Something for the weekend. The Advent portions of Handel’s Messiah. The above video is the Overture.
Next we have “Comfort Ye” which is a messianic text from Isaiah 40.
“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. ”
“Every Valley” carries on with the fourth verse of Isaiah 40:
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:
“And the Glory of the Lord” is the fifth and final verse of Isaiah 40 that Handel uses.
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.
“Thus saith the Lord” shifts to the messianic verses 5 and 6 of Haggai 2:
For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is 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: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
and concludes with the messianic Malachi 3, verse 1:
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me and 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.
But Who May Abide The Day of His Coming which repeats the messianic words of Malachi 3, verse 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, and like fullers’ soap:
And He Shall Purify concludes Handel’s use of Malachi with Malachi 3, verse 3:
and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
Behold a Virgin Shall Conceive shifts our focus to great messianic prophecies of Isaiah, beginning with Isaiah Chapter 7, verse 14:
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman’u-el
O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion repeats the text of Isaiah 40, verse 9:
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
And concludes with Isaiah 60, verse 1:
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
For Behold Darkness Shall Cover the Earth continues with Isaiah 60, verses 2 and 3:
For, behold, the 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.
The People That Walked in Darkness relates the great messianic message, a text that I have always found profoundly moving, of Isaiah Chapter 9, verse 2:
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Handel heralds the coming of Christ with the immortal words of Isaiah Chapter 9, verse 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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Thirty plus years ago, I had the opportunity to sing three different times with community choirs who sang excerpts from “The Messiah.”. What an absolute joy. Hearing all the individual parts finally come together was a thrill. I do believe the story that Handel was inspired by God.
Thank you, Don.
Handel is always a good start to Advent Cathy!
I love this way this post is put together and am sharing.
Just love the music and his story. I will watch “the Great Mr Handel” again this season
WoW.
Great job. A woman named Donna was in tears before I introduced her to your offering. I played the Overture and her tears turned into joy. I’m working today. She is suffering in her memory and anxiety is an unwelcomed guest.
Handel and McClarey to the rescue!
We always try redirect multiple times v. going to a medication.
I’ll play more as the day goes on.
That made my day Philip!
Glad to hear it.
Abandonment, imo, is a silent killer.
Trying to engage them, love them, give them a reason to smile or chuckle is an application that God administers.
We, the broken instruments, are privileged to see HIS work in action.
Thank you for your dedication to inspire your TAC family with your talents. [ also, thank you, and other commenters, for being patient with me….listen/read more, write less.]
Peace.
A blessing to hear this wonderful music. I have had the joy of singing various numbers from the Messiah with various choirs over the years. And, IMO, the instrumental Pastoral interlude in Part 1 is one of most beautiful orchestral works imaginable.
Thanks, Don, for the music and its memories. My Dad was a classically trained baritone who loved this work perhaps above all others, with the possible exception of J. S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. He directed and of course sang in both pieces multiple times at our churches over the years. I still have his profusely annotated sheet music for Messiah, arranged for keyboard and chorus, dating back to the 1950’s, published by Schirmer. I have to quit handling it (oops, no pun intended) because it’s beginning to fall apart. My favorite part of Messiah is For Unto Us A Child is Born, rather than the Hallelujah Chorus, but that’s like favoring a rose over a lily, both are so beautiful. Any reasonably competent live performance of Messiah, even just highlights, is worth whatever it takes to go and hear it, IMO. Thanks again. And Merry Christmas to all here.
Love it. A marvelous piece of music. I have had occasion to perform selections from the Messiah a number of times with various choirs over the years. Thanks much for the post.