{"id":3797,"date":"2012-04-12T01:51:07","date_gmt":"2012-04-12T06:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=3797"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:33:14","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:33:14","slug":"handels-messiah-an-unexpected-easter-masterpiece-introduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2012\/04\/12\/handels-messiah-an-unexpected-easter-masterpiece-introduction\/","title":{"rendered":"Handel’s Messiah: An Unexpected Easter Masterpiece – Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I ended my last post by promising to discuss one further piece of Easter music. Today, I begin to keep my promise.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, the choir of Irvine Presbyterian Church, along with a couple of guest choirs, did something you might consider odd. They sang a wonderful, well-known piece of music. This isn\u2019t odd, of course. But the strange part, at least in the perspective of some folks, was the timing of the concert. You see, the choirs sang Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em> in Lent, a couple of weeks before Good Friday and Easter. For some people, this seemed about as sensible as singing \u201cJingle Bells\u201d on the Fourth of July.<\/p>\n

Most of us associate Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em> with Christmas, or perhaps with Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas. In fact, a few of years ago, I was blessed to join my church choir as we sang a substantial proportion of the Messiah<\/em> for our Christmas concert. (To hear a short clip of our choir singing the Hallelujah chorus, click here [Messiah-excerpt<\/a>]. See, I didn\u2019t mess it up too badly.) Moreover, I make it a habit to listen to the entire Messiah<\/em> during Advent to prepare myself for a deeper celebration of Christmas.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Georg Friedrich H\u00e4ndel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But, in truth, Handel did not write the Messiah<\/em> as a piece of Christmas music. We know this for a couple of reasons. First, if you pay close attention to the words of the Messiah<\/em> in the libretto (the text of the music) written by Charles Jennens, you\u2019ll discover that only the first part of the composition has to do with the birth of Jesus. The second and third parts focus on his death, resurrection, the sending of the Spirit at Pentecost, and the final resurrection of all believers. Second, the first performance of the Messiah<\/em> occurred, not during Advent or Christmas, but in Eastertide. Handel\u2019s masterpiece was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742, 19 days after Easter. This was surely no accident. If Handel had envisioned the Messiah<\/em> as a piece for Christmas, it would have been introduced in this season.<\/p>\n

Although you may be familiar with the Messiah<\/em>, it offers many surprises if you carefully examine the libretto. For one thing, the lyrics of this piece are entirely from the Bible (though in a few spots Jennens paraphrased the Authorized Version). For another, though the story of Jesus is a New Testament narrative, the majority of the words in the Messiah<\/em> come from the Old Testament. Moreover, the key events \u2013 the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus \u2013 are not told with New Testament texts, but with prophetic passages from the Old Testament. For example, the Messiah<\/em> doesn\u2019t include the words, \u201cAnd she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him swaddling clothes\u201d (Luke 2:7). Instead, it celebrates, \u201cFor unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,\u201d quoting Isaiah 9:6.<\/p>\n

For centuries, people have loved Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em>, and for good reason. In fact, a reviewer of the first performance of this piece wrote, \u201cThe sublime, the grand, and the tender, adapted to the most elevated, majestic and moving words, conspired to transport and charm the ravished heart and ear.\u201d Now that\u2019s some review!<\/p>\n

In my next post I will begin to inspect the libretto of the Messiah<\/em>, looking especially at its presentation of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the composition\u2019s Easter core, if you will.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I ended my last post by promising to discuss one further piece of Easter music. Today, I begin to keep my promise. Several years ago, the choir of Irvine Presbyterian Church, along with a couple of guest choirs, did something you might consider odd. They sang a wonderful, well-known piece of music. This isn\u2019t odd, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7460,8426],"tags":[21640,8357,21644],"class_list":["post-3797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-easter","category-handels-messiah","tag-easter","tag-eastertide","tag-handels-messiah"],"yoast_head":"\nHandel's Messiah: An Unexpected Easter Masterpiece - Introduction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I ended my last post by promising to discuss one further piece of Easter music. Today, I begin to keep my promise. 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