Handel's use of biblical quotations in Messiah

¶ … Biblical Text In Handel's Messiah

Pastoral Theology (The Bible in the Life of the Church)

The context of the work

On April 13th, 1742, Dublin's music hall resounded to an enthusiastic audience's applause. For the very first time ever, Messiah -- the famous musical oratorio -- had been staged with its composer, George Frideric Handel acting as conductor. Ever since, the musical work has been performed worldwide from time to time, and has captivated thousands of individuals by its moving solos and majestic choruses. Its music is absolutely thrilling, and rises to the pinnacles of pathos and drama, stirring the very souls of listeners (Mansfield, 2014).

Based on the way one counts and the edition, George Frideric Handel's oratorio is made up of 53 to 56 texts. Twenty-two of these represent choral arrangements. Handel himself states that Charles Jennens created the oratorio's text, although one cannot discount the modifications made by Handel to the original text. The oratorio's score was composed within an astoundingly short period of time - 24 days to be precise, between 22nd August and 14th September, 1741 (Part I being composed in a week, Part II in 9 days' time, Part III in 6 days' time, and instrumentation taking an extra couple of days). It is structured in three parts: Part I comprising texts 1 through 21; Part II comprising texts 22 through 44; and Part III comprising texts 45 through 53. The oratorio's text is made up entirely of quotations of biblical origin, taken mostly from the King James Bible, although it has been altered to some extent in a few places to serve musical and lyrical purposes (Block 2001; Young and Luckett 1993).

Historical Progression

The term 'Messiah' is Hebrew for 'Christ' according to New Testament translations, and refers to God's "Anointed One." The Oratorio's aim is presentation of a summary of Jesus Christ's mission and life, derived from Scripture, as every word sung in this musical piece are derived from Scripture and, when placed within their appropriate setting, possess a highly important and wonderful meaning. Handel begins his work with a few prophecies cited in the Old Testament, which proclaim the Messiah's coming. This is followed by an account of his birth, the mission he undertook 1900 years ago, the Jews' rejection of Jesus's teaching, his sacrifice on the cross and its meaning, the Gospel's proclamation to all nations of the world by His disciples, Jesus' ascension to the heavens, his second advent, the nations' subjugation to him, and the glorification and resurrection of all who accept Christ's message (Mansfield, 2014; Marissen, 2007).

Just as is seen with every such issue, the reality will probably be someplace in between the two suggestions; Jennens might well have possessed a sort of polemical or apologetic motivation to produce his Scriptural collection, but concurrently, he might have been obliged under the artistic and ethical conventions of the day. Also, that even Jennens' indirect and allusive presentation of Christ created disquiet among London audiences imparts credibility to the belief that any more blatant rendering was totally unthinkable (Rooke, 2011; Marty, 2007).

Use of the Biblical Text- An Exegesis

The most noteworthy aspect of Handel's work -- Messiah -- is that it is entirely composed of quotations from the Bible. Assuming it was indeed Charles Jennens who primarily selected the texts that makes up the oratorio, it is clear that he possessed an extraordinary understanding of the sacred writings, or, at a minimum, of the Bible's prevailing English Messianic/Christological interpretation or Book of Common Prayer. The texts utilized in the oratorio are exegesis, since the composition provides an amazing musical analysis of deliverance history -- the Bible (Block, 2001; Davies, 2007). Some have in fact pronounced that this was the very first time in the history of music that the grand drama of humanity's redemption was discussed within epic poetry. In the texts, Jennens' concern was one key thought that he decided to portray in three segments:

The first part is the Old Testament's promise, anticipation of Jesus' advent, and the fulfillment of the promise as stated in the New Testament;

Part II deals with Passion as well as Victory over the Rebellious World, Old Testament verses depict anticipation of Jesus' zeal and eventual triumph over this world's kingdoms, while New Testament verses in this Part of the oratorio depict fulfillment of that expectation; and Part III deals with victory over death, with Old Testament text (only 1 verse) depicting anticipation of this victory, with its corresponding New Testament verse of fulfillment, securing salvation for man and ensuring his personal universal exaltation (Block, 2001).

So how does the oratorio -- Messiah -- utilize the King James Bible? Messiah represents a scriptural collection or, in other words, a set of directly-copied Biblical verses, instead of a Scriptural narrative's dramatization, like a majority of the other oratorios composed by Handel. Its outline is as follows: the prediction of Messiah's arrival, His birth, life, atonement of death, his ascension and resurrection, and lastly, the general last judgment and resurrection.

However, instead of directly broaching this subject, it is only hinted at, often by employing verses from the Old Testament, which are believed to be references to Christ, whether they explicitly mention him or not. To that degree, it addresses people who are "in the know"; that is, individuals who can fathom what's being stated are individuals who are aware of what the selected verses apparently imply from the orthodox Christianity perspective. Scholars in the field have debated the rationale for this oblique quality. One recent article authored by John Roberts, an American musicologist, indicates that it resulted from the reserve experienced during the eighteenth century with regard to portraying Jesus Christ on stage, something that many would consider blasphemous, and was likely to result in prosecution (Rooke, 2011; Roberts, 2010). However, Ruth Smith, who has concentrated on oratorio libretti within their intellectual and cultural contexts, asserts that, through the Messiah, Charles Jennens was demonstrating the genuineness of the biblical prophecies regarding Christ and countering the beliefs of rationalistic sects like deists. Such sects censured the notion of a Lord who is interventionist and a faith that involves divine revelation, mysteries, and miracles (Smith, 1995).

Perception of the observer

"Comfort ye my people" - the tenor that Handel's Messiah starts with, is perhaps one among the most famous musical biblical language settings (naturally, besides the chorus of Hallelujah). It indicates what the remaining oratorio is about: beautiful verses from the Bible's King James Version, which are set to just as exquisite music, such that the words get affixed into listeners' minds, and it becomes very hard to envisage them using some other significance or in some other context than that given to them in the musical piece.

Undoubtedly, Handel's Messiah takes the credit for much of people's popular knowledge with regard to the King James Version of the Bible. Further, largely, this musical work has established the texts' commonly-acknowledged messianic interpretation. However, it is not as straightforward as it appears -- this musical piece's biblical appropriation is anything but the forthright representation of obvious truth it seems to be, partially because the version of the truth portrayed in the King James Bible is itself dubious and partially because Handel's piece does not utilize it all the time (Rooke, 2011).

Summary

Handel's Oratorio dramatizes Jesus' two advents: 1) When he came to us as a sacrifice for mankind's sins 1,900 years back (John 1:29), and 2) When he will appear again for setting up his Father's Kingdom on earth, and reigning over a peaceful world at Jerusalem (Acts 1:11; 3:19-21; Rev. 1:7; Jer. 3:17; Luke 1:32-33). The universally acclaimed and popular chorus of Hallelujah celebrates the second occasion (Mansfield, 2014; Powell, 2009). Typically, English-speaking nations' Christians stand when singing this chorus, possibly unthinkingly, since it is an age-old tradition, from King George the First's time. However, this Chorus is obtained from chapter 11:15 and Revelation 19:6, 16. These scriptural passages talk of Jesus putting down all earthly rule, power, and authority (1 Cor. 15:24) and reigning on earth as King. According to the Scripture, this world's kingdoms are become God's and Jesus' kingdoms, upon which he shall rule for eternity (Rev. 11:15). Therefore, the chorus of Hallelujah is a song of praise that commemorates the era when Christ shall rule the world as King and audiences stand in appreciation of this. King George the First was so moved by the chorus's sentiments, and the fact that every earthly monarch occupies a necessarily subordinate status if Jesus will reign over them, that he stood, and audiences stood with him. Those who follow this custom are acknowledging that Jesus, sent to the nation of the Jews 1,900 years back, and crucified at Calvary, has yet to come back to earth and assume his great reign and power as "King of kings and Lord of lords." (Mansfield, 2014)

List of references

Block, D., 2001. Handel's Messiah: Biblical and Theological Perspectives. Didaskalia Spring. [Online]. [Accessed April 11, 2016]. Available from: http://d3pi8hptl0qhh4.cloudfront.net/documents/icw/messiah.pdf

Davies, A., 2007. Oratorio as Exegesis: The Use of the Book of Isaiah in Handel's Messiah. Biblical Interpretation, 15(4), pp.464-484.

Mansfield H., P., 2014. An Appreciation and Explanation of Handel's Oratorio "Messiah" [Online]. [Accessed April 11, 2016]. Available from: http://www.antipas.org/handel/messiahex.html

Marissen, M., 2007. Rejoicing against Judaism in Handel's Messiah. The Journal of Musicology, 24(2), pp.167-194.

Marty, M.E., 2007. Handel scandal. Christian Century, 124(10), pp.47-47.

Powell, D.R., 2009. The Bible and Handel's Messiah: Some Sources on Their Relation and Use. Theological Librarianship: An Online Journal of the American Theological Library Association, 2(2), pp.94-97.

Roberts, J.H., 2010. False Messiah. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 63(1), pp.45-97.

Rooke, D., 2011. The Sacred Oratorio: Handel and the King James Bible. [Online]. [Accessed April 11, 2016]. Available from: http://www.campbellsville.edu/sacred-oratorio-handel-and-the-king-james-bible

Smith, R., 1995. Handel's oratorios and eighteenth-century thought. Cambridge University Press.

Young, P.M. and Luckett, R., 1993. Handel's Messiah': A Celebration. New York, Harcourt Brace & Company.