Handel Messiah [Paperback]

The course of the Messiah is traced from Handel's initial musical response to the libretto, through the oratorio's turbulent initial years to its eventual rise to popularity with the Foundling Hospital performances.The course of the Messiah is traced from Handel's initial musical response to the libretto, through the oratorio's turbulent initial years to its eventual rise to popularity with the Foundling Hospital performances.Donald Burrows brings many new insights to this fascinating account of one of the favorite works of the concert hall. He traces the course of Messiah from Handel's initial musical response to the libretto, through the oratorio's turbulent first years to its eventual popularity with the Foundling Hospital performances. The book addresses such questions as the position of Messiah within the oratorio genre, Handel's treatment of structural design, tonal relationships in the work and problems of English wordsetting, as well as contemporary issues such as Handel's relationship with his librettist, Charles Jennens, and with his performers and audience.Preface; References to Messiah editions; 1. The historical background; 2. From composition to first performance; 3. The first London performances; 4. Revival and revision; 5. Messiah in other hands; 6. The Work: design; 7. The Work: individual movements; 8. Handel's word setting; Appendix 1. The libretto of Messiah; Appendix 2. Messiah sources; Notes; Bibliography; Index. Handel scholarship has come long way...notably in important articles on Messiah and its versions by Donald Burrows published in Music and Letters in 1975 and 1985. (The material has been pulled together admirably in Mr. Burrows's new Cambridge Music handbook on the oratorio.) New York Times ...the music lover who would like to know more about Handel and Messiah will find succinct history of English oratorio, a genre that Handel himself invented under circumstances and for reasons that remain unclear to this day, and a concise surl$