MESSIAH
(1742) Georg Friedrich Händel
Words by Charles Jennens
PART I
1. Sinfonia
2. Accompagnato (Tenor)
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness; prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
(ISAIAH 40: 1-3)
3. Air (Tenor)
Ev’ry valley shall be exalted, and ev’ry mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight and the rough places plain.
(ISAIAH 40: 4)
4. Chorus
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
(ISAIAH 40: 5)
5. Accompagnato (Bass)
Thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts: Yet once a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
And I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come.
(HAGGAI 2: 6-7)
The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the Covenant, whom you delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
(MALACHI 3: 1)
6. Air (Alto)
But who may abide the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner's fire.
(MALACHI 3: 2)
7. Chorus
And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
(MALACHI 3: 3)
Recitative (Alto)
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel, God with us.
(ISAIAH 7: 14; MATTHEW 1: 23)
8. Air and Chorus (Alto)
O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain. O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, behold your god!
(ISAIAH 40: 9)
Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
(ISAIAH 60: 1)
(Chorus)
O thou that tellest. . . etc.
9. Accompagnato (Bass)
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
(ISAIAH 60: 2-3)
10. Air (Bass)
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
(ISAIAH 9: 2)
11. Chorus
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
(ISAIAH 9: 6)
Recitative (Soprano)
There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
(LUKE 2: 8)
12.Pifa (Pastoral Symphony)
13. Accompagnato (Soprano)
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.
(LUKE 2: 9)
Recitative (Soprano)
And the angel said unto them: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
(LUKE 2: 10-11)
14. Accompagnato (Soprano)
And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying:
(LUKE 2: 13)
15. Chorus
“Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will towards men.”
(LUKE 2: 14)
16.Air (Soprano)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is the righteous Saviour, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen.
Rejoice greatly. . . da capo
(ZECHARAIAH 9: 9-10)
Recitative (Alto)
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.
(ISAIAH 35: 5-6)
17. Duet (Alto & soprano)
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; and He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
(ISAIAH 40: 11)
Come unto Him, all ye that labour, come unto Him that are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Take his yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
(MATTHEW 11: 28-29)
PART II
21. Chorus
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows!
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.
(ISAIAH 53: 4-5)
22. Chorus
And with His stripes we are healed.
(ISAIAH 53: 5)
23. Chorus
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
(ISAIAH 53: 6)
24.Accompagnato (Tenor)
All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn; they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying:
(PSALM 22: 7)
25. Chorus
“He trusted in God that He would deliver Him; let Him deliver Him, if He delight in Him.”
(PSALM 22: 8)
32. Air (Alto)
Thou art gone up on high; Thou hast led captivity captive, and received gifts for men; yea, even from Thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
(PSALM 68: 18)
36. Air (Bass)
Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and why do the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed.
(PSALM 2: 1-2)
37. Chorus
Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us.
(PSALM 2: 3)
39. Chorus
Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.
(REVELATION 19: 6)
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
(REVELATION 11: 15)
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
(REVELATION 19: 16)
Hallelujah!
PART III
41. Chorus
Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
(I CORINTHIANS 15: 21-22)
42. Accompagnato (Bass)
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
(I CORINTHIANS 15: 51-52)
43. Air (Bass)
The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.
The trumpet. . . da capo
(I CORINTHIANS 15: 52-53)
46. Air (Soprano)
If God be for us, who can be against us?
(ROMANS 8: 31)
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us.
(ROMANS 8: 33-34)
53. Chorus
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.
Amen.
(REVELATION 5: 12-14)