On December 8, 2002 I attended The Adelphian Concert Choir & University Madrigal Singer's Christmas concert. I was excited although not surprised to see Handel's Messiah at the end of the program. A former choir member myself, I am accustomed to singing or hearing the Hallelujah chorus every winter during the Christmas season. However, the Adelphian's performed a much larger and more difficult selection of the Messiah than I sang in my high school chamber choir. It was a wonderful to have the experience of hearing new portions of one of my favorite traditional holiday pieces. .
The Messiah is a Sacred Oratorio which was composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741. (Kelly, 2000:62) The Messiah is the only composition of its time that has been performed continuously and frequently since its first appearance in Dublin, Ireland in April of 1742. (Kerman, 2000:146; Kelly, 2000:88) The piece was immediately renowned by Dublin audiences and critics. The book First Night by Thomas Forrest Kelly quoted the Dublin News-Letter's April 10 review of Handel's Messiah in stating the following:.
"The Messiah, Mr. Handel's new sacred oratorio, in the opinion of the best Judges, far surpasses anything of that nature, which has been performed in this or any other kingdom. The elegant entertainment was conducted in the most regular manner, and to the entire satisfaction of the most crowded and polite assembly." .
In general there was a consensus of appreciation for the Messiah. The piece was innovative because putting scripture to music was not a method which was commonly used in Handel's time. Furthermore, unlike the Messiah, the typical oratorio has characters which act out the story in recitatives and arias. (Kerman, 2000: 147) Although the Messiah was not greatly innovative or different from other pieces written by Handel, it is a popular piece to this day and has been regarded as his most significant piece of work.
