Messiah (Piano Reduction), no. 19: Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened

Messiah, HWV 56 (Handel, George Frideric)

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From the gentle falling melody assigned to the opening words "Comfort ye" to the sheer ebullience of the "Hallelujah" chorus and the ornate celebratory counterpoint that supports the closing "Amen", hardly a line of text goes by that Handel does not amplify".

The opening Sinfony is composed in E minor for strings, and is Handel's first use in oratorio of the French overture form. Jennens commented that the Sinfony contains "passages far unworthy of Handel, but much more unworthy of the Messiah"; [] Handel's early biographer Charles Burney merely found it "dry and uninteresting". The pastoral interlude that follows begins with the short instrumental movement, the Pifa , which takes its name from the shepherd-bagpipers, or pifferari , who played their pipes in the streets of Rome at Christmas time.

The remainder of Part I is largely carried by the soprano in B flat, in what Burrows terms a rare instance of tonal stability. The second Part begins in G minor, a key which, in Hogwood's phrase, brings a mood of "tragic presentiment" to the long sequence of Passion numbers which follows. The sense of desolation returns, in what Hogwood calls the "remote and barbarous" key of B flat minor, for the tenor recitative "All they that see him". This, as Young points out, is not the climactic chorus of the work, although one cannot escape its "contagious enthusiasm". Commentators have noted that the musical line for this third subject is based on Wachet auf , Philipp Nicolai 's popular Lutheran chorale.

The opening soprano solo in E major, "I know that my Redeemer liveth" is one of the few numbers in the oratorio that has remained unrevised from its original form. Handel's awkward, repeated stressing of the fourth syllable of "incorruptible" may have been the source of the 18th-century poet William Shenstone 's comment that he "could observe some parts in Messiah wherein Handel's judgements failed him; where the music was not equal, or was even opposite , to what the words required".

The reflective soprano solo "If God be for us" originally written for alto quotes Luther 's chorale Aus tiefer Not. It ushers in the D major choral finale: Many early recordings of individual choruses and arias from Messiah reflect the performance styles then fashionable—large forces, slow tempi and liberal reorchestration.

The first near-complete recording of the whole work with the cuts then customary [n 10] was conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham in It represented an effort by Beecham to "provide an interpretation which, in his opinion, was nearer the composer's intentions", with smaller forces and faster tempi than had become traditional. In the first recording based on Handel's original scoring was conducted by Hermann Scherchen for Nixa , [n 11] quickly followed by a version, judged scholarly at the time, under Sir Adrian Boult for Decca.

They inaugurated a new tradition of brisk, small scale performances, with vocal embellishments by the solo singers.

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By the end of the s the quest for authenticity had extended to the use of period instruments and historically correct styles of playing them. The first of such versions were conducted by the early music specialists Christopher Hogwood and John Eliot Gardiner The latter employs a chorus of 24 singers and an orchestra of 31 players; Handel is known to have used a chorus of 19 and an orchestra of Several reconstructions of early performances have been recorded: The first published score of , together with Handel's documented adaptations and recompositions of various movements, has been the basis for many performing versions since the composer's lifetime.

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Modern performances which seek authenticity tend to be based on one of three 20th-century performing editions. In addition to Mozart's well-known reorchestration, arrangements for larger orchestral forces exist by Goossens and Andrew Davis ; both have been recorded at least once, on the RCA [] and Chandos [] labels respectively.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Structure of Handel's Messiah. Part I Scene 1: Isaiah's prophecy of salvation 1. Comfort ye my people tenor 3. Ev'ry valley shall be exalted air for tenor 4. And the glory of the Lord anthem chorus Scene 2: The coming judgment 5. Thus saith the Lord of hosts accompanied recitative for bass 6. But who may abide the day of His coming soprano, alto or bass 7.

And he shall purify the sons of Levi chorus Scene 3: The prophecy of Christ's birth 8. Behold, a virgin shall conceive alto 9. O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion air for alto and chorus For behold, darkness shall cover the earth bass The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light bass For unto us a child is born duet chorus Scene 4: The annunciation to the shepherds There were shepherds abiding in the fields secco recitative for soprano 14b.

And lo, the angel of the Lord accompanied recitative for soprano And the angel said unto them secco recitative for soprano And suddenly there was with the angel accompanied recitative for soprano Glory to God in the highest chorus Scene 5: Christ's healing and redemption Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion soprano Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened secco recitative for soprano or alto His yoke is easy duet chorus Part II Scene 1: Behold the Lamb of God chorus He was despised and rejected of men alto Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows chorus And with his stripes we are healed fugue chorus All we like sheep have gone astray duet chorus All they that see him laugh him to scorn secco recitative for tenor He trusted in God that he would deliver him fugue chorus Thy rebuke hath broken his heart tenor or soprano Behold and see if there be any sorrow tenor or soprano Scene 2: Christ's Death and Resurrection He was cut off tenor or soprano But thou didst not leave his soul in hell tenor or soprano Scene 3: Lift up your heads, O ye gates chorus Scene 4: Christ's reception in Heaven Unto which of the angels tenor Let all the angels of God worship Him chorus Scene 5: The beginnings of Gospel preaching Thou art gone up on high soprano, alto, or bass The Lord gave the word chorus How beautiful are the feet soprano, alto, or chorus Their sound is gone out tenor or chorus Scene 6: The world's rejection of the Gospel Why do the nations so furiously rage together bass Let us break their bonds asunder chorus He that dwelleth in heaven tenor Scene 7: God's ultimate victory Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron tenor The promise of eternal life I know that my Redeemer liveth soprano Since by man came death chorus Scene 2: The Day of Judgment Behold, I tell you a mystery bass The trumpet shall sound bass Scene 3: The final conquest of sin Then shall be brought to pass alto O death, where is thy sting alto and tenor But thanks be to God chorus If God be for us, who can be against us soprano Scene 4: The acclamation of the Messiah Worthy is the Lamb chorus Amen chorus.

For unto us a child is born chorus http: The annunciation to the shepherds There were shepherds abiding in the fields soprano 14b.

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And lo, the angel of the Lord soprano And the angel said unto them soprano And suddenly there was with the angel soprano Glory to God in the highest chorus http: You have exceeded the maximum number of MP3 items in your MP3 cart. Please click here to manage your MP3 cart content. Be the first to review this item.

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