The divine inspiration of Handle and Bach
EASTER, or Pascha in Greek, the Feast of the Resurrection, is one of the most important religious feasts in the Christian liturgical year and together with the sacred writings, the music written for this period is some of the most poignant and beautiful.
The Gregorian chant (plainsong) sung during the week is moving, as are the wonderful settings by composers of the Renaissance such as Victoria and Palestrina, and of course the Baroque composers Handel and Bach, whose music ranks top in the list of great compositions of Western Classical Music.
The Passion of Jesus Christ is such a compelling story that it has drawn many of the great composers of history to attempt to do it justice through music. If sheer number of performances is a reliable guide to success, Handel’s oratorio Messiah may be the greatest Passion setting of all. It is undoubtedly Handel’s supreme achievement and was written at a time when the composer’s fortunes and spirits were at their lowest ebb – his last opera had been a fiasco and he didn’t need further proof that he was through with writing for the stage.
Opera and oratorio have a great deal in common structurally – both involve solo singers, chorus and orchestra but in oratorios there are no costumes or scenery. The other important difference is the subject matter – operas deal strictly with secular topics and oratorios frequently encompass sacred ones too.
Aroused by religious ardour that had always smouldered deep within him, and inspired by a new exaltation, Handel wrote the music as if he were under some spell. The huge score took him only 25 days to complete – he didn’t leave the house and frequently did without food or sleep! And when he completed the famous ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ he told his servant: “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself” and on completing the entire work “I think God has visited me.”
All the seats were gone long before the day of the concert and so the last general rehearsal on April 8, 1742 was open to the public. The premiere on April 13 was a huge success and it was reported in the Faulkner Journal “words are wanting, to express the exquisite delight it afforded the admiring, crowded audience” – and so the Messiah began a fabulous career with a success of the first magnitude.
Since then, the impact of Messiah’s countless performances is incalculable. The English musicologist Charles Burney wrote “it has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, fostered the orphan and enriched succeeding managers of the oratorios, more than any single production in this or any other country.”
It is the most frequently performed oratorio ever written as well as the most highly esteemed.
It is in three sections – in the first, the coming of the Messiah is prophesied. Part Two describes the suffering and death of Christ and concludes with the familiar Hallelujah Chorus. In London during one of the early performances, King George II spontaneously rose to his feet in a spirit of exaltation and it is since then that audiences have traditionally repeated this practice.
On a later occasion, when Haydn heard the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus in Westminster Abbey, he also stood with the rest of the audience, exclaiming with tears in his eyes ‘He is the master of us all!’ In Part Three, the exalted level of inspiration is maintained with the spiritual messages represented by Christ’s teachings set forward for the instruction and benefit of all.
Bach, however, treats the Passion story differently to Handel. In Bach’s Passions, the Evangelist narrates the events, which are emphasised by the chorus, who represent Jews, apostles, and the Saviour Himself speaks. The music for the soloists and congregation represents the emotion that is aroused by the events narrated. So whereas the Messiah is a sermon, the Passion is a religious service.
It is believed that Bach wrote five Passions but only two have survived in their entirety – the Passion according to St. John and St Matthew. The St John was completed soon after Bach had assumed the office of cantor at the St Thomas Church and introduced it there in 1723, probably on Good Friday. The St Matthew setting followed six years later and is in essence a more devout and spiritual work than its predecessor. Where the St Matthew Passion has the words of Christ accompanied by strings, the St John Passion accompaniment consists merely of chords on the harpsichord.
Following Bach’s death, this great master lapsed into obscurity for almost a century and it was with the St Matthew Passion that a revival was set into place. It happened in Berlin on March 11, 1829 when Mendelssohn reintroduced this great work which had not been heard since Bach’s time. As Mendelssohn wrote to his sister Fanny, “Everyone was filled with the most solemn devotion. One heard only an occasional involuntary ejaculation that sprang from deep emotions.”
Although there are no live concerts of these magnificent works in Cyprus (yet!), you can hear recordings on CyBC’s Channel 2 of Bach’s St Matthew Passion on April 6 –Good Friday, during PMClassics and Handel’s Messiah on April 9, Easter Monday on the same channel 91.1FM.
5 interesting facts about Handel’s Messiah
1. Handel’ Messiah is more often than not referred to as The Messiah. Although it is officially incorrect and should simply be called Messiah, it is widely accepted and used.
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3. Handel’s Messiah was intended as a thought provoking work for Easter and Lent, but became more of a Christmas time tradition.
4. Messiah became so popular during the 19th century, musicians began making their performances larger than Handel had intended by writing parts for added instruments and bringing in larger amounts of performers, unfortunately, losing the core of the original work.
5. Throughout Messiah Handel employs a technique called text painting, where the musical notes mimic the lines of text
6. The most famous and recognisable piece form Handel’s Messiah is the Hallelujah chorus ending the second act.
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Selection of Classical Music for Easter
l Beethoven: Christ on the Mount of Olives
l Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ
l Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture
l John Tavener: Russian Easter
l Mozart: Church Sonatas
l Rachmaninov: All Night Vigil – Vespers
CLASSICAL TRAVEL CLUB – Local Tours for May/June
Pharos International Chamber Music Festival
All bookings include 2 nights accommodation, breakfast daily and 2 concert tickets per package*
1. Hilton Park Hotel, Nicosia £135 per person sharing
2. Columbia Beach Hotel £105 per person sharing
3. Aphrodite Hills £140 per person sharing
4. Coral Beach £120 per person sharing
*All arrangements are subject to availability at the time of booking.
JOKE
Why do violinists put a cloth between their chin and their instrument?
Violins don’t have spit valves.
FAMOUS QUOTES
“He is the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head and kneel before his tomb.”
Ludwig van Beethoven, quoted in Percy M Young, Handel (1947)
MUSICAL TERM
Castrato – Male singers who were castrated to preserve their alto and soprano vocal range
THIS DAY IN HISTORY –March 25, 2007
l Birthday of Bela Bartok – 1881
l Death of Claude Debussy – 1918
l Premiere of Dvorak’s Symphony No 5 in F major Op 76 in Prague – 1881
l Premiere of Dvorak’s Symphony No 6 in D major Op 60 in Prague – 1879
l Premiere of Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto in New York – 1946
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PM Classics on CYBC Channel 2
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