George Fredric Handel was born in 1685 in Germany and died in 1759. Handel's Messiah is his best know work and was written in London in 1741. This piece is part of the Baroque Period and is in the Choral genre.
The legend that is told about the inspiration and composition of Messiah is as follows.
Handel was living in London in the late 1730's and early 1740's. He was very poor and was not very happy with his life. One night he went home and could not sleep, so he got out of be and noticed some letters that he had recieved. The letters had some scriptures written on them, which inspired Handel. He then sat down at his piano and played and wrote for three weeks straight. The first audience that heard Messiah, in 1742 in Dublin, gave it the biggest ovation that the city has ever heard!
The piece is divided into three sections. The first section describes the prophecy and coming of the Messiah, second, the redemption of mankind through the sacrifice of Jesus, and the third, gives thanks for the ultimate defeat of death through faith in the Kingdom of God. |
