The Messiah

It's Christmas, y'all, and aside from one or two releases I already talked about, there's not a lot happening in Christian music this month. For reasons you'll soon read, I think that's a fine idea.

For now, I want to talk a bit about an amazing piece of Christian music that tells the Christmas story from start to finish. To me, it just isn't Christmas without listening to Handel's Messiah. While you've no doubt heard the "Hallelujah" chorus, it is a gigantic piece of music, and there is much more to it than that.

Why? Because Messiah is basically scripture, set to music. Before you shout "boring!" and run away, I wonder if you could tell me what human can tell the story of Christ's redemption better than God Himself. You might find a new perspective on the scripture you've read all your life by hearing it in a different form, so give it a chance!

To listen to Messiah online, you'll need about two hours. Click this link, then click the red "Listen: Handel's Messiah" icon. After a brief advert, the music will play, from start to finish. The words can be found here. You will be surprised at how few words there are.

Here's a bit of history: Messiah debuted in Dublin in April of 1742 (Handel originally intended for it to be played at Easter instead of Christmas). It is an oratorio, which is a piece of music that uses an orchestra, a chorus, and soloists, and tells the story of Christ's birth, crucifixion and resurrection, and return to Earth, so there are three parts to the piece, more or less divided into the Advent, the Passion, and the Second Coming. (The "Hallelujah" chorus marks the end of Part II. Now you know why you shouldn't stop there. It isn't the end of the story.)

Musically, there is a lot of variety - thirty-three individual parts make up the piece, which range from choruses (where everyone sings) to arias (one voice sings) to recitatives (sort of like talking to music). There might be parts you like, or parts you don't (my favorite is "And the glory, the glory of the Lord"). It's okay to skip what you find tedious, snoozy, or too fancy for your taste. But try listening to the overarching feel, sound, and message of the music.

Now about the "Hallelujah" chorus, the final chorus of Part II. Here are the lyrics:

CHORUS
Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!

(It is traditional at live performances of Messiah to stand during this part. Legend has it that King George II rose to his feet at just this point, and when the king stands, so do his subjects. Nobody knows why King George stood up, but people have done it ever since.)

Handel wrote Messiah out of the depths of personal pain, struggle, insomnia, and poverty. He wrote most of it in three weeks. That's full scores for orchestra, chorus, solos, and lyrics...completed mostly in three weeks. Legend has it that as he finished the "Hallelujah" chorus, tears streaming down his face, he told his assistant, "I have seen the face of God."

I like Christmas music - all kinds, from Gene Autry singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to Dean Martin singing "White Christmas" and Harry Connick, Jr. singing "Winter Wonderland." I love singing Christmas hymns at church and playing Christmas albums. Christmas music makes me happy. I don't mind too much that there aren't any new albums coming out in December, because I have Christmas music to keep me busy. The Messiah is one more reason to love Christmas music.

So try listening to Messiah this Christmas. I hope you'll check it out online, from the library or maybe even at a concert. See if maybe it helps you remember why we celebrate Christmas (as Emily said earlier this month). Who knows? You might see the face of God.