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Subsequent to the initial performance, Handel toured Great Britain and Ireland performing the Messiah for many audiences. During these performances Handel tended to change elements of the Messiah to fit the voices of his particular singers and for other reasons which improved the specific performance.(Findlay, 1999) However, the Messiah was never revised by another musician until 1788 when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arranged the piece for a series of private performances in the homes of Viennese court members.(Findlay, 1999) Since then there have been numerous arrangements of Handel's Messiah which are typically performed during the Christmas and Easter holidays. .
The Messiah is divided into three parts representing the life of Jesus Christ beginning with his birth(The Christmas Portion), advancing to his death(The Redemption Portion), and concluding with his resurrection(The Resurrection and Future Reign of Christ).(Brown) Each section of the Messiah consists of arias, recitatives, and choruses with Biblical passages as their basis. I found it especially interesting that the Messiah includes 53 songs yet was written in only about three weeks.(Hambley) .
The Adelphians began the Messiah with the chorus, And The Glory Of The Lord. Next an alto soloist transitioned to the recitative, Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive and the aria and chorus, O Though That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion. I felt that the soloist sang beautifully. In my opinion, she was the best soloist who performed in the entire concert. The next chorus was For Unto Us A Child Is Born which is one of my favorite parts of the Messiah. I love For Unto Us A Child is Born because it occurs during the Christmas Portion and is filled with joy and cheer for the birth of the baby Jesus. There are imitative polyphonies between the male and female parts which build into beautiful crescendos. .
Following this chorus was Pifa and the recitatives: And There Were Shepherds, And Lo The Angel of The Lord Came Upon Them, And The Angel Said Unto Them, and And Suddenly There Was With The Angel, which were sung by a soprano soloist.
