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind be Opened )
followed by Aria (He Shall Feed his Flock like a Shepherd) and finally Chorus ( His
Yoke is Easy).
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