Freedom4um

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Religion
See other Religion Articles

Title: Some thoughts on why Handel's Messiah at Christmas is so compelling
Source: [None]
URL Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/blo ... hristmas_is_so_compelling.html
Published: Dec 26, 2022
Author: Monica Showalter
Post Date: 2022-12-26 10:00:45 by Ada
Keywords: None
Views: 441
Comments: 9

At Christmas, instead of a lot of pop Christmas songs, I have been listening to passages from Handel's Messiah" oratorio, including the powerfully beautiful Christmas-oriented "For unto us a child is born" based on the writings of the Prophet Isaiah, and the soaringly magnificent Hallelujah Chorus.

To hear these, compared to everything else makes me ask if this was the pinnacle of human musical achievement? Will there ever be anything greater?

An argument can be made for it at least this far.

This oratorio, after all, is touched by eternity. We listen to this joyful piece today, nearly 300 years after it was written, with its variations like angelic choirs, and that fierce lyric "the mighty God" turning the piece to conclusion and can only feel the same emotion that King George II must have felt in 1743 when it was first performed in London and the king unexpectedly stood up for it as if to honor it, to express his joy at its soaring sound. Yes, he may have been standing up in response to the verses themselves, taken from the Bible, as this writer argues, the lyrics of which speak of the king of kings, meaning, King George recognizes that he's just a little king at the service of the big one, so he needs to stand up same as peasants stand when a king enters the room. But I don't buy it entirely -- King George couldn't hear that oratorio performed in the rough conditions 18th century life, with no telephones, no tech, no flush toilets, no running water, and hear the sound of angels as we do? How could King George have not felt what we feel today when we hear this divine music? Someone could have read him a passage about 'the king of kings' and he would have just sat there, knowing that it was just reporting he was hearing. That he stood suggested he considered something happening, something 'in the moment' with something real and in front of him with that music, as if it were alive.

For me, it seems so fresh, so new, so alive because its words sing of praise with melodies of joy, breaking out of its seemingly stilted musical era and our world is so bereft of praise as well as joy at the moment. When was the last time we heard any leader speak in terms of praise? It's liberating to hear these words of praise. Think of today's dominant culture of victimhood and the insipid Christmas songs sung now, particularly the modern pop songs, and think how sharply it contrasts with the entire focus of the Messiah, which is to put self aside to praise God as a collective in a beautifully layered sound of a choir -- in a majestically beautiful composition, that in the end glorifies the humanity that God loves, who are glorifying God in their song.

It's beautiful. It's so beautiful it makes me wonder if God Himself could applaud this piece. I know that must seem impossible given that anything done by anyone on earth is "as dirty rags," to recall the Biblical passage, compared to what is in Heaven, but I wonder if God wrote it and gave Handel the means to put it down. The guidance of God seems to have been present somehow in this piece.

The sound is so heaven-reaching that it makes me feel there had to have been some divine spark inspiring it, some Godly hand that must have moved their creation.

Yes, I feel that only emotionally, but I don't think it should be entirely dismissed given that many art creations entirely baffle their artist creators as to how they came to them, sometimes, as art critic Jerry Saltz has noted on several occasions, beginning as utter rubbish, continuing as utter rubbish, and then coming together as art very suddenly.

We all feel this way, it's a universal appreciation, it extends across ages, and perhaps we can predict with confidence that this music will be appreciated as much in 300 years as it is today, and as it was in 1743.

Handel, many historians note, understood the power of showmanship, but he also understood the power of the content informing his majestic pieces. If he was going to write something great, he needed a great topic, the greatest topic. Note how many pieces he wrote that were derived from the sheer power of the Old Testament. He got some kind of artistic energy from that.

The praise that Handel garnered for this work, and his many magnificent pieces prompted Beethoven to call Handel the greatest composer of all time.

According to historian David Wyn Jones, who wrote a delightful piece about that here:

Click for Full Text!

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 4.

#2. To: Ada (#0)

I have been listening to passages from Handel's Messiah" oratorio, including the powerfully beautiful Christmas-oriented "For unto us a child is born" based on the writings of the Prophet Isaiah, and the soaringly magnificent Hallelujah Chorus.

..It's beautiful. It's so beautiful it makes me wonder if God Himself could applaud this piece. I know that must seem impossible given that anything done by anyone on earth is "as dirty rags," to recall the Biblical passage, compared to what is in Heaven, but I wonder if God wrote it and gave Handel the means to put it down. The guidance of God seems to have been present somehow in this piece.

The sound is so heaven-reaching that it makes me feel there had to have been some divine spark inspiring it, some Godly hand that must have moved their creation...

I saw this at Christmas, but wasn't feeling well, and didn't want to be uncharitable on that day anyway, so I have been waiting for enough time to pass before I commented. Yesterday I lost hundreds of windows among which were some of the things I am going to refer to now, some of which I had had on my computer for a couple of years. So before I forget, and because the antichrist spirit has come home to roost with physical harm to someone dear to my heart, I am going without further adieu to add my two cents' worth now.

I feel strongly that God moved Handel to write this piece, and in fact, the Hallelulah Chorus was written as a celebration of the prophesied destruction of the Old Jerusalem and the Old Covenant Temple.

see here:

"...Unsettling History of That Joyous ‘Hallelujah’

By MICHAEL MARISSEN

Published: April 8, 2007 in the New York Times

IN New York and elsewhere a “Messiah Sing-In” — a performance of Handel’s oratorio “Messiah” with the audience joining in the choruses — is a musical highlight of the Christmas season. Christians, Jews and others come together to delight in one of the consummate masterpieces of Western music.

The high point, inevitably, is the “Hallelujah” chorus, all too familiar from its use in strange surroundings, from Mel Brooks’s “History of the World, Part 1,” where it signified the origins of music among cavemen, to television advertising for behemoth all-terrain vehicles.

So “Messiah” lovers may be surprised to learn that the work was meant not for Christmas but for Lent, and that the “Hallelujah” chorus was designed not to honor the birth or resurrection of Jesus but to celebrate the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in A.D. 70. For most Christians in Handel’s day, this horrible event was construed as divine retribution on Judaism for its failure to accept Jesus as God’s promised Messiah...."

more: preteristarchives.org/201...ain-body-handels-messiah/

see here:

After warning the Iraelites over and over and over throughout the Old Testament....

"The Destruction Of Jerusalem

This message was preached by Pastor Chuck Baldwin on Sunday, August 25, 2019, during the service at Liberty Fellowship.

The destruction of Jerusalem is one of the most significant events in world history. It is no hyperbole to say that the destruction of Jerusalem is the single most terrifying episode in the annals of military conquest. Between one and two million Jews lost their lives in this horrific Roman siege.

The destruction of Jerusalem is also one of the most prophesied events in Holy Scripture. Scores of prophecies in both the Old and New Testaments point to the destruction of Jerusalem. Sadly, these prophecies are almost universally ignored by modern clerics—or totally misapplied.

Tragically, the vast majority of Christians know next to nothing of the destruction of Jerusalem. The great truths that God taught through this seismic event are all but lost to today's Christians. The lack of knowledge and understanding about the destruction of Jerusalem is a sign of the great "falling away" that has taken place in the Church over the past one hundred years.

A proper understanding of the destruction of Jerusalem is the key to unlocking our understanding of how God symbolized the abolishment of the Old Covenant and His gift of the New, Better and Everlasting Covenant. Ignorance of what God did when He destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD is a root cause of the vast (and often crazy) misinterpretations of prophetic Scriptures running rampant today.

In this message, Pastor Chuck Baldwin expounds and explains not only the facts dealing with Jerusalem's destruction but also the great lessons and meanings that Jerusalem's destruction teaches the Church.

Pastor Baldwin considers this message to be one of the most important and powerful messages he has ever delivered.

Plus, this message contains a surprise ending that will shock most Christians. You will probably never hear another message like this one in your entire lifetime. 

This message is truly a modern classic!

To order Pastor Chuck Baldwin’s DVD message, The Destruction Of Jerusalem, go HERE..."

libertyfellowshipmt.com/N...ruction-Of-Jerusalem.aspx

Video of the Sermon is at the bottom of the above link.

SPOILER ALERT: When he first published it, he played the Hallelujah Chorus at the end. It has been cut out of the online video (you can see where they spliced it), but you can hear him leading up to it somewhere around 1:13:00 minutes.

Frankly, I think this is some good ol' punctuation of the fulfillment of God's word. As He said:

Isaiah 65:14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart...

(Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE )

...But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit.

(Jews at Wailing Wall www.gettyimages.com/photo...-wall-in-jerusalem-israel )

https://www.biblehub.com/isaiah/65-14.htm

Jews COULD end their wailing by joining the family of God through the final sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful world that would be.

Isaiah 9:6 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, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

https://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-6.htm

AllTheKings'HorsesWontDoIt  posted on  2023-01-23   14:33:12 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: AllTheKings'HorsesWontDoIt, neoconsnailed (#2)

the “Hallelujah” chorus was designed not to honor the birth or resurrection of Jesus but to celebrate the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in A.D. 70.

I disagree. If you listen, "hallelujah" is proclaimed because "the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth" and has nothing to do with the destruction of Jerusalem.

AdaC  posted on  2023-01-23   18:36:39 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: AdaC (#3)

If you listen, "hallelujah" is proclaimed because "the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth" and has nothing to do with the destruction of Jerusalem.

mmmm...I disagree with THAT.

Revelation 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

biblehub.com/revelation/19-6.htm

Rev. 19 starts out:

Rejoicing in Heaven

1And after these things ((in Revelation 18)) I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

The Marriage of the Lamb

6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints....

biblehub.com/kjv/revelation/19.htm

Rev. 19 of course follows Revelation 17-18 which describes the Great Whore, and that was the Old Jerusalem, which is now destroyed, so I think it is absolutely about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (which has been replaced by the new Temple, the Church :

8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints....

...As opposed to the now-defunct purple, scarlet, blue, gold and fine linen of the Tabernacle/Temple/Priestly garments. biblehub.com/exodus/25-4.htm )

see

The Whore of Babylon = Old Jerusalem

ecclesia.org/Truth/whore.html

You might also want to take a look at David Chilton's Days of Vengeance on Revelation 19:1-8 :

ia800200.us.archive.org/1...ngeance_David_Chilton.pdf :

page 489 of 740 (at the top of page) to page 496 of 740

AllTheKings'HorsesWontDoIt  posted on  2023-01-23   20:53:26 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


Replies to Comment # 4.

#5. To: AllTheKings'HorsesWontDoIt (#4)

"My kingdom is not of this world", i.e., neither Jerusalem nor Babylon.

AdaC  posted on  2023-01-23 22:10:29 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


End Trace Mode for Comment # 4.

TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest