When it comes to music, Christmas is the time of year where just one theme creates magic for all of us: family gatherings, snow on the ground, the birth of Jesus Christ, and the list goes on. One of the most traditional of these songs is the classic choral hymn sung at almost every Christmas concerts, Christmas Eve Masses and services, etc. That is the famous Handel’s Hallelujah, which is part of the world famous Handel’s Messiah.
Handel’s Messiah has been around for almost 300 years, which is quite a long time. Originally it was considered to be an Easter hymn celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord. However, these days Christmas seems to be more dominate as part of a big evening meditation at the big evening services or as the finale at a concert or event.
So who was this infamous George Frideric Handel? He was a composer born to a father who was a celebrated surgeon in Northern Germany. While his father had other dreams for him, Handel connected to music at a very young age and soon the music became a part of his life. At 18 years old, he composed his first opera called Almira and worked in various courts and churches as a composer and conductor in Italy as well as Germany.
When it came to the actual composition of the Messiah, Handel put his heart and soul into it. He was laser focused on not just the spirituality aspect of the composition but also how it relates to our own mortality. It became a labor of love and it shows just by merely listening to every nuance and aspect of the piece with the first half talking about the birth of Jesus Christ, a second part on Jesus’s sacrifice for humanity and third the Resurrection. This is why we can see Easter and Christmas being the main centerpiece holidays.
At one point, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart tried to perform the Messiah and even try to put his little spin on it. However, even he had to admit that this masterpiece was something special. Which is why so many years later, it still is even today.
As for myself and my connection with it, we always listened to it at our house, heard it at a midnight Mass or actually sung the Hallelujah chorus for the last meditation of a service. I guess you can say it was always kind of a traditional song around the family. And even if it was not sung or heard at church, we would catch it on TV either on PBS, ETWN or the Church Channel during a Christmas concert or a special with a choir such as the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert.
Sitting and listening to it, it is a beautiful piece of music to reflect on. But of course, its not the first part that we look forward to. It’s the crescendo and shouts of Hallelujah. And when it’s done well, it is just breathtaking and amazing.
If you have not had a chance to hear this masterpiece live, it is worth it. Find out through your local community churches in your area to see if and when you can hear all or just that Hallelujah part of the masterpiece.
If not, here is a little video for you to enjoy:
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