Messiah (Handel)
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Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. The text was compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens. It was first performed
Title page of Handel's autograph score
Statue erected in Handel's honour, in Vauxhall Gardens, London; now in the Victoria and Albert Museum
A portrait of Charles Jennens by Mason Chamberlin
The Great Music Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin, where Messiah was first performed
Messiah Part I
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Messiah, the English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is structured in three parts. The wordbook was supplied by Charles Jennens. This article covers Part I and describes
Messiah (Handel)
…of characters and no direct speech. Instead, Jennens's text is an extended reflection on Jesus as the Messiah called Christ. The text begins in Part I with prophecies by Isaiah and others, and moves to the annunciation to the shepherds, the only "scene" taken from the Gospels. In Part II, Handel…
Manuscript of Nos. 15–16, Annunciation to the shepherds
The Annunciation to the Shepherds, by Abraham Hondius, 1663