I admit my bias because I am blessed to have performed Messiah playing the cello multiple times and singing once in a mega-choir with the Cedar Rapid Symphony during college. Musicians also get that tingle up their back at times playing during a concert. And I tell you that happens big time during the playing and singing of this piece.
In addition, an adult night class also had the opportunity to join me on a journey into this oratorio. Yes, they survived. :-) You tell them the story of how Handel wrote Messiah in 24 days in Dublin; Dublin loved it, London not; Handel originally used 31 instruments and 24 singers or thereabouts, and some modern performances use choirs of 3,500 people; and so on. Then you get into what the scriptures Handel used. What did the original Greek and Hebrew say? Is it “young woman or “virgin?” Is Jesus being foretold in the Old Testament texts? We had some awesome discussions.
Then the music. I listened to 20 or so versions of Messiah that Handel experts said were the best performances. They ranged from folks using period instruments, instruments that are made to be like those that existed during Handel’s time, orchestras the size Handel used, performances based on different versions, to big orchestras. I played various choruses - And the Glory of the Lord, And with His Stripes, King of Glory, And He shall purify, His yoke is easy, All We like Sheep, Halleluiah, Worthy Is the Lamb, and Amen - and compared versions. So what was the best? Whatever Messiah the individual person in class liked listening to. “Smaller” ensembles allowed one to hear all of the parts pretty clearly, were probably more what Handel intended, and how people in the Baroque interacted with music and the divine. “Larger” groups of musicians seem more “modern”, lush, and fill the edges with sound and make our images of the divine “bigger” or at least more massive; it doesn’t take much to turn it up louder :-). This doesn’t mean one is better than the other; just what you want. And what really does small and large mean anyway? Does it matter?
As we finished the class, I reminded my students to not forget Part Three. Yes, Hallelujah. But there is much more Messiah has to offer. Much more the Messiah did after the tomb if you are religious. The Amen--not an “it is finished”, not a “the end”. But, an acknowledgement, an acceptance of what has gone on before, leaving the path before one open to living and experiencing the joys discovered and the grace received. Messiah is a sheer masterpiece for the soul.
Messiah Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_(Handel) (a great place to start)
Messiah Wiki
https://wiki.ccarh.org/wiki/Messiah
The Glorious History of Handel’s Messiah
A musical rite of the holiday season, the Baroque-era oratorio still awes listeners 250 years after the composer’s death
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-glorious-history-of-handels-messiah-148168540/
Handel Institute
Messiah (HWV 56) "A Sacred Oratorio"
Composed: London 1741—2 · First Performed: Dublin 1742
http://gfhandel.org/handel/messiah.html
5 Things You Might Not Know About Handel's Messiah
https://www.bsomusic.org/stories/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-handels-messiah/
10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Handel's Messiah
https://oae.co.uk/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-handels-messiah/
12 Reasons to Listen to Handel’s “Messiah.” If You Haven’t Listened to Handel’s Oratorio Much, Here’s Why You Should Start.
https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/12-reasons-to-listen-to-handels-messiah/5969/
Handel’s Many Messiahs
http://danagioia.com/essays/film-and-music/handels-many-messiahs/
The best recordings of Handel’s Messiah
We name the recordings of this choral masterpiece that should have everyone shouting ‘Hallelujah!’
http://www.classical-music.com/article/best-recordings-handel-s-messiah
Messiah The Complete Guide
https://messiah-guide.com/index.html
Music Scores
https://imslp.org/wiki/Messiah,_HWV_56_(Handel,_George_Frideric)
Handel’s ‘Messiah’: Masterpiece Guide To The Great Oratorio
Featuring links to full version by Trevor Pinnock with the English Concert and Choir (I like Pinnock)
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/classical-features/handel-messiah-masterpiece-guide/
Handel Messiah, by Sir Colin Davis & London Symphony Orchestra 1966 (one of the biggies)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r68P8TBWiIQ
Handel's Messiah Live from the Sydney Opera House (has some wow moments)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR0cEOTpYSk
G. F. Handel: Messiah HWV 56 VÁCLAV LUKS, Collegium 1704, Collegium Vocale 1704
(very nice small ensemble/period instrumentation and the conductor is a joy to watch)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH3T6YwwU9s
George F. Handel - Messiah - Staged version [complete] (interesting)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LsZpitl-cI
No comments:
Post a Comment