Messiah (Piano Reduction), no. 43: Thou shalt break them

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Block observes that the emphasis on the Passion differs from modern western popular Christianity, which prefers to stress the nativity of the Messiah. The opening chorus "Behold the Lamb of God" begins like a French overture in G minor , a key of "tragic presentiment", according to Christopher Hogwood. After only three instrumental measures the voices proclaim the Testimony of John the Baptist , John 1: After the initial rise, the melody falls in dotted rhythms, but rises on "that taketh away the sin of the world".

The melody shows similarity to the beginning of " He shall feed his flock ", but "sharpened" from major to minor , from triplets to dotted rhythm, and by the octave leap in the beginning. Isaiah wrote in his Songs of the suffering servant in the fourth song about the Man of Sorrows: Isaiah states in his songs that "the Messiah will play a substitutionary sacrificial role on behalf of his people".

The vocal line begins with an ascending fourth on "he was" and adds another one on "despi-sed", ending as a sigh. The signal of a fourth has been observed by musicologist Rudolf Steglich as a unifying motif of the oratorio.

Soft sighing motifs of the violins, an echo of the singing, drop into these rests. Hogwood interprets the unaccompanied passages as emphasizing "Christ's abandonment". The dotted rhythm returns in instruments and voices in the chorus "Surely, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows", the continuation of Isaiah's text, set in F minor. The chorus continues with the remainder of Isaiah In the same key the chorus continues with a fugue "And with His stripes we are healed".

The theme begins with a sequence of five long notes, which Mozart quoted in the Kyrie -fugue of his Requiem. The characteristic ascending fourth opens the countersubject.

Recitative and Aria for tenor

The word "healed" is later stressed by both long melismas and long notes. Still continuing Isaiah's text, "All we like sheep, have gone astray" is set as a fast chorus in F-major on a walking bass with irregular patterns and leaps. The voices utter twice together "All we like sheep", then two voice parts move simultaneously in different directions on "have gone astray", with the last syllable extended to eleven notes.

The next bit of the text "we have turned" is illustrated by fast coloraturas, lacking direction. In a dramatic sudden adagio, full of chromatic tension, the movement ends on "and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all". Myers comments about the chorus, which seems out of place at first sight: His lost sheep meander hopelessly through a wealth of intricate semi quavers, stumbling over decorous roulades and falling into mazes of counterpoint that prove inextricable.

Messiah, HWV 56 (Handel, George Frideric)

A less dramatic composer than Handel would scarcely have rendered his solemn English text with such defiance, for the discrepancy between the self-accusing words and his vivacious music is patent to any listener emancipated from the lethargy of custom. The text is set as a short tenor accompagnato, again based on a pattern of dotted notes in the instruments.

The strings through in violent figures after "laugh Him to scorn" and "shoot out their lips", similar to an outburst of laughter. The key of B flat minor is termed "remote and barbarous" by Hogwood.

Messiah, HWV 56 • No.43 Thou shalt break them

What they say is given to the chorus as a strict fugue in C minor: The tenor returns to sing a verse of the Psalm Aching chromatic chords picture the broken heart. The accompagnato begins in A flat major , shifts without stability and ends in B major. The tenor voice, going to report death and resurrection in scene 2, is comparable to the Evangelist in the Passions of Bach.

The tenor arioso "Behold, and see if there be any sorrow" Lamentations 1: In the short movement in E minor , the accompaniment pauses rather regularly on the first and third beat of a measure. Scene 2 covers death and resurrection in two tenor solo movements. In a restrained way, the death of the Messiah is told in another tenor accompagnato, as foretold by Isaiah, "He was cut off out of the land of the living" Isaiah Long chords begin in B minor and end in E major. His resurrection is again told by the tenor in an Air according to Psalm 16 , "But Thou didst not leave his soul in hell" Psalms Scene 3 refers in a chorus to the ascension.

Since the text has questions "Who is the King of Glory? Scene 4 covers the Messiah's position in heaven, following the teaching from the Epistle to the Hebrews in two verses, Hebrews 1: In a short recitative the tenor renders the first verse, quoting Hebrews Hebrews 1: The second verse "Let all the angels of God worship Him" Hebrews 1: Scene 5 alludes to Pentecost and the beginning of preaching the Gospel.

Pentecost is referred to rather indirectly, without naming the Holy Spirit. Originally written for bass, Handel rewrote the Air in London in for the castrato Gaetano Guadagni. The thoughts are continued in an earlier verse from the same psalm Psalms Two alto voices begin and are joined by the choir, stressing "good tidings", "break forth into joy" and culminating on a cantus firmus of one repeated note: Based on a number of Bible references, a tenor arioso describes the preachers further: In another Handel's version so called version B , which is commonly preferred by performers now, the same text is set to new music and scored for chorus.

Scene 6 shows the difficulties and rejection of the preaching, based on four consecutive verses from Psalm 2 , Psalms 2: It is the first text in the oratorio actually referring to the Messiah, the "anointed one" verse 2. An Air for bass in C major , accompanied by an orchestra in continuous motion, tells of the difficulties.

The term "rage" is expressed by a long melisma in triplets. The choir continues the thought; the intention "Let us break their bonds asunder" is expressed in a fast succession of entries of the voices. Scene 7 is called "God's triumph" by Jennens. A forceful Air for tenor tells of God's power against enemies, again taken from Psalm 2: Part II closes with the chorus Hallelujah , in the key of D major with trumpets and timpani.

The choir introduces in homophony a characteristic simple motif on the word, playing with the interval of a second , which re-appears throughout the piece. Several lines from the Book of Revelation Revelation The line "for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" is sung by all voices, first in unison , then in imitation with Hallelujah-exclamations interspersed. The second line "The kingdom of this world is become" is sung in a four-part setting like a chorale.

The third idea "and he shall reign for ever and ever" starts as a fugue on a theme with bold leaps, reminiscent in sequence of Philipp Nicolai 's Lutheran chorale " Wachet auf ". The final acclamation "King of Kings From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Structure of Handel's Messiah. Behold the Lamb of God 3: He was despised 8: Surely he hath borne our griefs 1: The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light bass For unto us a child is born chorus Scene 4: The Annunciation to the Shepherds There were shepherds abiding in the fields soprano 14b.

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 Scene 5: Christ's Healing and Redemption Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion soprano Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened soprano He shall feed his flock like a shepherd alto and soprano His yoke is easy chorus Part II Scene 1: Behold the Lamb of God chorus He was despised and rejected of men alto Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows chorus And with his stripes we are healed chorus All we like sheep have gone astray chorus All they that see him laugh him to scorn tenor He trusted in God that he would deliver him 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 The Lord gave the word chorus How beautiful are the feet soprano Their sound is gone out 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 Retrieved from " http: Simrock Scores published by Arthur P.

Contents 1 Performances 1.

Hallelujah Part II 1. Hallelujah Part II, No. And the glory of the Lord Part I, No. Lift up your hands Part II, No.

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Deutsche Grammophon , Javascript is required for this feature. These file s are part of the Werner Icking Music Collection. In Score As it was Originally Perform'd. Handel; To which are added His additional alterations. Figures not included; original imprint and acknowledgment of continuo realization missing from reprint; some minor pencil marks.

Editor Alfred Mann Jim Schwante. This manuscript contains the following numbers: This manuscript contains numbers 4, 11, 15, 19, 25, 30, 39, 47, and This file is part of the Sibley Mirroring Project.

Oliver Ditson Company , The following songs appear twice in this book different sheets bound in: But thou didst not; Thy rebuke hath broken; He was despised; But who may abide the day. Songs and Airs of G.

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