Hallelujah Chorus Essay

The choir arrangements were pretty consistent during all the plays. There were three rows of …. on the stage in the center. The Piano was placed in the center to the left side of the stage. For some plays which needed extra instrument such as guitar, percussion or cowbell chairs were placed on the right side of the stage for the players to play the instruments. In the contrary, the orchestra arrangements were not persistent during the play. Almost each section of the play had its own orchestra arrangement. However, the conductor stood in the center of the stage for the most part of the play except for the plays with opera scenes.

George Frideric Handel was born in Halle, Germany on February 23, 1685. He expressed an interest in music at an early age. While his mother encouraged this love of music, his father, George Handel, was not supportive of him pursuing music as a career, and pushed him towards a career in law. However, when Handel was 9, a duke heard him playing the organ and persuaded his father to let Handel study under Friedrich Zachow (the organist at the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle) who instructed him in the organ as well as composing. Handels’ father died when he was 12, leaving him as the only son of that marriage. This put more responsibility on Handel to maintain his family, but it also relieved most of the objection of his music studies. In

Many musical scholars believe that J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel are the two most important, influential composers of the Baroque period. Both of these men were born in Germany in 1685, and since they came into existence around the same time, they share some similarities. As an introductory statement, Bach and Handel were born into two very different families. Handel did not come from a musical family; his father wanted him to study law. By age nine, his talent was too obvious for his father to ignore and Handel began to study with a local organist and composer. On the contrary, Bach came from a long line of musicians. Bach also had four sons which became gifted composers, in their own right. Bach, like Handel, also started as an organist

When thinking of composers, whose works changed the world of music forever, many names may come to mind. Among those on that list, both Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel are figures whose effect on music has been felt worldwide. Born in the same year, these composers have much in common and many differences that illustrate their importance to their era and music as we see it today. Their individualism and creativity influenced much of their time and together, their works defined the Baroque Period as we know it today.

George Frideric Handel is generally considered the second most important Baroque composer after Bach. Unlike Bach's nearly complete focus on church music in Germany, Handel more openly embraced the French, Italian, and English secular music. Also unlike Bach, Handel did not come from a long line of musicians. When he was born on February 23, 1685, Handel's family had no idea that he would rise to a legendary status in music. Handel's father began to see his son's desire to compose at an early age and violently objected. His mother was responsible for nurturing and continuing his musical education. At the age of seven, Handel was asked to give an organ recital for the Duke of Sachse-Weissenfels. The Duke was very impressed and awarded the family with a generous amount of money. This event persuaded his father to allow Handel to pursue his musical career. When his father died in1697, Handel was freed from his father's will. He studied with numerous organists and gained minor fame.

This piece is based upon the scriptural text from the King James Bible it was first performed in Dublin in 1742; Handel makes use of the renaissance technique of word painting and multi-part polyphony. It uses fascinating word painting and is repeated throughout the piece. This piece comes from the oratorio called Messiah; it is the third piece of Messiah. It is the combination of homophony and polyphony with the addition of two trumpets. There are also two oboes, two violins, a viola, and a basso continuo. The use of basso continuo (instrumental accompaniment) requires a chordal instrument and a thoroughbass.

Oratorios were performed in prayer halls, which was a sacred setting similar to the cantata. Oratorios were recitative and contained de capo arias and chorus, like the Italian opera. It was sung drama performed without staging or costumes. “The catholic church saw the power of operas and was quick to take on operas for sacred subjects, such as the lives of saints. However, the church also condemned operas for its power to seduce and dazzle, banning the performance of opera during Advent and Lent.”3 George Handel, an opera composer also composed Messiah, which was one of the best-known oratorios. Another important composer of this genre was Giacomo Carissimi, who wrote many early

The Baroque period stretched across half of European history. It began shortly before 1600 and ended with the death of Bach in 1750. During this time, there were change and

S. Bach, G. F. Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti. Antonio Vivaldi, Claudio Monteverdi, Couperin, Jean-Phillippe Rameau and Jean-Baptiste Lully are other popular names in the Baroque era. Each composer specialises in different instrument compositions and techniques. Out of all the names mentioned, J. S. Bach remains to this day, one the greatest composers of both the Baroque era and all-time. Each of these composers specialise in different areas or compositions and instruments. Working extensively with keyboard instruments such as the organ and harpsichord, a few of J. S. Bach’s well-known compositions include his Brandenburg Concertos, Goldberg Variations, and St. Matthew’s Passion. G. F. Handel himself composed Italian operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. His most popular work of all-time is the “Hallelujah” chorus from the oratorio Messiah, which went on to become the most popular Baroque work and considered as a choice of piece often performed in Christmas time. Domenico Scarlatti on the other hand composed in a number of musical forms, but is best known for composing 555 keyboard sonatas.

Henry Purcell is seen as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period and one of the greatest of all English composers. His earliest surviving works date from 1680 and show a complete command of musical composition. They include some fantasias for viols, masterpieces of contrapuntal writing, and more contemporary sonatas for violins, which reveal some acquaintance with Italian models. Purcell, in his time, became increasingly in demand as a composer, and his theatre music in particular made his name familiar to many who knew nothing of his church music or the odes and welcome songs he wrote for the court of three different kings over twenty-five years.

Handel and Bach are considered two of the greatest composers of all time. However, when comparing the output of these two musicians, the diversity manifest in music in the era when they wrote immediately becomes apparent. Handel, although he used religious subject matter, is usually characterized as fundamentally a 'secular' composer. He composed for the concert hall, not the church, and primarily as a result of royal commissions. His music is strident, powerful, and large in scope. It is designed to entertain, rather than to spur contemplation (The pure power of Handel's 'Hallelujah Chorus', NPR, 2008). Bach, in contrast, often created music designed to be performed in sacred spaces. His music is more fluid and nuanced in style and designed more to spur contemplation and devotion rather than excite people's interest as a piece of entertainment.

Handel's discovery of oratorio was quite accidental and came in the form of a commission from Dublin. His appreciation of its possibilites was immediate, and the die was cast that he would devote the rest of his creative life to composing in the genre.

George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a baroque era composer, with an impressive repertoire of compositions. Handel didn’t grow up in a music rich environment, but in fact, he was forbidden by his father to touch any musical instrument, but found time when everyone else was asleep to play a clavichord he had smuggled to an upstairs room in the house. He grew up in Halle, Germany and at the age of 18, he traveled to Hamburg, and took a job as a violinist in the Hamburg Opera House. He supported himself by giving private lessons, and eventually published his first opera, Almira.

The Baroque Period (1600-1750) was mainly a period of newly discovered ideas. From major new innovations in science, to vivid changes in geography, people were exploring more of the world around them. The music of the baroque period was just as extreme as the new changes. Newly recognized composers such as Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and Monteverdi were writing entirely new musical ideas and giving a chance for new voices to be heard that were normally not thought of sounds. Their musical legacy is still recognized today, and is a treasured discovery of outstanding compositions being reiterated with every performance of them.

The baroque period of music commenced in the year 1600 and ended around 1750 (Fuller – “Baroque”). Its texture was mainly polyphonic (Fuller – “Classical”). Polyphonic means that two or more different melodies are played simultaneously (McComb). This provides an energetic rhythm, long melodies, and many ornaments. The most famous composers of this time period were Vivaldi, Corelli, Monteverdi, Purcell, Handel, J.S. Bach, and Couperin. Many new styles of music were introduced, such as operas, sonatas, oratorios, suites, fugues, and concertos. Orchestras began to develop, but it was not until the classical period when orchestral music was perfected (Fuller – “Baroque”).