Messiah: A Musical Celebration
Original English text taken from the Scriptures by Charles Jennens
Part the First
SINFONY
ACCOMPAGNATO (Jonas Budris, tenor)
Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God: Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplish’d, 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 XL, 1-3)
ARIA (Jonas Budris, tenor)
Ev’ry valley shall be exalted, and ev’ry mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight and the rough places plain. (Isaiah XL, 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 XL, 5)
ACCOMPAGNATO (David McFerrin, baritone)
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Yet once a little while, and I will shake the heav’ns and the earth, the sea, and the dry land, all nations I’ll shake; and the desire of all nations shall come. The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple; even the messenger of the Covenant whom ye delight in, behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts. (Haggai II, 6-7; Malachi III, 1)
ARIA (Cody Bowers, countertenor)
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 III, 2)
CHORUS
And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. (Malachi III, 3)
RECITATIVE (Caroline Olsen, alto)
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel, “God with us”. (Isaiah VII, 14; Matthew I, 23)
ARIA (Caroline Olsen, alto) AND CHORUS
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! Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. (Isaiah XL, 9; LX, 1)
ACCOMPAGNATO (David McFerrin, baritone)
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 LX, 2-3)
ARIA (David McFerrin, baritone)
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 IX, 2)
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 IX, 6)
PIFA
RECITATIVE (Janet Ross, soprano)
There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. (Luke II, 8)
ACCOMPAGNATO (Janet Ross, 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 II, 9)
RECITATIVE (Elise Groves, 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 Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke II, 10-11)
ACCOMPAGNATO (Elise Groves, soprano)
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heav’nly host, praising God, and saying: (Luke II, 13)
CHORUS
Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will toward men. (Luke II, 14)
ARIA (Sonja Dutoit Tengblad, soprano)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King com’th unto thee. He is the righteous Saviour, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen. (Zechariah IX, 9-10)
RECITATIVE (Clare McNamara, mezzo-soprano)
Then shall the eyes of the blind be open’d, 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 XXXV, 5-6)
DUET (Clare McNamara, mezzo-soprano and Elise Groves, 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. Come unto Him, all ye that labour, come unto Him all ye 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. (Isaiah XL, 11; Matthew XI, 28- 29)
CHORUS
His yoke is easy, and His burthen is light. (Matthew XI, 30)
INTERMISSION
Part the Second
CHORUS
Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. (John I, 29)
Aria (Cody Bowers, countertenor)
He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: He hid not His face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah LIII, 3: 1,6)
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 LIII, 4-5)
CHORUS
And with His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah LIII, 5)
CHORUS
All we, like sheep, have gone astray, we have turned ev’ry one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah LIII, 6)
ACCOMPAGNATO (Ethan Dupuy, tenor)
All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn; they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying: (Psalm XXII, 7)
CHORUS
He trusted in God that He would deliver Him; let Him deliver Him, if He delight in Him. (Psalm XXII, 8)
ACCOMPAGNATO (Jonas Budris, tenor)
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness; He looked for some to have pity on him, but there was no man, neither found He any to comfort Him. (Psalm LXIX, 21)
ARIOSO (Jonas Budris, tenor)
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow. (Lamentations I, 2)
ACCOMPAGNATO (Ethan Dupuy, tenor)
He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of Thy people was He stricken. (Isaiah LIII, 8)
ARIA (Ethan Dupuy, tenor)
But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; nor didst Thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm XVI, 10)
ARIA (Clare McNamara, mezzo-soprano)
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)
CHORUS
The Lord gave the word; great was the company of the preachers. (Psalm 68:18)
ARIA (Jessica Cooper, soprano)
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world. (Romans X, 15, 18)
ARIA (Jacob Cooper, baritone)
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 His anointed. (Psalm II, 1-2)
CHORUS
Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us. (Psalm II, 3)
RECITATIVE (Eric Christopher Perry, tenor)
He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn, the Lord shall have them in derision. (Psalm II, 4)
ARIA (Eric Christopher Perry, , tenor)
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. (Psalm II, 9)
CHORUS
Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!
(Revelation XIX, 6; XI, 15; XIX, 16)
Part the Third
ARIA (Sarah Yanovitch Vitale, soprano)
I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And tho’ worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep. (Job XIX, 25-26; I Corinthians XV, 20)
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 XV, 21, 22)
ACCOMPAGNATO (Woodrow Bynum, baritone)
Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be chang’d, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. (I Corinthians XV, 51-52)
ARIA (Woodrow Bynum, baritone)
The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be rais’d incorruptible,
and we shall be chang’d. (I Corinthians XV, 52)
ARIA (Sonja Dutoit Tengblad, soprano)
If God be for us, who can be against us? 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 VIII, 31, 33-34)
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 pow’r be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (Revelation V, 12-13)
CHORUS
Amen.