Overture Magazine - 2015-2016 Season November-December 2015 | Page 34

{ program notes
Perhaps the most stunning sequence
in Part I is the juxtaposition of the bass
soloist’s aria “The people that walked in
darkness” with the beloved chorus “For
unto us a child is born.” In a marvelous
example of musical text painting, the
bass literally wanders in a chromatically confused maze in the dark key of
B minor. The “great light” for which he
yearns is then joyfully revealed in G major
as the chorus salutes Jesus’ birth.
All the choruses, including the “Hallelujah,” demonstrate Handel’s exhilarating
technique of mixing powerful homophonic or chordal utterances (“Mighty!
Counselor!”) with a more intricate polyphonic style in which each voice part
pursues its own elaborately decorated
line (“For unto us a child is born”). The
origins of the ritual of standing for the
“Hallelujah Chorus” are rather misty.
Scholars believe that the Prince of Wales
may have stood up when he attended
that historic London performance in
1749. Certainly by 1780, everyone in
the audience was following King George
III’s lead in rising for Handel’s mighty
hymn of praise.
Perhaps even exceeding “Hallelujah”
in majesty and joy is the magnificent
chorus “Worthy is the Lamb” that
closes Part III, the shortest of the three
section