Handel's Messiah

It's the most wonderful time of year.  We drive down the street at night and see Christmas lights on display.  We go to our favorite stores and see green and red everywhere.  We walk through the mall and see the large man in the red suit, bring smiles to the faces of children.  The holidays are a beautiful time for all of the joy that we get to see, and the joy that we experience for ourselves.  But we haven't forgotten about what Christmas is really about, right?  In case you need a reminder...



Oh Linus, you always cut me right to the core.  So we all have our own holiday traditions, right?  Eating a nice Christmas dinner, going to the church as a family on Christmas Eve, opening presents at some ridiculous hour in the early morning.  My family has some things like that, but there's one tradition in particular that we have that I didn't learn to appreciate until I became an adult: Handel's Messiah.

Ever since my dad finished his PhD and started working as a full-time music professor, he's been the conductor for a local rendition of Handel's Messiah in almost every year he's worked.  That means that I've had the privilege (or obligation when I was younger) of hearing Handel's Messiah performed live every year for the majority of my life.  No, it's not some achievement I want to put on my wall, but it's certainly a strong reflection of what my family is about.  Remember, family is the base of Christmas tradition.

My family is about music.  My dad is a professor, my mom is a former piano teacher, my sister studied piano through high school and led an acapella group in college, and I graduated from UVA with a music major.  Music has always been a root of my family's Christmas tradition; when we're in a car together there will always be Christmas music on the radio.

My family is about spirituality.  Sure, we all practice our faith in different ways, but spirituality is a root of our family, and certainly a root of our Christmas tradition.  Though I go to a different church than my parents, I get excused from playing the organ at the 11pm service for my church every year, so I can join my family at my dad's church, which is also my old home church.

Combine those two things (not that my family isn't about more), and anyone in my family will tell you that one of the greatest works in music history (and some of our favorite Christmas music) is Handel's Messiah.  Only since I've gotten older have I realized how beautifully the scripture has been applied to music.  Just look at some of the passage that Linus shares with us above.

Luke 2:13-14: "Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men."

If you're familiar with the Messiah, you'll know that the Soprano soloist sings verse 13, and then the choir comes in loud and strong for verse 14 (starting at "glory to God").  This is just one example of many in the Messiah where Handel has captured the spirit of the scripture in music.  Another one of my favorite examples comes from later in the Messiah, and later in the New Testament:

1 Corinthians 15:52: "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

This is one of the few passages in the Messiah that features the trumpet, and in the version that my dad usually prepares (he excludes some of the parts, for time's sake), the bass soloist singing these words, along with the spirited trumpet, are the last things we hear before the finale:

Revelation 5:12: "... Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."

If you've never heard the Messiah, go listen to some of it.  It does such a wonderful job of taking parts from the poetic King James translation and turning them into beautiful works of music, all weaving into the story of the impact of Jesus, the real reason we have Christmas.  One final note from here: many of you are probably familiar with the Hallelujah chorus, but do you know what the other words in the piece are?  Take a look:

Hallelujah! For the God omnipotent reigneth.  The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.  He shall reign forever.  King of kings and lord of lords, and he shall reign forever.

Merry Christmas, everyone!