In 1743, the Messiah was staged in London, and King George II of England visited the theatre. When he heard the finale of the second part, "The Chorus of Hallelujah", the king could not contain his inner excitement, stood up and listened to the whole song, calling it the "national anthem of heaven". To this day, when the concert is performed, the whole audience will stand up and listen to it as a sign of respect, which has become a very special practice.
The Hallelujah Chorus is a powerful piece of music that makes it even more attractive because the large choir itself creates a sense of transcendent sacredness, and Handel's skillful use of the main key, polyphonic and monotonic music in this song to express his unique music ideas.
Handel's Messiah is a representative of the vocal genre of the Baroque period, the most sung oratorio in the world, and a sacred music familiar to Christianity.
Composed in September 1741, the composer Handel, under an irrepressible urge for enthusiasm, completed it in just over twenty days. When he finished writing the Harirúa chorus, his servant saw Handel in tears and excitedly said, "I see the whole kingdom of heaven, and the great God," and finally the classic oratorio also touched all the listeners who watched the premiere at the London Concert Hall in 1743.
The word "messiah" is derived from the Hebrew word meaning "anointed" (the ancient Jews often held a ceremony of applying anointing oil to the heads of the canonized kings and sacrifices), and was later used by Christianity to address Jesus the Savior. Handel's Messiah is a work that embraces both the Old and New Testaments, focuses on spirituality and contemplation about the "Messiah," and narrates the story of Jesus' birth, mission, crucifixion, and resurrection in an indirect, symbolic way.
The whole play of "Messiah" is divided into three parts, with a total of 57 sub-songs, such as order, aria, repetition, chorus, and interlude. The first part deals with the birth of the Infant Jesus; the second part deals with the experience of Jesus' crucifixion to save mankind, spread the gospel everywhere, and suffer; and the third part is the story and hymn of Jesus' apparent resurrection. It is the finest of Handel's few works that fully express religious content, in fact the theatricality and humanity of music is far greater than the devout feelings of religion.
The whole drama is the main harmonic music style, known for its beautiful melody and harmonic practice. Its arias are rich and original, the melody is often added with very pleasant decorations and dragging cavities to strengthen the expression of emotions; the chorus is simple and deep, often alternating polyphony with the main key texture, and the harmony is solid and powerful.
Among them, Handel's use of the bagpipe, a Sicilian folk instrument, was bold and novel at the time. Moreover, many of the music sections in this work have high technical training value and artistry, and are still widely used in concert and acoustic teaching. The whole work is classic and beautiful. The "Hallelujah" section mentioned above has become a masterpiece with its shocking momentum, the long melody of the wash and long, and the solemn elegance of the church hymn.
For a long time, the recording of this work can be described as quite a lot, and many big-name characters have been recorded, but the choice of the ideal version must be difficult. So, let's take a look at these two renditions.
【Collection】Handel: The Messiah CD Marina Conductor/Gardner Original Import ¥128 Purchase
1
Marina & Saint Martin Chamber Orchestra "Handel: The Messiah"
This version of Handel's Messiah, conducted by Sir Neville Marina with the St. Martin Chamber Orchestra, has long been a bestseller and one of the most widely recommended. Among them, Sir Marina's conductor has obvious romantic overtones, the lines are pure and clear, and it is widely welcomed by the audience. In addition, the orchestra is the leader of the chamber orchestra, and the orchestra is still cultivated and founded by him, and their interpretation and tacit cooperation are incomparable.
Before becoming a master conductor, Sir Marina was an outstanding violinist, playing as a violinist at the St Martin String Quartet and the London Symphony Orchestra. Therefore, in the conductor, he has an unusually keen sense of how to deal with the progression of the melody and the arrangement of timbre, his conducting style is pure, simple, concise, and the range of interpretive repertoire is quite extensive, from the Baroque period to modern and contemporary works.
Sir Neville Marina
In 1956, at the age of 32, Marina founded the Saint-Martin Chamber Orchestra, which has now become one of the world's most famous chamber orchestras, and the ensemble sounds pure and delicate, with sweet and moist tones, and clear and organized textures and layers. Fans who have heard them play will think that this is an orchestra with rich charm and cultivated artistic taste. This is also due to Sir Marina's long-term cultivation of the orchestra.
Disc friends review
1. Introduction to oratorio, in addition to St. Martin also listened to the sixteen & harry christopher's version, the former is more emotional and the latter is relatively bright. The Baroque era must have been exceptionally sunny, otherwise everyone would have worn a holy light on their head.
2. Whether it is a band, singer or recording is very good, but because it is an ancient version, it is best to play it with a softer sound system.
3. I've listened to the vocal part of this version many times and it feels really good.
4. Although Handel is not as famous as Bach in the world, he enjoys the same glory as Bach in God's eyes!
2
Handel: The Messiah Gardner
This Messiah is a masterpiece by the master conductor and expert in ancient music, John Elliot Gardner. The conductor conceived the performance from the perspective of choral tradition – the craftsmanship of the Monteverdi Choir goes without saying, but more importantly, Gardner placed the choral part at its full core on the one hand, and on the other hand, pursued a simple, natural expression as much as possible. Gardner's positioning is to make the work naturally resemble "a" performance in a church, even though the perfection of that performance is difficult for ordinary people to achieve.
【Original Import】
Marina & San Martin Chamber Orchestra
Handel's Messiah
(German version 2CD)
Handel's Messiah Gardner
2CD