Messiah (HWV 56), the English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is structured in three parts, listed here in tables for their musical setting and biblical sources.
Oratorio
The libretto by Charles Jennens is drawn from the Bible: mostly from the Old Testament of the King James Bible, but with several psalms taken from the Book of Common Prayer. Regarding the text, Jennens commented: "...the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah ...".
Messiah differs from Handel's other oratorios in that it does not contain an encompassing narrative, instead offering contemplation on different aspects of the Christian Messiah:
Structure and concept
The oratorio's structure follows the liturgical year: Part I corresponding with Advent, Christmas, and the life of Jesus; Part II with Lent, Easter, the Ascension, and Pentecost; and Part III with the end of the church year—dealing with the end of time. The birth and death of Jesus are told in the words of the prophet Isaiah, the most prominent source for the libretto. The only true "scene" of the oratorio is the annunciation to the shepherds which is taken from the Gospel of Luke. The imagery of shepherd and lamb features prominently in many movements, for example: in the aria "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd" (the only extended piece to talk about the Messiah on earth), in the opening of Part II ("Behold the Lamb of God"), in the chorus "All we like sheep", and in the closing chorus of the work ("Worthy is the Lamb").
Scenes
The librettist arranged his compilation in "scenes", each concentrating on a topic. Part I "The prophecy and realisation of God's plan to redeem mankind by the coming of the Messiah" Scene 1: "Isaiah's prophecy of salvation" (movements 2–4) Scene 2: "The prophecy of the coming of Messiah and the question, despite (1), of what this may portend for the World" (movements 5–7) Scene 3: "The prophecy of the Virgin Birth" (movements 8–12) Scene 4: "The appearance of the Angels to the Shepherds" (movements 13–17) Scene 5: "Christ's redemptive miracles on earth" (movements 18–21) Part II "The accomplishment of redemption by the sacrifice of Christ, mankind's rejection of God's offer, and mankind's utter defeat when trying to oppose the power of the Almighty" Scene 1: "The redemptive sacrifice, the scourging and the agony on the cross" (movements 22–30) Scene 2: "His sacrificial death, His passage through Hell and Resurrection" (movements 31–32) Scene 3: "His ascension" (movement 33) Scene 4: "God discloses his identity in Heaven" (movements 34–35) Scene 5: "Whitsun, the gift of tongues, the beginning of evangelism" (movements 36–39) Scene 6: "The world and its rulers reject the Gospel" (movements 40–41) Scene 7: "God's triumph" (movements 42–44) Part III "A Hymn of Thanksgiving for the final overthrow of Death" Scene 1: "The promise of bodily resurrection and redemption from Adam's fall" (movements 45–46) Scene 2: "The Day of Judgment and general Resurrection" (movements 47–48) Scene 3: "The victory over death and sin" (movements 49–52) Scene 4: "The glorification of the Messianic victim" (movement 53)
Music
By the time Handel composed Messiah in London he was already a successful and experienced composer of Italian operas, and had created sacred works based on English texts, such as the 1713 Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate, and numerous oratorios on English libretti. For Messiah, Handel used the same musical technique as for those works, namely a structure based on chorus and solo singing.
The orchestra scoring is simple. Although Handel had good string players at his disposal for the Dublin premiere, he may have been uncertain about the woodwind players who might be available. The orchestra consists of oboes, strings and basso continuo of harpsichord, violoncello, violone and bassoon. Two trumpets and timpani highlight selected movements, in Part I the song of the angels, Glory to God in the highest, and with timpani the closing movements of both Part II, Hallelujah, and of Part III, Worthy is the Lamb.