Music to Heal the Soul

George Frideric Handel was born on this day in 1685. Handel was born in Germany, but lived most of his later life in England. He was born the same year as two other great composers of the Baroque period, J. S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti.

Handel wrote a huge volume of music, including operas, oratorios, chamber music, harpsichord music, concertos, etc. His most famous work (and one of the most famous works of all music) is his oratorio, Messiah, based on passages from the Bible about Jesus Christ (Yeshua Messiah). The details of how Handel wrote "Messiah" are worth mentioning. The next section is quoted entirely from the book "The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers". It's long, I know - but well worth reading.

**************************************************

Audiences for Handel's compositions were unpredictable, and even the Church of England attacked him for what they considered his notorious practice of writing biblical dramas such as "Esther" and "Israel in Egypt" to be performed in secular theatres. His occasional commercial successes soon met with financial disaster, as rival opera companies competed for the ticket holders of London. He drove himself relentlessly to recover from one failure after another, and finally his health began to fail. By 1741 he was swimming in debt. It seemed certain he would land in debtor's prison.

On April 8 of that year, he gave what he considered his farewell concert. Miserably discouraged, he felt forced to retire from public activities at the age of 56. Then two unforeseen events converged to change his life. A wealthy friend, Charles Jennings, gave Handel a libretto based on the life of Christ, taken entirely from the Bible. He also received a commission from a Dublin charity to compose a work for a benefit performance.

Handel set to work composing on August 22 in his little house on Brook Street in London. He grew so absorbed in the work that he rarely left his room, hardly stopping to eat. Within six days Part One was complete. In nine days more he had finished Part Two, and in another six, Part Three. The orchestration was completed in another two days. In all, 260 pages of manuscript were filled in the remarkably short time of 24 days.

Sir Newman Flower, one of Handel's many biographers, summed up the consensus of history: "Considering the immensity of the work, and the short time involved, it will remain, perhaps forever, the greatest feat in the whole history of music composition." Handel's title for the commissioned work was, simply, Messiah.

Handel never left his house for those three weeks. A friend who visited him as he composed found him sobbing with intense emotion. Later, as Handel groped for words to describe what he had experienced, he quoted St. Paul, saying "Whether I was in the body or out of my body when I wrote it I know not."

Messiah premiered on April 13, 1742, as a charitable benefit, raising 400 pounds and freeing 142 men from debtor's prison. A year later, Handel staged it in London. Controversy emanating from the Church of England continued to plague Handel, yet the King of England attended the performance. As the first notes of the triumphant "Hallelujah Chorus" rang out, the king rose. Following royal protocol, the entire audience stood too, initiating a tradition which has lasted for more than two centuries.

Soon after this, Handel's fortunes began to increase dramatically, and his hard-won popularity remained constant until his death. By the end of his long life, Messiah was firmly established in the standard repertoire. Its influence on other composers would be extraordinary. When Haydn later heard the "Hallelujah Chorus", he wept like a child, and exclaimed, "He is the master of us all!"

Handel personally conducted more than thirty performances of Messiah. Many of these concerts were benefits for the Foundling Hospital, of which Handel was a major benefactor. The thousands of pounds Handel's performances of Messiah raised for charity led one biographer to note: "Messiah has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, fostered the orphan...more than any other single musical production in this or any country." Another wrote, "Perhaps the works of no other composer have so largely contributed to the relief of human suffering."

This work has had an uncanny spiritual impact on the lives of its listeners. One writer has stated that Messiah's music and message "has probably done more to convince thousands of mankind that there is a God about us than all the theological works ever written."

**********************************************************************************

Below are some excerpts of Messiah. I hope it encourages all of you who don't own a recording of it to get one. If you only get one piece of classical music then get this one. The message of this work is one of good news - the best news anyone on this earth could be given. God Himself loves us so much that He came down to earth and became a man, giving up His rights and privileges for a time, giving, teaching, suffering, dying, and then rising again. He took the punishment that all of us deserve, and He offers us eternal life if we believe in Him.

- For unto us a child is born
- Glory to God/Rejoice greatly
- Surely He hath born our griefs/And with His stripes we are healed/All we like sheep have gone astray
- Hallelujah chorus
- Since by man came death
- The trumpet shall sound

I'd recommend this recording of Messiah. It's full of interesting dynamic contrasts, excellent interpretations, and continuo played by the lute instead of the harpsichord, which is unusual but sounds really great.

Another very popular and great work is his "Water Music", 3 suites for a medium-sized ensemble, originally performed for the King and his company as they floated down the Thames river. See an interesting, brief re-enactment of this here. There are so many refreshing, uplifting pieces in these suites, I have to link to a few more:
- Bourree
- Allegro/Andante
- A couple of Menuets and Gigues.

I'd highly recommend this recording of the Water Music, which includes also Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks, another great work of his.

Other works to listen to include:
- Concerti grossi from Op. 3 and Op. 6
- Music for solo keyboard (harpsichord or piano), including the "Harmonious Blacksmith" suite