Handel's Messiah!

The first time I got to sing Messiah was the best. I was 14 years old. My family was at Ridgecrest, the SB conference center in NC, for Music Week in 1965. I asked my father (who was in the BSSB Music Department) if I could go to the rehearsals since I was too young (minimum age 18) to sing in the performance. When I missed a rehearsal my dad told me that if I planned to sing in the performance, I had to come to the rehearsals. When I protested that I was too young, he didn't respond. I went to all the rehearsals and was on the end of the row next to my dad for the performance. We did the whole thing. The "Hallelujah" chorus was printed in the program, so when the audience stood, the conductor turned around and directed the whole crowd. The estimates were 3,000 inside and about 2,000 outside. The next day, when we were driving back to Nashville, my dad told me he was in trouble with the fathers of all my friends. It seems that they had all asked their dads if they could sing, and their dads all said, "No." They could all see me where I was sitting. Today I sing in an independent chorale here in Nashville. One of our basses was the bass soloist for that performance 43 years ago. We sing the Christmas portion of Messiah in alternate years. But that first one was the best.

Tim Reynolds

 

[hijack] Hey Tim, what does your dad think of the new Baptist Hymnal coming out soon? [/hijack]

 

As you have discovered, The Messiah was meant to be a worship experience. I, too, have moved beyond just the music of it (Handel is my favorite composer) to rejoice in the majestic truth of our Messiah that is proclaimed throughout the work. I listen to it a few times a year and am continuously astounded at the wisdom of God and the mystery of Christ.

When I hear professionals perform it I often feel sorry for them because in most cases they don't even understand what they are singing about, or else they would certainly fall to their knees in worship or be overcome by sorrow at the description of our Savior's suffering.

Randy

 

Aw, wasn't referring to Messiah! Whatever are you talking about?!? Grr

 

the spelling, chuck, the spelling.

got it ?

(spelling cop)

 

You know...this is true. But if even the rocks themselves would have cried out to describe the majesty and glory of Christ, then God can still use lost, hard-hearted people to bring glory to Himself.

When the New York Philharmonic plays this and Phil Smith (their Principal Trumpet) plays "The Trumpet Shall Sound" I really enjoy it. Not because Phil is (perhaps) the best orchestral trumpet player in the world, but because he is a believer and the meaning of the piece is understood by him.

I wonder if anyone has fallen to their knees while performing The Messiah so that they were saved. It would be interesting to see--Handel's presentation of the Gospel though music still preaches.

Blessings,

The Archangel

 

I guess the appropriate response to your question is another question: Which new Baptist Hymnal? If you're asking about the new LifeWay hymnal, he really doesn't have an opinion because he doesn't know anyone who is working on it. If you're talking about the new Celebrating Grace Hymnal being done by Mercer University Press, then he feels pretty good about it because he knows several people working on it: e. g., David Music (one of his former students), Milburn Price (the reviser of his textbook on hymnology), and Mark Edwards (his former Minister of Music at FBC-Nashville). There are others. I also knew a couple that he did not know. There is a preview session scheduled for next week here in Nashville. I may not be able to go, but my parents are planning to. I'm looking forward to seeing what they are doing.

Tim Reynolds

 

One of the reasons why Messiah continues to draw people to listen to it and to sing it, is the way Handel wrote. He wrote for singers. That doesn't mean that the music is easy, but it means that it is challenging and rewarding for those who keep at it. Bach, on the other hand, seems to have viewed the human voice as another instrument. So, with many exceptions, his vocal passages don't generate the same kind of energy that Handel does. This is true of other composers whose choral work I have sung. Copland, Randall Thompson, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Poulenc, among others, all compose in different styles. These styles require different approaches by the singers in order to achieve a good performance. That's what makes singing their work (or listening to it) so enjoyable. (These observations are not based on any scholarly reading that I have done. They are based on my 30+ years of experience singing in church choirs and other choirs.)

I think this is an unwarranted generalization. How do you know what their relationship with God is?


Tim Reynolds