Handel’s Messiah

Charles Jennens
by Thomas Hudson

Introduction

Charles Jennens (1700-1773) was a wealthy English landowner and friend of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). A patron of the arts, and skilled in music, literature, and the Bible, he collaborated with Handel on some of his musical compositions. Jennens gave Handel the lyrics to the Messiah, verses primarily from Isaiah, Psalms, Paul’s letters, and Revelation. Messiah tells the story of the advent of Christ, His victory over sin and death, His defeat of His enemies, victorious return, establishment of His kingdom on the earth, and the believer’s victory over death through His resurrection.

A devout Christian, Jennens trusted the authority of the Scriptures and rejected Deist claims that God did not intervene in human history. The verses Jennens selected for Handel’s Messiah reveal God’s interest and involvement in man’s affairs. Jennens wrote a friend concerning Handel:

“I hope he will lay out his whole Genius and Skill upon it, that the Composition may excell all his former Compositions, as the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah.”

Soli Deo Gloria  at the end of Handel’s signed MS.

Handel was overcome by the power of the verses he received from Jennens in August, 1741. Upon reading the words, the music began to dance and explode within him. He shut himself up and worked day and night, often forgetting to eat. After twenty-four days he finished the libretto and score. Handel closed his manuscript with the letters “SDG”—Soli Deo Gloria, “To God alone the glory”.

Early Life

Handel was born in Halle, Germany in 1685, into a religious and affluent family. His father, Georg Händel, was a famous surgeon in northern Germany and wished his son to study law. An acquaintance of the family, the Duke of Weissenfels, heard the boy, then barely 11, playing the organ. The Duke recognized he was a musical prodigy and likely influenced his father to allow him to study music. By 18, Handel composed his first opera, Almira. During the next five years, he was employed as a musician, composer and conductor at courts and churches in Rome, Florence, Naples and Venice, and Germany, where the Elector of Hanover, the future King George I of England, was briefly his patron. In 1710, Handel settled in London and became England’s most popular and successful composer.

History of Performance

While today’s performances of Messiah are usually during the Christmas season, Messiah was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742, as an Easter offering. Dublin was chosen as the place to introduce the work for several reasons. William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, had invited Handel to present a series of charity concerts in Dublin “for the relief of the Prisoners in the several Gaols, and for the Support of Mercer’s Hospital in Stephen Street, and of the Charitable Infirmary on the Inn’s Quay.” Handel had been disappointed by the reception of London audiences from the previous season. He thought it wise to introduce his work in Dublin and then bring it to London. Dublin was a prosperous and fast-growing city composed of wealthy citizens who had the sophistication and economic clout to support a major cultural event. Messiah was musically unorthodox in that it did not have a plot with the usual dramatic confrontations and strong narrative. Staging the performance was not without controversy. The Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dr. Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels) wrote:

“. . . whereas it hath been reported that I gave a licence to certain vicars to assist at a club of fiddlers in Fishamble Street, I do hereby annul and vacate the said licence, intreating my said Sub-Dean and chapter to punish such vicars as shall ever appear there, as songsters, fiddlers, pipers, trumpeters, drummers, drum-majors, or in any sonal quality, according to the flagitious aggravations of their respective disobedience, rebellion, perfidy and ingratitude.”

Despite such opposition, management of the Great Music Hall in Fishamble Street promoted the performance by asking ladies not to wear hooped dresses to make room for more people. Apparently the appeal was effective: the audience was a record 700. The citizens were excited to hear a performance by the famous Handel; they may also have wished to see the contralto, Susannah Cibber, who was embroiled in a scandalous divorce.

Worthy is the Lamb

Despite the success in Dublin, controversies continued. One critic wrote, “An oratorio either is an act of religion or it is not; if it is, I ask if the playhouse is a fit temple to perform it in, or a company of players . . . fit ministers of God’s Word?” Some clergy considered Messiah to be a blasphemous “religious farce” and it was not performed in a church until eighteen years after its composition. The first London performance of Messiah took place at the Covent Garden Theatre (now the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) on 23 March, 1743, in the presence of King George II. When he heard the words, ‘The kingdom of this world . . .’ (Hallelujah Chorus) the King rose to his feet and remained standing until the end of the number. The king stood, most likely, to indicate he recognized Christ was King of Kings. When the king stood, everyone stood. The tradition of standing when the Hallelujah Chorus commences continues. Following this performance, Lord Kinnoul congratulated Handel on the excellent entertainment. Handel replied, “My Lord, I should be sorry if I only entertained them; I wished to make them better.”

Handel was deeply concerned with the less fortunate throughout his life and participated regularly in charity benefits. He held annual benefit concerts for his favorite charity—London’s Foundling Hospital, a home for abandoned and orphaned children. These always included a performance of Messiah, indicating his love for the work. In 1759, when he was blind and in failing health, he insisted on attending an April 6 Messiah performance at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. A few days before he died, he stated he wished to die on Good Friday, “in the hopes of meeting his good God, his sweet Lord and Savior, on the day of his Resurrection.” He lived until Saturday morning, April 14, 1759, dying eight days after conducting the final performance of his great work. He had come full circle. Messiah was first performed during Eastertide and Handel died the day before Easter. 

George Frideric Handel by Balthasar Denner

Handel and  his magnum opus’ reputation continued to grow after his death. Mozart paid Handel the supreme compliment when he rearranged Messiah in 1789. He confessed he was humbled by Handel’s genius and insisted alterations to Handel’s score should not be interpreted as an effort to improve the music. Mozart declared, “Handel knows better than any of us what will make an effect. When he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt.”

The Text of the Composition

Below is the text, supplied by Charles Jennens, of what many consider to be the greatest musical masterpiece every composed.

Part One

Part One focuses upon the birth and the coming of the Messiah in fulfillment of God’s promises and the prophecies to establish His kingdom upon the earth. Before God establishes His kingdom on earth He will judge it in the Day of the Lord. In His righteous and peaceable kingdom Israel will find rest from its enemies and the nations will look to them for guidance.

Part Two

Part Two’s focus is upon the sufferings of the Messiah and His solving the problem of man’s sin. It speaks of His victory over sin and the blessings that will come as a result of His establishing His kingdom on the earth.

Part Three

Part Three proclaims the Messiah’s victory over sin and death and the believer’s hope of resurrection and eternal life in Him. God revealed bodily resurrection as early as Job and His disclosure culminated in Paul’s teachings. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day believed in resurrection but the Saduccees did not (Matthew 22.23; Acts 23.8). Jesus taught resurrection in His earthly ministry and proved it by His own resurrection. To Paul, the ascended, glorified Christ revealed the doctrine of resurrection of the Church, the body of Christ. All who have died in Christ since Paul’s commission as apostle of the Gentiles (Romans 11.13) God will raise when He returns in the air for His Church (1 Thessalonians 4.13-14). One generation of Christians will not experience death. God will transform their earthly bodies directly into heavenly, eternal bodies (1 Thessalonians 4.15-18; 1 Corinthians 15.51-52). We call this the Rapture. Our victory over sin and death was won by the Lord Jesus Christ in His glorious resurrection.

©2014 Don Samdahl. Anyone is free to reproduce this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold.