| PROGRAM NOTES |
AUSTIN SYMPHONY PROGRAM NOTES
The preeminent English conductor Sir Thomas Beecham wrote in his
memoirs the following regarding Handel’s music: “Since his
time mankind has heard no music written for voices which can even
feebly rival his for grandeur of build and tone, nobility and
tenderness of melody, scholastic skill and ingenuity and inexhaustible
variety of effect…Handel…is the undeniably great
international master of all time. He wrote Italian music better than
any Italians; French music better than any Frenchman; English music
better than any Englishman; and with the exception of Bach, out-rivaled
all other Germans.”
Messiah is one of the greatest musical masterpieces of all time, and
very possibly the greatest work ever written in England. It is also, in
all probability, the most performed work in the history of classical
music. In virtually every city of the free world Messiah is performed
at least once every year, and sometimes at multiple Christian holidays
during a given year. Messiah, unlike other great choral works such as
Brahms’ German Requiem or Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, does
not require a full symphony orchestra and massed choir to perform.
Consequently, any church, school or civic music ensemble can mount a
performance of this enduring masterpiece, almost regardless of the
resources it has at its disposal. The English composer Michael Tippett
once recounted that, while visiting Kenya on holiday, he stumbled onto
a small village where Messiah was being rehearsed, led by a missionary
from England. The chorus, consisting of twelve singers who could not
speak, much less sing in English, simply memorized the sounds of the
words, and having little, if any, understanding of the significance of
the words. The “orchestra” consisted of a string quartet of
battered instruments and a few native wind instruments whose players
tried their best to mimic the sounds of the accompanying gramophone
recording!
The reason for Messiah’s popularity is that the music, while
elegant and beautiful, is relatively easy to play, and the text comes
exclusively from familiar biblical sources, the story of Christ being
almost universally understood.
Handel frequently altered the musical forces in his stagings of the
oratorio, based on which singers and what instruments were available at
each venue. Over a period of two and a half centuries music performance
standards have changed. Mozart, for example, added flutes, clarinets
and trombones to Handel’s sparse scoring, which was basically
strings with pairs of oboes, bassoons and trumpets added to simply
reinforce the sound. Each generation, it seems, has felt the need to
adapt this great work in the prevailing fashion of the day. In the 20th
century, instrumental and choral varieties have abounded, from
Beecham’s 1959 version for full modern symphony orchestra and
chorus exceeding 300 singers, sung at almost operatic proportions, to
the recent trend of producing “authentic,” more intimate
versions featuring period instruments and small choral ensembles. In
England, Messiah is occasionally performed at choral festivals, where
the chorus can swell to 2,000 to 3,000 singers (Handel originally
called for about 20)!
In addition to the performance variable of personnel, the issue of
exactly how much of Messiah is presented is also a question. Seldom is
it performed in its entirety, with alternate versions of arias and all
the appendices. Conductors still pick and choose exactly which
selections of Messiah to program. For example, some conductors choose
to end with the “Hallelujah” chorus, even though it is the
concluding section of the second part of the three-part oratorio. In
some versions, performers change the order of the sections, creating,
if you will, a “customized” version of Handel’s most
famous work. Because of all these variables, no two performances of
Messiah are ever exactly alike. There is no other composition in the
repertoire with such a malleable and chameleon-like shape and sound.
The facts surrounding the composition of Messiah are easily chronicled.
Handel began shying away from writing operas in the 1730s, his
attention turning to writing concert oratorios, usually on historical
or biblical themes. Messiah was the third mature oratorio composed, and
in the ten years after it Handel wrote eleven more, none of them
resembling Messiah in theme or treatment. Handel’s frequent
librettist, Charles Jennens, compiled the text, drawn from the Bible
and the Prayer Book Psaltery.
In 1741 Handel was invited to give a series of oratorio concerts in
Dublin and realized that an oratorio with a special message could be
offered for the final performance, which was intended to be for
charitable purposes. Handel’s season in Dublin turned out to be
all that he could wish for, and the premiere of Messiah (on April 13,
1742) was the season’s triumphant conclusion, a large sum of
money being raised for charities. The oratorio was then presented in
London less than a year later, but its production faced great
controversy when it was discovered that Handel intended that this most
sacred work would be staged at a popular theater, which clerics
declared anathema. It was at these performances where one of the great
traditions of Messiah performances began, even though the story is
probably apocryphal. Handel’s patron, King George II, attended
one of the performances, and according to legend, stood up in respect
to the Almighty when the “Hallelujah” chorus began. As he
was the monarch, the audience respectfully followed his lead, ad to
this day the tradition of standing during this unforgettable chorus
remains.
CITATION
"Messiah
A Sacred Oratorio" Stephen Aechternacht 2004. Austin
Symphony.
<http://www.austinsymphony.org/tickets/events/handels-messiah/> |
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