On April 13, 1742, 19 days after Easter, Messiah by George Frideric Handel was heard by the world for the first time. The concert hall setting in Dublin, Ireland, was a surprisingly secular setting for a work of such sacred content. Yet even from its beginning, Messiah captured the attention of the people. The final rehearsal stirred quite a lot of excitement in the community, and hundreds of people showed up for the concert. Many had to be turned away.
Within the religious circles of 18th century Great Britain and the American colonies, pietism and evangelicalism were growing at the same time that Deism and Enlightenment thinking were thriving in philosophical circles. At the time Messiah was first performed, Jonathan Edwards was preaching in Northampton, Massachusetts, having delivered his most famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” a few months earlier; George Whitefield was sharing the Gospel with large crowds throughout England and the New World; John Wesley was developing his structure for Methodist class-meetings; and John’s brother, Charles, had recently completed such hymn texts as “Arise, My Soul, Arise” and “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.”
It has been recorded that while writing the famed “Hallelujah” chorus, Handel looked to a servant through tear-filled eyes and said, ‘I think I did see all heaven before me, and our great God himself.’
It was within this world that the real inspiration for Messiah came from arts patron and English scholar, Charles Jennens. Like other committed Christians of his time, he was deeply concerned with the rise of Deism and Enlightenment philosophy. In writing Messiah, he wanted to complete a concise setting of Christian doctrine presenting the arc of redemptive history. He composed a libretto starting with the prophecies of the Messiah’s coming, moving to Jesus Christ’s birth, crucifixion, and resurrection, and culminating in the promised second coming and day of judgment. The true climax of the work comes at the end with the triumphant text from Revelation, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.”
Handel was so inspired by the libretto created by Jennens, he completed the score in a mere 24 days. It has been recorded that while writing the famed “Hallelujah” chorus, Handel looked to a servant through tear-filled eyes and said, “I think I did see all heaven before me, and our great God himself.” In subsequent years, rumor would eventually give rise to the legend of King George II standing at a performance of Messiah upon hearing the “Hallelujah” chorus, initiating the standing of all other concert-goers. Many scholars have ruled this story as myth, and it is doubtful the king was even in attendance. Nevertheless, that lore and tradition would develop around a sacred composition demonstrates the incredible impact and influence it holds upon the culture. After all, many today still stand at the hearing of this chorus.
A real dilemma, however, is in deciding which season to perform Messiah. Handel and Jennens timed the premier performance on the heels of Easter and in an unusual venue for sacred music, for the express purpose of reaching those people in the concert hall who had not, perhaps, been present in their churches a few weeks prior. It was music with an evangelical mission at an evangelical season – Easter. It was not until the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston premiered Messiah in the United States in 1818 that the work would become associated with Christmas. This seasonal divide still exists across the Atlantic today, as Messiah is still considered an Easter work in Great Britain.
And yet, in today’s world, maybe Christmas is the best seasonal opportunity for music with an evangelical mission. In a season of hope, peace, joy, and love, hearts are open and listening. Today, maybe it is the best season for the glory of the Lord to be revealed in song. The real question Messiah poses to the listener is whether or not we will accept the truth of the message. The truth of Scripture. The truth of God. When confronted with the majesty of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, will we stand to give our hearts in submission and homage?
May we give all blessing, and honor, and glory, and power unto the one come to redeem: Christ, the Messiah, Jesus. Merry Christmas.