Seeking Messiah

Bizarrely, I think I've managed to get through almost my entire year as the Radio 3 Handel blogger without mentioning Messiah. Maybe that's a good thing (why, after all, should I talk to listeners about a piece they already know so well?), but I can't let the year go by without mentioning it, especially at a time when its music is everywhere. Indeed, in the run up to Christmas in this anniversary year, over 400 choirs across the country will be performing the famous 'Hallelujah Chorus'.

Perhaps one reason for the enduring popularity of Handel's Messiah is its double 'bite of the cherry' - the fact that in any given year you'll usually have the chance to hear it at Easter and at Christmas. That suggestion may seem a bit facetious, but my underlying point is serious: unlike Bach's Passions, which unambiguously tell the Easter story of suffering and salvation, Messiah has no clear narrative structure, and encompasses aspects of Christ's religious significance from the prophecy of his birth, through the Passion, to the day of judgement. This means that, in Christian terms, it's just as appropriate to sing it at Christmas as it is at Easter (indeed, Christians recognise the symbiosis of these two stories of Christ's birth and death).

That lack of narrative comes from a venerable theological tradition of fragmenting and juxtaposing texts - usually Old and New Testaments - in order to make a point (particularly about the foretelling of Jesus as Messiah). This is the tradition that Handel's librettist, Charles Jennens, was working in. Of course, avoiding a narrative was also necessary to avoid committing blasphemy: it wasn't till the mid-20th century that you could actually ask someone to play the 'role' of Christ. (There's a delicious irony in the fact that, as this is also a Monty Python anniversary year - the 'Ruby Jubilee' - they did a one-off show in October entitled Not The Messiah (He's A Very Naughty Boy), The Musical ... but that's another story.)