What is your opinion of George Handel’s oratorio The Messiah?

As you know, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) composed The Messiah, which was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Nowadays the oratorio seems mostly connected to Christmas but it is often used at Easter as well.

Of course, the music is classified as Baroque and the lyrics are strictly KJV verses although some of the Psalms quoted are from the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer and vary slightly from KJV, or so I read.

Tradition says that King George II stood for the famous Hallelujah Chorus and audiences today still stand during live performances of that chorus.

The London Philharmonic Choir and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the late British Chorale Conductor John Alldis recorded the Messiah on 2 CDs in 1994 (I think that is the right year). It has been available for many years on the Sparrow Label, a Christian label. Also, Christian stores have many other versions. Your local library probably has a copy that you may borrow. And YouTube has many listings for the work.

The oratorio is so long that many times live performances are shortened and inevitably your favorite part is taken out, sadly. Here is an internet list of all the parts of the score. I think that it is accurate:

http://www.worshipmap.com/lyrics/messiahtext.html

What is your opinion of Handel’s The Messiah?