Handel's Messiah
MUSIC HISTORY
Essential oratorio repertoire for choir and soloists: breath, baroque style and alleluias in vocal training, with Adeline Toniutti's pedagogy.
Source Jean Mislin · Musicologist, organist and choral conductor · teacher of Adeline Toniutti As part of Adeline Toniutti's research
What is Handel's Messiah?
Messiah is the most famous oratorio by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). Composed in 1741 in only a few weeks and premiered in Dublin to great acclaim, it is a long work in three large parts, with choruses at its centre. For soloists and choristers it is a laboratory of breath, baroque style and vocal stamina.
Composition, Dublin premiere and lasting success
By 1741 Handel had already turned from Italian opera toward English oratorio. Messiah was written in record time and established itself at once. The Dublin premiere, then its spread in England, made it a monument of sacred concert repertoire. Unlike opera, it is performed without staging or costumes: drama lives in the music, the biblical text and the force of the choruses.
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the work was still given with ever more gigantic forces, gaining power while losing nerve. Today performance has returned closer to Handel's own practice: agility, clear lines and a chorus present without crushing mass.
Three-part structure and Gospel narrative
The work falls in three large parts and evokes the coming of a Saviour as the Gospels present it: announcement and Nativity, Passion and Redemption, resurrection and glory. The libretto gathers biblical texts (Old and New Testament) rather than a continuous invented plot with stage characters.
That architecture explains the weight of the choruses and the succession of arias, recitatives and ensembles. The singer does not play a single staged role: they carry sacred speech, usually in English, that demands diction, projection and long breath. The famous Hallelujah chorus marks a peak of this off-stage choral dramaturgy.
Da capo arias, choruses and baroque vocal style
Solo arias often follow da capo form (A-B-A'): a more exuberant A, a restrained, inward B, and an ornamented return of A. This form, inherited from the Italian opera Handel practised in London, builds agility, ornamentation and line control. Choruses comment or embody the people of Scripture, as in other Handelian oratorios (Israel in Egypt, 1738-1739).
Handel synthesises the influence of his teacher Zachow (already dramatic choruses) and that of Italian musicians (stay 1706-1710). For today's singer, Messiah links baroque style, active and the stamina of a major concert oratorio.
Timeline and related oratorios
- 1685: Handel born in Halle; training with Zachow.
- 1706-1710: Italy (Scarlatti, Corelli); cantatas and aria language.
- 1710-1737: Hanover then London; operas (Rinaldo, Orlando); turn to oratorio after 1737.
- 1738-1739: Israel in Egypt, chorus as main character.
- 1741: composition of Messiah; Dublin premiere, great success.
- 1746-1751: Judas Maccabaeus, Jephtha (subject already treated by Carissimi).
- 1759: death in London, buried in Westminster Abbey.
- 1798: Haydn, impressed by Handel's oratorios in London, writes The Creation.
Among Handel's thirty-two oratorios: Israel in Egypt, Messiah, Judas Maccabaeus, Jephtha.
FAQ about Handel's Messiah
When was Messiah composed and premiered?
In 1741, in a few weeks; the Dublin premiere was a great success, followed by lasting circulation in England and beyond.
How many parts does the work have?
Three large parts, centred on the coming of the Saviour as the Gospels present it, with arias, recitatives and major choruses.
Why are the choruses so important?
Handel restores a central role to the chorus, already affirmed in Israel in Egypt: it comments, acts and carries off-stage dramaturgy.
What is a da capo aria in Messiah?
An A-B-A' form: brilliant section, more inward section, ornamented return. It develops agility, ornamentation and breath control.
How does Messiah help today's singer?
Through score reading, phrasing, intonation and respect for historical styles (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, twentieth century).
Sources and quotations
Landmarks and quotations for further reading.
- Jean Mislin: musicologist, organist and choral conductor, teacher of Adeline Toniutti. Notes used within Adeline Toniutti's research.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Sing Messiah with solid landmarks
Link choruses, da capo arias and vocal technique with Adeline Toniutti's CALYP team.