Handels Messiah Tickets Information

Handels Messiah
Messiah (HWV 56) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel based on a libretto by Charles Jennens. Composed in the summer of 1741 and premiered in Dublin on the 13 April 1742, Messiah is Handel's most famous creation and is among the most popular works in Western choral literature. The very well known chorus, Hallelujah, is part of Handel's Messiah.

Handel conducted Messiah many times and, as was his custom, often altered the music to suit the needs of the singers and orchestra he had available to him for each performance. In consequence, no single version can be regarded as the "authentic" one. Many more variations and rearrangements were added in subsequent centuriesa notable arrangement was one by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, translated into German.

The name of the oratorio is taken from Judaism and Christianity's concept of the Messiah. In Christianity, the Messiah is Jesus. Handel himself was a devout Christian, and the work is a presentation of Jesus life and its significance according to Christian doctrine. In the summer of 1741 Handel, at the peak of his musical prowess but depressed and in debt, began setting Charles Jennens' Biblical libretto to music at his usual breakneck speed. In just 24 days, Messiah was complete. Like many of Handel's compositions, it borrows liberally from earlier works, both his own and those of others

Although the work was conceived and first performed for Easter, it has become traditional since Handel's death to perform the Messiah oratorio during Advent, the preparatory period of the Christmas season, rather than at Easter. Christmas concerts often feature only the first section of Messiah plus the "Hallelujah" chorus, although some ensembles feature the entire work as a Christmas concert. The work is also heard at Eastertide, and selections containing resurrection themes are often included in Easter services.

It was premiered during the following season, in the spring of 1742, as part of a series of charity concert on Fishamble Street near Dublin's Temple Bar district. Right up to the day of the premiere, Messiah was troubled by production difficulties and last-minute rearrangements of the score, and the Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Jonathan Swift placed some pressure on the premiere and had it cancelled entirely for a period. The premiere happened on 13 April at the Music Hall in Dublin, and Handel led the performance from the harpsichord with Matthew Dubourg conducting the orchestra. Dubourg was an Irish violinist, conductor and composer. He had worked with Handel as early as 1719 in London.

Messiah is scored for SATB soloists, SATB chorus, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, and basso continuo. The Mozart arrangement expands the orchestra to 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings, and organ. In 1959, Sir Thomas Beecham conducted a special arrangement for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which expands the instrumentation to 3 flutes (one doubling on piccolo), 4 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 bassoons, 1 contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, and strings.

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