By Noralyn O. Dudt
“Hallelujah hallelujah"
chorus emanates from all quarters across the globe: in cathedrals, churches, concert halls,
shopping malls, school plays during this Christmas season.
And HE shall live forever and ever… Hallelujah.
Composed in 1741, The MESSIAH" by George Frideric Handel is
still being played today and remains a favorite of many. One wonders whether Handel saw the
"Messiah" as his ticket to immortality. Handel wrote numerous
oratorios but his most famous one was the "Messiah." The words were
taken from the Bible and unless one is familiar with Scriptures, one would
think this oratorio had no plot at first glance. However, the subject title is
the plot—the prophecies about the Messiah: his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and his eternal reign.
An oratorio is different from an opera in two ways. It isn't acted
out, with scenery and costumes, like an opera. The word "oratorio"
comes from the Latin word that means "to pray." Its story is usually
taken from the Bible, hence a sacred story in music.
The lyrics in the Messiah concerned ancient prophecies about the
coming of a great king and these prophecies were fulfilled in the Birth and
Crucifixion of Christ.
When Handel looked at the text that he was about to set to music, a
passage from the oratorio held his eye. He (Christ) was despised and rejected
of (by) men…. He looked for someone to have pity on him, but there was no one;
neither he found any to comfort him."
A sense of kinship warmed Handel's heart. He read on. "He trusted in God....God
did not leave his soul in Hell…. He will give you rest." The words, burning into his consciousness
began to take on meaning. "I know
that my Redeemer lives… Rejoice… Hallelujah."
The old fire that had inspired the rulers of Europe began to
rekindle. Wondrous melodies bubbled up from the seething cauldron of Handel's
mind. He grabbed a pen from the table and started writing. With unbelievable
swiftness, his notes filled page after
page.
Handel labored like a man possessed for twenty three days. Servants
would bring Handel food on a tray; a few hours later, they would return to remove the tray and the
food would be untouched. Some say the
score was blotched and spattered with Handel's tears. He put all his heart,
energy, and intellect into what would become his masterpiece.
The "Messiah" was a huge success. The performances were
wonderful. Nobles came from all around
and gave Handel money for the concerts and orphanages. Many people said they
have never heard anything like it before. Some of the arias flowed easily, like
cool water in a brook; others scalded, like fire; or cuts, like whips. The
choruses were noble, like a crowd shouting together for a king who entered in
victory.
The music gains extraordinary intensity through the baroque
compositional techniques of "word painting" in which the flow of
notes in the music actually seems to replicate a shape or contour that the
words describe.
It was during the first London performance that a strange thing
happened. The audience, carried away by the power of the "Hallelujah
Chorus" and following the king's example, arose in unison as though by a
prearranged signal. Since then audiences
around the world over have expressed a similar respect by rising at the onset
of this chorus and remaining standing until its conclusion.
After Handel's death (he died in Good Friday, his wish), his fame
kept spreading. The choirs that sang his music became larger and larger, louder
and louder. As time went on, people sang the Messiah in England, in Handel's native Germany, and in the U.S.A.
The chorus kept getting bigger—once, the "Messiah" was
played by an orchestra of 500 with a choir of 4,000 people chanting and
shouting the music that Handel once cried over, alone in his room.
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Child is given. And the
government shall be upon His shoulder; and His Name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
He shallbe King of Kings, and
Lord of Lords, and He shall reign forever and ever. HALLELUJAH!
Noralyn Onto Dudt never ceases to be inspired by this oratorio
and casts her eyes toward that great and final arrival—the coming of Christ in
His glory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
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