Quote of the Moment: Messiah, Part Ia

Even though I may sometimes tire of playing Messiah, I generally don't tire of listening to it (there's a lot to it, so it's not like you hear the whole thing straight through day after day). I love the music (and Handel was a total genius when it comes to compositional techniques like word painting), I love the text, I love everything about it. So, for the next few days, I'm going to go through the text of the three different parts of Handel's Messiah (even though many people only play the first part during the Advent/Christmas season, I believe the whole work fits together - that's kinda why it's all one piece - and should be looked at together. One can hardly understand the purpose of the first part if one doesn't understand that the reason for Christ's birth is found in the second two parts.) Today, the first section of Part I.

HANDEL'S MESSIAH

Part I: The Birth of Christ

1. The prophecy of salvation
2. The prophecy of the coming of the Messiah
3. Portents to the world at large
4. Prophecy of the virgin birth

(1) Overture (Orchestral)

(2) Comfort Ye (Tenor Recitative)
Isaiah 40:1-3 "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned...The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

(3) Every Valley (Tenor Air)
Isaiah 40:4 "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain."

(4) And the Glory of the Lord (Chorus)
Isaiah 40:5 "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

(5) Thus Saith the Lord (Bass Recitative)
Haggai 2:6, 7 "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Yet once, a little while and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come."
Malachi 3:1 "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: Behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts."

(6) But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming? (Bass Air)
Malachi 3:2 "But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire..."

(7) And He Shall Purify (Chorus)
Malachi 3:3 "...And He shall purify the sons of Levi...that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness."

(8) Behold, a Virgin Shall Conceive (Alto Recitative)
Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:23) "...Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, God with us."

(9) O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion (Alto Air & Chorus)
Isaiah 40:9 & 60:1 "O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up and be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."

(10) For Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the Earth (Bass Recitative)
Isaiah 60:2-3 "For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness, the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."

(11) The People that Walked in Darkness (Bass Air)
Isaiah 9:2 "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."

(12) For Unto Us a Child Is Born (Chorus)
Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the might God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

(13) Pastoral Symphony (Orchestral)