Handel's Messiah: a dramatic analysis Prepared for the Mount Desert Summer Chorale, August 2, 2007 By David Schildkret Text © 2008 David Schildkret. If this content is used to prepare a concert program or other published/presented work please credit David Schildkret, ASU School of Music, and Music Director, Mount Desert Summer Chorale (also include the URL of this web page).   PART ONE: The Promise of Salvation   PROLOGUE—The world in pain assured that redemption will come Sinfony (Overture) The French overture (of which this is an example) originated in the mid-17th century at the court of Louis XIV.  By Handel’s time it was the standard opening for an opera, and he adapted it to the oratorio.  Originally, it signaled the entrance of the king to hear the opera.  Therefore, it is a procession, a kind of fanfare.  This overture is unusually dark (in E minor), so perhaps Handel meant it to convey the idea of the world in need of—and awaiting (perhaps not so hopefully)—some form of salvation.   Comfort ye The tenor assures the believers that comfort is at hand.  The contrast between the E minor of the overture and the E major of this recitative underscores the hopefulness of the message.   Every valley A joyous vision of the promised salvation and how it will transform the world we know.   And the glory of the Lord The choir completes the prophecy:  comfort will come, the world will be transformed, and the glory (i.e., a dazzling, divine light—an actual thing often represented as a halo) will be revealed.  Everyone will be included in this salvation at the same moment (and all flesh shall see it together).  It is a dance of joyous anticipation of the beauty to come.   [here one scene is cut]   SCENE TWO:  The prophet reveals the manner in which the new world will come. Behold, a virgin shall conceive The alto announces the means of the Messiah’s coming through a virgin birth.   O thou that tellest God instructs the prophet—who is usually severe and fearsome—to share good news with Zion from the high mountain:  arise!  shine!  your light is coming!  The choir completes the statement, almost as though Zion has heard the prophecy and embraced it gratefully.   For behold, darkness shall cover the earth The bass, almost chastening the jolly chorus of the previous movement, reminds everyone that the world is still in darkness—the darkness is palpable, but there is a promise of light.   The people that walked in darkness While the text is in the past tense, it is nevertheless clear from the music that the darkness is real, surrounding us, and the promised shining light is yet to come. (Drama is more compelling when even those events that have already taken place are shared as though they are actually happening:  salvation must unfold in Messiah; until the end of the work, one must not adopt the attitude—whatever one’s personal faith—that it is already accomplished.)   For unto us a child is born The choir, somewhat subdued by the gravity of the bass’s message, looks forward to the birth of the child:  he will govern, and he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  As they tell of this, they become ever more joyful.   SCENE THREE:  The Nativity Note that the Messiah’s birth is told through the annunciation to the shepherds.  They are the poorest people in Judea, and they are meant to represent ordinary, everyday folks—us, in other words. Pifa Setting the scene:  it is night on the hills outside Bethlehem.  The shepherds are playing their pipes.   ┌There were shepherds │             A simple narrative:  the shepherds are watching their flock. │ │And lo! │             An angel appears in a blaze of light:  the strings portray divine light shimmering │             around the shepherds, who are afraid. │ │And the angel said unto them │             The angel speaks and announces the coming of the savior. │ │And suddenly │             The air is filled with the mighty beating of angels’ wings. │ │Glory to God │             The angels—thousands of them—praise God, promise peace on earth and └             goodwill towards humanity.  The heavens then close and the vision disappears.   Rejoice greatly The soprano celebrates the incarnation of the Messiah, underscoring his righteousness and emphasizing that he brings peace.   SCENE FOUR:  The miracles that will ensue after the Messiah’s coming Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened The alto recounts the ways in which the Messiah will heal the world:  the blind will see, the deaf will hear, those who are lame will walk, and those without speech will sing.   He shall feed his flock With maternal tenderness, the alto assures the believers that the Messiah will protect them as a shepherd protects the sheep.  The angelic soprano invites those who are struggling to come to the Messiah, who will provide rest and comfort.   His yoke is easy The soprano’s invitation is easy to accept, because the Messiah does not lay a heavy load on the saved.  The reality and joy of this become ever more vivid as the chorus progresses.   PART TWO: The Passion and Resurrection of the Messiah; the truth of these events triumphant   SCENE ONE:  Contemplating the Messiah’s suffering for his people Behold the Lamb of God The choir addresses the audience directly in solemn, mournful tones, commanding them to watch and hear the story of the Messiah’s sacrifice.   He was despised The alto, with restrained pity, recounts the humiliations that the Messiah, so joyously celebrated in Part One, now must endure.   The choir responds— first with horror, then gradually coming to understand the full nature and enormity of the Messiah’s sacrifice.  This one, good man must die painfully; his dignity and life are forfeit as the price of absolving the  sin of all humanity:   ┌Surely he hath borne our griefs │             A horrified outburst:  we are responsible for this suffering. │ │And with his stripes │             In the style of a Renaissance motet (which signifies for Handel something timeless), the choir │             mourns the cost of salvation:  the Messiah must suffer in order to heal us, and we feel the guilt of │             that sacrifice on our behalf. │ │All we like sheep │             The choir, like naughty children, confess naively that they have sinned:  they have behaved │             like insensible, wandering sheep.  Not until the end do they recognize the cost of what seemed to └                be nothing more than harmless mischief.   SCENE TWO:  The Messiah’s suffering (mocking), death, and resurrection   ┌All they that see him │             The tenor, horrified and angry, describes the rejection of the savior. │ │He trusted in God │             The choir, representing the crowd at the foot of the cross, sneer at the Messiah:  let God save him! │             They begin quietly, almost muttering to one another, but they gain enthusiasm and become a │             jeering mob by the end. │             │Thy rebuke; Behold and see │             The tenor sorrowfully reproaches the crowd—see what your mocking has done to him? │ │He was cut off │             The soprano obliquely tells us that the Messiah died and reminds us that it was for our sins. │ │But thou didst not leave his soul in hell │             Again somewhat indirectly, the soprano indicates that the Messiah’s sufferings extended beyond │             death into hell itself.  But he did not remain there and did not suffer decay:  the resurrection is └             implied but not explicitly recounted.   Lift up your heads The choir of angels offers the Messiah a triumphant welcome into heaven.  They play a little game, like asking riddles to which they already know the answers:  Who is this King of Glory?  The Lord strong and mighty!   [here two scenes are cut]   SCENE THREE:  The promised peace does not come, because the world’s rulers reject the Messiah’s sacrifice.  The believers overthrow these upstart kings, and God conquers.   Why do the nations; Let us break their bonds asunder The bass, in a baroque type known as a rage aria, describes the world in turmoil.  It is like a raging battle.  He incites the choir to rebellion.   He that dwelleth in heaven; Thou shalt break them The tenor assures the believers that God holds the faithless rulers in contempt:  he will destroy them utterly as though they were nothing more than clay pots smashed with iron rods.                                                                                                                                      Hallelujah! With righteous indignation that borders on bloodthirstiness, the choir ecstatically celebrates God’s conquest.             PART THREE: Hymn of praise for the Messiah's victory over death (the text of Part Three, with the exception of the final chorus, comes from the Burial Service as given in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.)   SCENE ONE:  Affirmation of the Messiah’s resurrection and its meaning   I know that my redeemer liveth The soprano lays out the central theme:  the Messiah’s resurrection has brought release from death for all believers.  She sings with serene, quiet confidence and absolute faith in the truth of this.   Since by man came death The choir marvels at the symbolism of the Messiah’s sacrifice:  Adam—a human—sinned, thus bringing the punishment of death.  The Messiah—also a human—redeems the sin and removes the punishment.   Behold, I tell you a mystery; The trumpet shall sound The bass, first with wonder, then with pomp and grandeur, celebrates the promise of resurrection.  The trumpet of the Last Judgment is flamboyant rather than threatening.   [here one scene is cut]   EPILOGUE:  Final anthem of praise   Worthy is the Lamb Handel adopts the style of an organ prelude and fugue for the final, summative movement.  The work of redemption is complete; the promise of salvation is fulfilled; the hope of resurrection is assured.  The final chorus is a jubilant dance and song of praise for the Messiah—the Lamb whose terrible sacrifice earns him the gratitude of the redeemed.  The Amen (the word means “so be it” or “let it be so” in Hebrew) is prolonged as both a wish and an affirmation:  Make it so. Remarks Note:  While this is an original document that attempts to lay out my ideas as I hope we will realize them in performance, it naturally owes a debt to earlier analyses.  I particularly studied the work of Jens Peter Larsen some years ago and am sure this has influenced my thought.   The words in bold type may provide keywords to keep in mind as you perform the music.   The description that Charles Jennens put into the word book for the early performances You may find it instructive to see the description that Charles Jennens, who compiled the texts for Messiah, put into the word book for the early performances:   He gave the title as   MESSIAH A Sacred Oratorio   He appended this Latin motto:   Majora canamus. (Let us sing of great things.) He also included a scriptural epigraph:   And without controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified by the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. --1 Timothy   Jennens went on to describe the drama, dividing the work into scenes.  My scenic analysis differs slightly from his—I think he is proceeding theologically/philosophically, whereas performers need to focus on drama.   Here is his synopsis, with some annotations to help you connect it to the music and the description above:   Part I Scene i:  The prophecy of Salvation                 [“Sinfony” through  “And the glory of the Lord”]   Scene ii:  The prophecy of the coming of Messiah and the question, despite (i) [i.e., the previous scene], of what this may portend for the World                 [cut in our performance]   Scene iii:  The prophecy of the Virgin Birth                 [Behold, a virgin shall conceive; O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion]   Scene iv:  The appearance of the Angels to the Shepherds                 [“Pifa” through “Rejoice greatly”]   Scene v:  Christ's redemptive miracles on earth                 [“Then shall the eyes of the blind” through “His yoke is easy”]                     Part II Scene i:  The redemptive sacrifice, the scourging and the agony on the cross [“Behold the Lamb of God” through “Behold and see.”  I think this “scene” actually has three distinct, though connected, parts.]   Scene ii:  His sacrificial death, His passage through Hell and Resurrection [He was cut off; But thou didst not leave his soul in hell]   Scene iii:  His Ascension [Lift up your heads]   Scene iv: God discloses his identity in Heaven; and Scene v: Whitsun, the gift of tongues, the beginning of evangelism [cut in our performance]   Scene vi:  The world and its rulers reject the Gospel [Why do the nations; Let us break their bonds asunder]   Scene vii:  God's triumph                 [“He that dwelleth in heaven” through “Hallelujah!”]   Part III   Scene i:  The promise of bodily resurrection and redemption from Adam's fall [I know that my redeemer liveth; Since by man came death]   Scene ii:  The Day of Judgement and general Resurrection [Behold, I tell you a mystery; The trumpet shall sound]   Scene iii:  The victory over death and sin [cut in our performance]   Scene iv:  The glorification of the Messianic victim                 [Worthy is the Lamb]