Composition Analysis. Handel, Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus - Research Paper Example

He spent the last forty-nine years of his life in England, which at that time was a prosperous nation and the environment was conducive to freewheeling genius as himself. He was a very successful composer. But by 1730s, both emotional and physical exhaustion took over Handel and he started concentrating on composing Sacred Oratorios. They were easier to deal with unlike Operas, which dealt with large, elaborate and expensive sets and extremely moody and unpredictable actors. The fact remains that Handel’s most famous compositions are his Oratorios.

“Messiah” was composed at an astounding pace, between three and four weeks during August and September 1741. It was originally intended to be presented during the Easter of 1742. The libretto is by Charles Jennens and is drawn from King James’ Bible. It interprets the Christian doctrine of the Messiah or the Savior. Handel was disappointed with the cold reception of his previous work by the audience of London. Probably this is one reason behind premiering it in Dublin on 13th April, 1742.

In fact he was skeptical about the reception of the Oratorio by the audience. His earlier pieces were always bonded by a strong plot and clear narrative. “Messiah” on the other hand was very loosely bound. . He described them as: “Part One: The prophecy and realization of God’s plan to redeem mankind by the coming of the Messiah. Part Two: The accomplishment of redemption by the sacrifice of Jesus, mankind’s rejection of God’s offer, and mankind’s utter defeat when trying to oppose the power of the Almighty.

Part Three: A Hymn of Thanksgiving for the final overthrow of Death.” The ‘Hallelujah’ chorus comes during the ending portion of the second part of the composition. It has a feeling of a man’s realization of coming of Christ and permeates an atmosphere of holiness when the whole chorus sings out together in magnificent homophony. The lyrics are: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! The kingdom of this world Is become the kingdom of our Lord, And of His Christ, and of His Christ; And He shall reign for ever and ever, For ever and ever, forever and ever, King of kings, and Lord of lords, King of kings, and Lord of lords, And Lord of lords, And He shall reign, And He shall reign forever and ever, King of kings, forever and ever, And Lord of lords, Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! And He shall reign forever and ever, King of kings! and Lord of lords! And He shall reign forever and ever, King of kings! and Lord of lords! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! The composer has chosen this chorus to be a high point in his composition. Thus it is richly orchestrated. It contains a continuo, lower and upper strings, trumpet and percussion in addition to the constant use of soprano, alto, tenor and bass. The