COMFORT YE, MY PEOPLE

December 25, 2017 9:49 PM

Originally performed at Eastertide in 1742 in Dublin,Handel's Messiah has become a Christmas staple. In a strange way, the ubiquity of Handel’s Messiah this time of year can actually cause us to lose sight of its incredible spiritual and artistic power.

The Messiah from Opposite ends of the Economic Spectrum

MESSIAH is one of the most popular chorale and orchestral pieces ever. Many groups around the wourld have performed it, in a variety of styles and configurations.

FULL:
London Symphony Orchestra , conducted by Sir Colin Davis
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, with Spanish subtitles
Conducted by John Eliot Gardenier

due to the short nature of several sections, some links may overlap.
Part I
Scene 1: Isaiah's prophecy of salvation

1. Sinfony (instrumental)
2. Comfort ye my people (tenor) Street Symphony, Daniel Chaney, Soloist
3. Ev'ry valley shall be exalted (air for tenor), Jerry Hadley, Soloist
4. And the glory of the Lord (anthem chorus), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir

Scene 2: The coming judgment
5. Thus saith the Lord of hosts (accompanied recitative for bass), William Stone,soloist, and Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
6. But who may abide the day of His coming (soprano, alto or bass) Sergejs Jegers, countertenor and Collegium Musicum Riga
7. And he shall purify the sons of Levi (chorus), Chœur de chambre de Namur

Scene 3: The prophecy of Christ's birth
8. Behold, a virgin shall conceive (alto) Alison Browner, soloist, and The Sixteen
9. O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion (air for alto and chorus) Carolyn Watkinson, soloist, and The Academy of Ancient Music
10. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth (bass), Matthew Curran, soloist.
11. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light (bass), Philippe Sly, soloist, and Julian Wachner conducting the Trinity Wall Street Baroque Orchestra
12. For unto us a child is born (duet chorus) Tenebrae Choir and the London Symphony Orchestra

Scene 4: The annunciation to the shepherds
13. Pifa ("pastoral symphony": instrumental), The Herzliya Chamber Orchestra
14a. There were shepherds abiding in the fields (secco recitative for soprano) Helen-Jane Howells, soprano
14b. And lo, the angel of the Lord (accompanied recitative for soprano) Marie Nyborg Jørgensen, soprano
15. And the angel said unto them (secco recitative for soprano) Kiera Duffy, soprano, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
16. And suddenly there was with the angel (accompanied recitative for soprano)
17. Glory to God in the highest (chorus) Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir

Scene 5: Christ's healing and redemption
18. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion (soprano) USNA Glee Club, Hood College Choir, and Annapolis Symphony Orchestra
19. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened (secco recitative for soprano or alto)
20. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd (alto and/or soprano), Barbara Bonney, mezzo
21. His yoke is easy (duet chorus) The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw conducting

Part II

Scene 1: Christ's Passion
22. Behold the Lamb of God (chorus) the Emek Hefer Chamber Choir
23. He was despised and rejected of men (alto) Iestyn Davies, countertenor
24. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (chorus) The Emek Hefer Chamber Choir
25. And with his stripes we are healed (fugue chorus) The Brussels Choral Society and Ensemble Orchestral de Bruxelles, conductor Eric Delson.
26. All we like sheep have gone astray (duet chorus) UCLA Chorale
27. All they that see him laugh him to scorn (secco recitative for tenor) London Philharmonic
28. He trusted in God that he would deliver him (fugue chorus) Madrigale
29. Thy rebuke hath broken his heart (tenor or soprano) Nancy Munn, soloist
30. Behold and see if there be any sorrow (tenor or soprano) John Mark Ainsley, tenorLynne Dawson, soprano
32. But thou didst not leave his soul in hell (tenor or soprano) Enrique Iviglia, tenor

Scene 3: Christ's Ascension
33. Lift up your heads, O ye gates (chorus) Choir of Clare College

Scene 4: Christ's reception in Heaven
34. Unto which of the angels (tenor) Brisbane Concert Choir
35. Let all the angels of God worship Him (chorus) The Choir of King's College Cambridge, Stephen Cleobury conducting

Scene 5: The beginnings of Gospel preaching
36. Thou art gone up on high (soprano, alto, or bass) Hillary Summers, alto
37. The Lord gave the word (chorus) The Los Angeles Chamber Choir
38. How beautiful are the feet (soprano, alto, or chorus), Hana Blažíková, soprano
39. Their sound is gone out (tenor or chorus) City of Dunedin Choir

Scene 6: The world's rejection of the Gospel
40. Why do the nations so furiously rage together (bass) Paul Nakhla, baritone
41. Let us break their bonds asunder (chorus) Chai Hoon Cha Choir
42. He that dwelleth in heaven (tenor) Richard Croft, soloist

Scene 7: God's ultimate victory
43. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron (tenor) Jerry Hadley, soloist and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Sir Neville Marriner, conductor.
44. Hallelujah (anthem and fugue chorus), Mormon Tabernacle Choir

DON'T LEAVE YET
Part III

Scene 1: The promise of eternal life
45. I know that my Redeemer liveth (soprano), Sylvia McNair,sloist, and The Academy of St. Martin In The Fields
46. Since by man came death (chorus) Royal Choral Society

Scene 2: The Day of Judgment [In Handel’s ‘Messiah,’ the Trumpet as Divine Agent]
47. Behold, I tell you a mystery (bass) Dashon Burton, bass, and John Theissen, trumpet
48. The trumpet shall sound (bass) Alastair Miles, bass and Crispian Steele-Perkins, soloist

Scene 3: The final conquest of sin
49. Then shall be brought to pass (alto) Countertenor David Daniels and Tenor Jan Kobow
50. O death, where is thy sting (alto and tenor) Academy of Ancient Music, conductor Christopher Hogwood
51. But thanks be to God (chorus) Guildford Cathedral Choir
52. If God be for us, who can be against us (soprano) Delphine Galou, soloist

Scene 4: The acclamation of the Messiah
53. Worthy is the Lamb (chorus) Philarmonia Chorus & Orchestra, Otto Klemperer conducting

END: Amen (chorus) Lynne Dawson, soprano, Hillary Summers, alto, John Mark Ainsley, tenor, Alastair Miles, bass . The Brandemburg Consort and The Choir of King's College Cambridge conducted by Stephen Cleobury

posted by the man of twists and turns (34 comments total)

Handel’s “Messiah,” on Skid Row

Palmer then sang the aria. The text, from the book of Isaiah, is as follows: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” Handel’s “Messiah” is such a fixture of the repertory that it takes some effort to focus on the words and register what they mean. In that respect, Palmer surpassed any singer I have heard. He performed well for one who has been studying vocal technique for less than a year, and in the lower end of his range he had a round, full tone that can’t be taught. More important, he made the text sound as though it had been taken from his own life.

posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:50 PM on December 25, 2017 [4 favorites]

As someone who loves The Messiah, thank you for this fantastic post.
posted by blue shadows at 10:55 PM on December 25, 2017 [3 favorites]

I think the Messiah is a prime example of the right challenge drawing out a creative artist’s full potential. The words are often obscure (though powerfully evocative at times) they don’t display the dramatic structure or tell the story particularly well.

But Handel rises to the challenge, delivers the drama, and pulls off a masterpiece. He changes tempo, changes mood, takes it up, takes it down, takes it sideways, and throws in tune after tune to pull you along, never letting you off the hook, drawing on the repertoire of a lifetime of composing.

At the end, you know you’ve been on an epic journey, a spiritual experience where amazing stuff happened and the fate of the world was decided. You’re a bit hazy on the details, but you’re still humming the tunes.
posted by Segundus at 1:50 AM on December 26, 2017 [5 favorites]

Agree, this is a fantastic post. Although "For unto us a child is born" is a really persistent, maddening earworm for me, and just reading the post was enough to start it playing in my head.

The first time I went to a performance, and not having grown up in that kind of environment, the "audience stands up" during the Hallelujah chorus was a surprise - cue confused looks around then awkwardly standing up. One of those things you just know or you don't.
posted by ElasticParrot at 6:31 AM on December 26, 2017

There was apparently some royal of England who stood during the Hallelujah chorus and so that's why we all stand for it now. It wasn't built in to the performance when it first happened. Or something.
posted by hippybear at 6:34 AM on December 26, 2017

I still struggle with the libretto.
posted by LooseFilter at 7:04 AM on December 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

I still struggle with the libretto.
Maybe you are trying to sing out of your actual vocal range.
posted by thelonius at 7:21 AM on December 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

Tafelmusik’s Sing Along Messiah in Toronto may be an annual gimmicky thing but I’ve been going sporadically since they held it in a church on Bloor W and it never fails to make me feel Christmasy in a Christian sense which is...a miracle gotta say. Great post.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:27 AM on December 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

Fantastic post, thanks!
posted by Malingering Hector at 7:45 AM on December 26, 2017

It's kind of funny, but until people actually sit down and listen to this piece in a concert hall, they never realize how really sweeping and exquisite it is because they've generally only heard a few of the choruses, and maybe a couple of the better-known solos like "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth" or "Every Valley Shall Be Exalted." I actually sang this piece last week (with Dashon Burton as one of the soloists, incidentally -- he's fantastic), and the guy sitting next to me, a recent college graduate, turned to me onstage and said, "So, this piece is about an hour and a half, right?" Nope. It's actually opera-length -- three hours with an intermission. (Poor kid got a bit fidgety in Part III, actually; I thought for a few minutes I was going to have to sit on him.)

Anyway, great post, thanks!
posted by holborne at 7:57 AM on December 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

I can't count the number of times I've done the solos in Messiah, especially when I was first starting out. A real challenge for the tenor, with the usual cuts and assignments, is that you sing the first major air and then you don't have much to sing until practically the end, when you have to sing a technically challenging and rather higher-lying air right before the most famous chorus in the whole piece. So it's a lot of sitting in your chair trying to look interested and figuring out ways to keep the voice sufficiently warmed up for "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron." The last one I did was the most memorable, and not for the right reasons. By that time I had long since transitioned to weightier romantic repertoire, and hadn't done a Messiah in years. But an opportunity arose and what the heck, right? How hard could it be? Yeah, well it turns out that you can do a pretty good heroic rendition of the first air, but that last air broke me like a potter's vessel. Even Mrs. slkinsey was like, "so... maybe Messiah isn't for you any more, m'kay?"
posted by slkinsey at 8:12 AM on December 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

MessiahFilter: I still struggle with the libretto.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:47 AM on December 26, 2017 [6 favorites]

One of the great things about the Messiah is although the chorus pieces sound super impressive, they are fundamentally pretty easy to sing (yes, even All We Like Sheep). I've sung it in a range of choirs including a fairly small church choir and it always sounds great, and the import of the words is so clearly shown by the music that no subtlety is required (though you can do that too). The trifecta of 'Surely (da dum da DUM da da da) he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows', the beautiful heatfelt fugue 'And with his stripes we are healed' and the terrifying 'All we like sheep have gone astray' can't be beat. And at the story's darkest point along comes the very silly and jolly 'Life up your heads' and everything is alright again.

The arias and recitatives are a different story of course and my one attempt at 'I Know that My Redeemer Liveth' involved much gasping and reaching for the note. I really wanted to be an alto so I could sing 'He was Despised' and get very indignant at the spitting part. :)
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 10:43 AM on December 26, 2017

Messiah geek. vvv Love this post, thank you.
posted by Melismata at 10:49 AM on December 26, 2017

There was apparently some royal of England who stood during the Hallelujah chorus and so that's why we all stand for it now. It wasn't built in to the performance when it first happened. Or something.

Yes. George II stood up at that point, presumably because he thought there was a break or something; my father always told me that it was because he had to scratch his ass, which I liked better.

I go to the Handel & Haydn concert of it every year. Ages ago, Christopher Hogwood decided that he didn't like it when people stood, so he put a notice in the program telling people not to. Not everyone followed these new instructions; about 75% remained seated, and 25% stubbornly stood up as always.

So when Grant Llewellyn came along, he said "I don't care if you sit or stand." So then the numbers were at 50-50, with everyone awkwardly looking around and wondering what the hell they should be doing. Gradually, more and more people started standing again. When Harry Christophers took over the baton, I don't think he ever formally made a statement one way or the other, but he totally adores Messiah and always conducts it (instead of handing it off to a guest conductor). His love for the piece fills Symphony Hall entirely, and from what I could tell a couple of weeks ago, we were finally, FINALLY back to 100% standing, THANK CHRIST.

Hogwood's been dead for a few years now, and I'm still pissed at him for throwing a wrench into such a cherished and simple tradition.
posted by Melismata at 11:11 AM on December 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

I saw it again last year and the conductor turned to the audience and made a 'get up then, and be quick about it' type gesture with the baton. Loved it.
posted by ElasticParrot at 12:32 PM on December 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

MetaFilter: All we like sheep, and they like us.
posted by The Bellman at 2:10 PM on December 26, 2017 [6 favorites]

Everyone standing would incline me to pull out an airhorn and blast, but to each their own
posted by thelonius at 2:19 PM on December 26, 2017

I heard Part III driving into work yesterday, and on a different station Part I and II driving back.
posted by acrasis at 2:21 PM on December 26, 2017

Maybe you are trying to sing out of your actual vocal range.

No, it’s the melismas. Ha.
posted by LooseFilter at 2:40 PM on December 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

No, it’s the melismas. Ha.

I actually thought you might have theological issues
posted by thelonius at 2:42 PM on December 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

No, it’s the melismas. Ha.

That, and the vowels too.

MELISMATAS OF THE WORLD UNITE
posted by Melismata at 2:43 PM on December 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

I actually thought you might have theological issues

I do, but given the tenor (ha!) of the thread, I expect it’s not the place for that conversation (don’t wanna be the ‘your favorite band sucks’ guy). But I do find the text problematic, to the point that, as a pro musician, I no longer engage with this piece at all. There are better choices from the intervening few centuries.
posted by LooseFilter at 3:03 PM on December 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

I expect it’s not the place for that conversation

Right. There will be alto pay.
posted by thelonius at 3:08 PM on December 26, 2017 [5 favorites]

My favorite performance of the Hallelujah chorus was with Douglas Boyd, who explicitly asked the audience to remain seated. "You're Americans! You fought for and won your freedom so you wouldn't have to stand when George II told you to."

Because the audience remained seated, we were able to start at a piano/pianissimo, which let us create a completely different interpretation of the piece. It was lovely.

A different note, but I know a lot of you will also enjoy my all-time favorite Messiah spotting.
In Charlie Wilson's War, listen as the Taliban fighters start shooting down invading Soviet helicopters

https://youtu.be/-WmDszVxti0?t=32s
posted by MengerSponge at 3:09 PM on December 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

There will be alto pay.

Well, people make really bassless assumptions when you challenge something they love.
posted by LooseFilter at 3:18 PM on December 26, 2017 [4 favorites]

(srsly - I did not know you were a professional singer - sorry to have said something dumb re range)
posted by thelonius at 3:31 PM on December 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

Worst Mozart fail has to be his orchestration of the Messiah-- the French Horn Shall Sound indeed. While the instrument sounds triumphant coming in at the end of Oedipus Tex it's nothing but sheer disappointment when you're expecting a heroic trumpet.
posted by Hal Mumkin at 3:40 PM on December 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

(No worries at all! My initial comment left little to go on, and I’ve enjoyed the unexpected humor immensely. FWIW, conductor & professor, horn player, nothing pro about my singing : )
posted by LooseFilter at 3:51 PM on December 26, 2017 [2 favorites]

DON'T LEAVE YET
Part III

A few years ago I went to a live performance of The Messiah and it had been so long since I'd heard the whole thing in its entirety (rather than just choice bits) that leaving after the Hallelujah Chorus was exactly what my friend and I started to do. Sooooo embarrassing.

I love filking "All we like sheep" to "Oh we like sheep/they're good to eat". Yes, sometimes I am approximately 12.

Awesome post, despite my irreverence!
posted by Athanassiel at 8:12 PM on December 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

Worst Mozart fail has to be his orchestration of the Messiah-- the French Horn Shall Sound indeed. While the instrument sounds triumphant coming in at the end of Oedipus Tex it's nothing but sheer disappointment when you're expecting a heroic trumpet.

Mozart only did it because someone paid him to do so; and the trumpet was not considered a popular solo instrument at the time (during The Trumpet Shall Sound, you can faintly hear trumpet-like sounds in the background). Yeah. His Yoke is Easy by a solo tenor. No organ. W.T.H. Cool article about the whole thing here.
posted by Melismata at 7:38 AM on December 27, 2017

I love filking "All we like sheep" to "Oh we like sheep/they're good to eat". Yes, sometimes I am approximately 12.

We used to sometimes sing “His joke is sleazy” instead of “His yoke is easy.” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by holborne at 7:39 AM on December 27, 2017 [3 favorites]

I remember being puzzled by the line "All we like sheep." Sure we do. We like dogs and horses and ...

My best friend we used to sing "all we like sheep" and then during the orchestra response, quietly sing "we don't like goats."
posted by Melismata at 7:42 AM on December 27, 2017 [2 favorites]

We're gentleman songsters off on a spree,
Damned from here to eternity,
The Lord have mercy on such as we,
Baa, baa, baa...
posted by praemunire at 9:03 AM on December 27, 2017 [1 favorite]