wealthy landowner and literary figure who was a longtime friend of the composer ’ s and had created texts for several other Handel oratorios . Beginning the work on August 22 , 1741 , he completed the two-and-a-half-hour oratorio in just over three weeks . Besides inspiration from God , he also had a little practical assistance in this huge task . Like most Baroque composers ( Bach included ), Handel did not hesitate to borrow from his own earlier works if they were suitable for use here . Three of the choruses in Part I —“ He shall purify ,” “ His yoke is easy ,” and even the famous “ For unto us a child is born ”— are based on music he ’ d originally composed as Italian vocal duets .
Messiah was introduced to the world in Dublin , Ireland on April 13 , 1743 , during Holy Week ( the tradition of performing it during the Christmas season is fairly recent ). At the invitation of the Duke of Devonshire , the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , Handel had been presenting concerts of his works there since the previous November and winning the kind of warm response that had been eluding him in London . On that Tuesday , Neal ’ s Musick Hall was packed beyond its capacity ; audience members had been specifically requested to leave their swords and hoop skirts at home in order to fit more people into the hall .
The Dublin audience responded with enormous enthusiasm to the new work , and another performance was quickly scheduled . But when Handel brought Messiah to London in March 1743 , attendance was disappointing and the critics unkind . A subsequent Handel oratorio , Samson , was much preferred . Much of Messiah ’ s failure was caused by a heated controversy that broke out in the city about whether such a serious sacred subject ought to be presented as an “ entertainment ” in secular concert halls . Receiving few subsequent performances , the oratorio went back on Handel ’ s shelf . By 1749 , when Handel was 64 , the trustees of London ’ s Foundling Hospital invited him to present Messiah there at a charitable fundraising concert . This time the oratorio aroused no controversy ,
A FEAST FOR THE SENSES
THROUGH JAN 8
A Feast for the Senses : Art and Experience in Medieval Europe features more than 100 works including stained glass , ivories , tapestries , paintings , and illuminated manuscripts . FREE
600 N . Charles Street / thewalters . org
Lady Bathing ( detail ), Netherlands , first quarter of the 16th century . Musée de Cluny — Musée national du Moyen Âge , Paris ( Cl . 2180 ) The exhibition has been organized by the Walters Art Museum , Baltimore , in partnership with the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art , Sarasota . / The exhibition received major funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities : Exploring the human endeavor ; the Institute of Museum and Library Services ; the National Endowment for the Arts ; and anonymous donors , with additional support from the Gary Vikan Exhibition Fund , Nanci and Ned Feltham , and the Helen Hughes Trust . The accompanying catalogue was made possible by an anonymous donor . This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities .
Holiday 2016 | Overture 11