Chapter 5.23
Handel’s
Messiah
1:1
Isaiah's prophecy of salvation - 1:2 The coming judgment - 1:3
The prophecy of Christ's birth - 1:4 The
annunciation to the shepherds - 1:5 Christ's
healing and redemption - 2:1 Christ's
Passion - 2:2 Christ's Death and
Resurrection - 2:3
Christ's Ascension - 2:4 Christ's reception in Heaven – 2:5 The beginnings of Gospel preaching - 2:6 The world's rejection of the Gospel - 2:7 God's ultimate victory - 3:1 The promise of eternal life - 3:2 The Day of Judgment - 3:3
The final conquest of sin - 3:4 The
acclamation of the Messiah
First Word
Around
1700, a devout “Anglican” and believer in scriptural
authority named Charles Jennens was born into a prosperous and wealthy land
owning family. He funded George Frederic
Handle in his music endeavors and
provided him with the text that was to be used for the “MESSIAH” which was first performed in 1742. Most of his audiences were ignorant of
Biblical facts and a pamphlet was prepared by Jennings so they could understand
what the story was about.
271 years later at every performance a
pamphlet is given out with the scripture verses. Jennens intention was to challenge advocates
of Deism, who rejected the doctrine of God’s Divine Intervention in human
affairs.
The Text
The text Jennens gave Handel was taken right
out of the King James Version of the Bible mostly from Isaiah the prophet of
the Old
Testament. It begins with the
prediction of the Virgin Birth of the
Messiah
by “Preparing
the way”. The figure of the
"Messiah"
or redeemer is identified with the person of Jesus, known by his followers
as the Christ or "Jesus Christ".
It then picks up in the New Testament with
text from Matthew, Luke and Revelation with the announcement to the
Shepard’s of the birth of the Messiah and moves on to cover the passion
and death
of Christ; His Resurrection
and Ascension
and ends with the Day of Judgment and
the general resurrection
of the dead.
The melody is passed around to the different instruments in the
orchestra like a bolero and the Choir does the same thing passing the words
back and forth antiphonally, with very little is spoken, just Inspired Words, Inspired Music. The following is just some of the scriptures.
Isaiah 40:1-3 – Prepare the way for the Lord
1 Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people, saith your
God.
2 Speak ye
comfortably to
3 The voice of
him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God.
KJV
Isaiah 40:4 – Make His path straight and smooth
4 Every valley
shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and
the crooked
shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
KJV
Isaiah 40:5 – He will be revealed – God has
spoken it
5 And the glory of
the LORD
shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
KJV
Matthew 1:23 – He will be born of a virgin
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son; and shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us
KJV
Isaiah 40:9 – He will be born in Jerusalem
9 O
KJV
Isaiah 60:1 – It happened
1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
KJV
Isaiah 9:6 – A child is born; the Prince of Peace, the mighty God
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
KJV
Luke 2:8-14 – Shepard’s in the field – Angels singing
8 And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people.
11 For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men
KJV
Isaiah 35:5-6 – He will heal the blind, deaf, dumb and lame.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
KJV
Isaiah 40:11 – He will gather, feed and lead them like a Shepard
11 He shall feed his flock
like a shepherd: he shall gather the
lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
KJV
Matthew 11:28-29 – Come and find rest from your burdens.
28 Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls.
KJV
Revelation 19:6 - Rev 11:15 - Rev 19:16– The Hallelujah Chorus
6 Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
15 The kingdoms of this
world is become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign
for ever and ever.
16 KING OF KINGS,
The
Performance
German-born
British Baroque composer Handel had established himself
famously for his anthems, organ concertos, Italian opera, and English oratorio. That is why the Messiah has a lot of soloist
and sounds much like an opera. He wrote
the Messiah for modest vocals and instruments; dropping most of the brass
trumpets, emphasizing the strings, woodwinds, percussion and the magnificent
Harpsichord.
While he already had the words from scripture,
he had to determine how they were to be sung and when repeated and it’s still
hard for me to picture how he wrote every single note that every instrument
played; and determined when they played it; bowed or plucked; loud or muted;
solo or combined. An instrument like the
harpsichord, piano and organ usually plays four notes at a time. GOOD GRIEF.
The Messiah is quite lengthy and most “performances” are most often
shortened with the content order rearranged to finish in an hour. The Hallelujah Chorus is actually scene 7 of part II, but is usually
moved to be at the end of Part
The story goes on to say that Handel wrote
the music under “Divine Inspiration” in only 24 days and as he wrote the “Hallelujah
Chorus” he saw “all heaven before him” At the end, in tears Handel wrote “SDG” Soil Deo Gloria; To
God alone the glory.
The custom of standing for the "Hallelujah
Chorus" originates from a belief that at the London premiere,
King George II was so moved that he stood to his feet; this would have obliged
all others to stand. To this day we
still stand to give
the GLORY TO GOD.
Part I - from Wikipedia
Scene 1: Isaiah's prophecy of salvation
1. Sinfony
(instrumental)
2. Comfort ye my
people (tenor)
3. Ev'ry valley
shall be exalted (tenor)
4. And the glory
of the Lord (chorus)
Scene 2: The coming judgment
5. Thus saith
the Lord of hosts (bass)
6. But who may
abide the day of His coming (alto or bass)
7. And he shall
purify the sons of Levi (chorus)
Scene 3: The prophecy of Christ's birth
8. Behold, a
virgin shall conceive (alto)
9. O thou that
tellest good tidings to
10. For behold,
darkness shall cover the earth (bass)
11. The people
that walked in darkness have seen a great light (bass)
12. For unto us
a child is born (chorus)
Scene 4: The annunciation to the shepherds
13. Pifa ("pastoral
symphony": instrumental)
14a. There were
shepherds abiding in the fields (soprano)
14b. And lo, the
angel of the Lord (soprano)
15. And the
angel said unto them (soprano)
16. And suddenly
there was with the angel (soprano)
17. Glory to God
in the highest (chorus)
Scene 5: Christ's healing and redemption
18. Rejoice greatly,
O daughter of
19. Then shall
the eyes of the blind be opened (soprano)
20. He shall
feed his flock like a shepherd (alto and soprano)
21. His yoke is
easy (chorus)
Part II
Scene 1: Christ's Passion
22. Behold the
Lamb of God (chorus)
23. He was
despised and rejected of men (alto)
24. Surely he
has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (chorus)
25. And with his
stripes we are healed (chorus)
26. All we like
sheep have gone astray (chorus)
27. All they
that see him laugh him to scorn (tenor)
28. He trusted
in God that he would deliver him (chorus)
29. Thy rebuke
hath broken his heart (tenor or soprano)
30. Behold and
see if there be any sorrow (tenor or soprano)
Scene 2: Christ's Death and
Resurrection
31. He was cut
off (tenor or soprano)
32. But thou
didst not leave his soul in hell (tenor or soprano)
Scene 3: Christ's Ascension
33. Lift up your
heads, O ye gates (chorus)
Scene 4: Christ's reception in Heaven
34. Unto which
of the angels (tenor)
35. Let all the
angels of God worship Him (chorus)
Scene 5: The beginnings of Gospel
preaching
36. Thou art
gone up on high (soprano)
37. The Lord
gave the word (chorus)
38. How
beautiful are the feet (soprano)
39. Their sound
is gone out (chorus)
Scene 6: The world's rejection of the Gospel
40. Why do the
nations so furiously rage together (bass)
41. Let us break
their bonds asunder (chorus)
42. He that
dwelleth in heaven (tenor)
Scene 7: God's ultimate victory
43. Thou shalt
break them with a rod of iron (tenor)
44. Hallelujah (chorus)
Part
Scene 1: The promise of eternal
life
45. I know that
my Redeemer liveth (soprano)
46. Since by man
came death (chorus)
Scene 2: The Day of Judgment
47. Behold, I
tell you a mystery (bass)
48. The trumpet
shall sound (bass)
Scene 3: The final conquest of sin
49. Then shall
be brought to pass (alto)
50. O death,
where is thy sting (alto and tenor)
51. But thanks
be to God (chorus)
52. If God be
for us, who can be against us (soprano)
Scene 4: The acclamation of the
Messiah
53. Worthy is
the Lamb (chorus)
Amen (chorus)
Looking Back
As a kid in elementary school
I remember rehearsing Handel’s Messiah with about ten other boys. We met in a class room at church for weeks
singing just our part, all in unison,
with no harmony. I remember the day we were to have our first
rehearsal with a bunch of other schools and churches in our Church
auditorium. We were placed with about 40
other kids singing the same thing that we had practiced. There were over 200
vocalist in the rehearsal. (The church could hold
700.)
As we begin to sing, the words just would not come out of my mouth; not
from fright, but of AWE. I had
never heard the other three parts sung nor the orchestra and pipe organ. I was so amazed that tears
filled my eyes; it was so incredibly beautiful. I went on in my adult life to have the
privilege of being a part of the Messiah about seven more times and I still get tears.
I can’t help but think that when I get to
heaven I will be so over whelmed. I will
join a bunch of other folks singing bass along with BILLIONS of others singing in Four
Part Harmony “THE
HALLELUJAH CHORUS”; STANDING
giving GOD THE
GLORY. I just hope I am able to
stand.
Our Ability
We don’t have to wait till we get to
heaven to glorify God;
HERE and
ability or gifts
we have, to the gifts of the other in the church.
WE CAN “DO THE WORD”
HANDEL’S MESSIAH
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
THE
In the multitude of
counselors,
there
is wisdom.
Proverbs 11:14
I am grateful to those that
went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture
verses. Because of them I can stand on
their shoulders
and see further that I otherwise
ever could have.
101
Q&A on Demon Powers – Dr. Lester
Sumrall
All the Miracles of the Bible - Herbert Lockyer
All the Women of the Bible – Edith Deen
An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words
- W.E. Vine
Antiquities
of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias;
Jewish Historian
Apocrypha; The – Edgar J. Goodspeed
Arithmetic
of God; The – Don Kistler
Armageddon-Appointment with Destiny – Grant R. Jeffrey
Bad
Girls of the Bible – Liz Curtis Higgs
Baker Commentary on the Bible – Elwell
Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White
Bible Code; The – Michael Drosnin
Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer
Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row
Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Bible on the life Hereafter, The – William Hendriksen
Bible Study Tools – Liberty University
Blood Covenant - Marcus Edward McDonald
Can America Survive? – John Hagee
Christian Apologetics & Research
Ministry – CARM - www.carm.org
Commentary
on the Pre-Adamic flood – Dr. Al
McCallister.
Complete
Book of Bible Knowledge; The – Mark D.
Taylor
Countdown to Armageddon, the 1980’s – Hal Lyndsay
Creation
or Evolution – Lyle Albrecht
Creation
Seminar – Kent Hovind
Customs
and Folkways of Jewish Life – Theodor H.
Gaster
Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake
Dead
Sea Scrolls -
Disappointed with God – Philip Yancey
Encounters with Angels – L. W. Northrup
English Standard Version Bible – ESV
Escape from Armageddon – Thomas Reed
Exposition of the Parables – Benjamin Keach
Expositor’s
Bible Commentary; The – Frank E.
Gaebelein
Fascinating Bible Facts – Publications International
Final Dawn over Jerusalem – John Hagee
Forgotten Books of Eden; The - World
From Daniel to Doomsday – John Hagee
Girls
of the Bible – Harvey Albert Snyder
God
without Religion – Andrew Farley
Great
Doctrines of the Bible 4 - Pneumatology –
W.W. Criswell
Great Doctrines of the Bible 5 – Soteriology – W. A. Criswell
Great Doctrines of the Bible 6 – Christian Life – W. A. Criswell
Great Pyramid; The – George R. Riffert
Guide to Survival – Salem Kirban
Handel’s
Messiah – The Music; Wikipedia
Hell’s
Angels – David Jeremiah
Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow; The – Constance Cumbey
His Glory Revealed – John Hagee
Historical
Atlas of the Bible; The – DR. Ian Barnes
Holy Bible; The – New Catholic Edition
How
to Save your Marriage Alone – Ed Wheat
I’d
like to Believe in Jesus, BUT – Bob Siegel
Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible Facts – Packer-Tenney White
Illustrated
Manners and Customs of the Bible –
Packer-Tenney
In the beginning was the End – Wim Malgo
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament – Baker
Invisible War; The - Donald Grey Barnhouse
Islam 6th Edition – Caesar E. Farah
Islam and the Bible – David Goldmann
Islam; Christian Apologetics – Dr. Norman Geisler
Jerusalem Countdown – John Hagee
Jewish Book of Why; The – Kolatch
King
James Version Bible - KJV
Koinonia
House – Chuck Missler
Landmark
Baptist; The – Brian Willis
Last Days collection, The – Pretty Good Publishing
Late Great Planet Earth; The – Hal Lindsey
Layman’s Overview of the Bible, The –
George W. Knight
Lost
Books of the Bible; The - Bell
Lost Books of the Bible; The - World
Manners
& Customs of Bible Lands – Fred H.
Wight
Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan
Mere
Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Meredith’s
Book of List; 1&2 – Bethany House
Publishers
Missing
Books of the Bible; The – Halo Press
Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest
Mystery Mark of the New Age – Texe Mars
Mystery of the Ages – Herbert W. Armstrong
Nag
Hammadi Library; The – James M. Robinson
Naked
Gospel; The – Andrew Farley
Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan
Neighboring
Faiths – Winfred Corduan
Nelson’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible
Facts – Packer – Tenney White
New
Evidence that demands a verdict; The –
Josh McDowell
New International Dictionary of the Bible;
The – Douglas - Tenney
New International Version Bible (2011) – NIV
New Living Translation Bible - NLT
New Millennium; The – Pat Robertson
New
World College Dictionary - Webster
Nostradamvs & the Millennivm – John Hogue
One Hundred Bible Topics – Marvin Hunt
One Minute after you Die – Erwin W. Lutzer
Pascal’s Wager – Michael A. Gorman
Paul & His Letters – John B. Polhill
Person & Work of the Holy Spirit; The – R.A. Torrey
Peter,
Paul and Mary Magdalene – Bart D. Ehrman
Pictorial
Encyclopedia of the Bible: The - Zondervan
Reasonable Faith – William Lane Crag
Red
Heifer; The – The Temple Institute
Revelation of Jesus Christ; The – Walvoord
Revelation Seminar; The - 1975 - Hilton Sutton
Revelation Study; The - 1973 – Dr. Warren Wiersbe
Revelation verse by verse; The – Oliver B. Green
Satan’s Underground – Lauren Stratford
Satanism – Ted Schwarz & Duane Empey
Secret Kingdom; The – Pat Robertson
Secrets
of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Hugh J.
Schonfield
Seeing Eye; The – C.S. Lewis
Systematic Theology – Wayne Grudem
Temple Institute; The
Temple Mount & Land of Israel Faithful
Movement
Temple Mount Location - Dr. Asher Kaufman
Ten Commandments – John Hagee
Ten
Lost Tribes - www.chabad.org
Theomatics – Jerry Lucas
There were two Trees in the Garden – Rick Joyner
There’s a war going on – Eldred Echols
This
Momentary Marriage – John Piper
Thru the Bible Series – J. Vernon McGee
Today’s
Dictionary of the Bible - Guidepost
Today’s
Dictionary of the Bible - T.A. Bryant
Twelve Ordinary Men – John MacArthur
Victor Journey through the Bible; The – V. Gilbert Beers
Vincent’s Word Studies of the New
Testament – Mac Donald
What in the World is going on? – David Jeremiah
Where to find it in the Bible – Ken Anderson
Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner
Why
I am a Christian – Michael A. Gorman
Witchcraft,
puppets and Voodoo – Irene A. Park
Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Pfeiffer & Harrison
[1] James 1:22 – Don’t just hear the word – DO IT -- 1
Corenthians 12:7 – The gifts; for the common good of the body -- 1 Corenthians
12:4-6 – Everyone does not have the same gift -- 1 Corenthians 12:12 – Your
gift is a part of the body -- 1 Corenthians 12:18 – God has arranged how your
gift fits in
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