You would think that a musical representation of the Crucifixion would use the Gospel accounts as the primary source. But Charles Jennens did not use even a single verse from those accounts. Instead, the bulk of his presentation of the event comes from Isaiah and Psalms.
We come now in our study of the prophetic nature of Handel’s “Messiah” to the central part of the whole work, as well as the core theme of the Gospel. That is the sacrificial death of the Messiah on the cross. (The previous part can be found here.)
Recently, while looking online for more information on “Messiah”, I came across a site with the heading, “A Guide to the Original Source Texts for Handel’s Messiah”, which highlighted the libretto from within the scriptural sources. It also informed me that headings used in the document come from a wordbook published for a 1743 performance of “Messiah”.
For the portion I am covering here, which is the account of the Crucifixion, the heading reads, “The redemptive sacrifice, the scourging and the agony on the cross”.
You would think that a musical representation of the Crucifixion would use the Gospel accounts as the primary source. But Charles Jennens did not use even a single verse from those accounts. Instead, the bulk of his presentation of the event comes from Isaiah and Psalms.
But this is in line with the point I’ve been making all along. “Messiah” is a prophetic meditation on the events it portrays, and so here Jennens takes us back to those prophecies which the Messiah fulfilled on the cross.
But this section does actually begin with a verse from the Gospels, but from the very beginning of His ministry, where the choir sing the prophetic words of John the Baptist in John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world”.
When you think about those words, you think of that revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, but John is prophesying the horrid truth which cut right through the Jewish belief that the Messiah was coming back as an all-conquering King to restore Israel. And so the music Handel set those words reflects the shock of that by sounding like a funeral dirge.
We then come to an aria which is the heart of this section, and which takes almost as long to perform as the rest of the Crucifixion account. The text is from two verses in Isaiah, 53:3 and 50:6:
“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 His hair: He hid not His face from shame and spitting.”
On a musical note, as I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I prefer performances which seek to recreate what Handel had in mind, with the instrumentation he was familiar with, instead of modern interpretations. Also, it’s believed that it was the custom to play at a quicker tempo than is the norm today. I committed to using those in the accompanying videos wherever possible.
But in this case I go back to the recording in my own CD collection, which when it was recorded nearly 60 years ago, though it used modern instruments, was a pioneering effort in the field of historical performance practice. Yet it is not quicker than recordings with modern orchestras, but much slower. Yet for that I find the intensity gained from a more measured tempo is at times almost unbearable! This can only be achieved by a singer and conductor of the highest calibre!
Next, there are two consecutive pieces for the choir, taken from Isaiah 53:4-5:
“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.
And with His stripes we are healed.”
Hear the emphasis Handel places on the word “Surely”.
Next comes another choral number, taken from Isaiah 53:6.