George Frideric Handel Begins Writing Messiah

German-born composer George Frideric Handel shut himself up in his room at his London residence to begin writing a new oratorio on August 21, 1741 (August 22 according to Patrick Kavanaugh, The Spiritual Lives of Great Composers, p. 5). In only 24 days he had composed what would become his best known and most loved work, Messiah.

Handel was born in Halle, Germany in 1685, the same year that Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, now a part of Germany. Handel’s father sought to dissuade his son from pursuing a musical career. He wanted the young musician to enter law school, which Handel did after his father died; but he soon left it to devote himself to composing and performing. Handel moved to Italy, where he learned Italian opera and wrote his first oratorio. He eventually settled in London and became a naturalized British citizen.

Handel had mixed success at first in London, suffering several financial setbacks. The public began to tire of opera (imagine that!), so he turned to oratorio. Less expensive to stage than opera since it required no sets and costumes, the oratorio was a lengthy piece of music that told a story, usually a religious theme. Handel’s oratorios seem to have been taken from the Bible and the Apocrypha.

While writing Messiah Handel was visited by a friend. The man found the composer sobbing as he was setting music to the words, “He was despised and rejected of men.” The story is told of Handel’s servant being frustrated because Handel hardly touched the food brought to him during the weeks of writing. The servant once again went into the room to bring food that he assumed would not be eaten when he was suddenly taken aback. “The startled composer, tears streaming down his face, turns to his servant and cries out, ‘I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself.’ George Frideric Handel had just finished writing a movement which would take its place in history as the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’” (Kavanaugh, p. 3).

Though temperamental, Handel seems to have been a true believer in Christ. In describing what he experienced while writing Messiah he is reported to have said, “Whether I was in the body or out of my body when I wrote it I know not. God knows.” A friend of his wrote that “in conversation he would frequently declare the pleasure he felt in setting the Scriptures to music, and how contemplating the many sublime passages in the Psalms had contributed to his edification” (Kavanaugh, p. 7).

I want to make a confession and an application. I have absolutely no creativity when it comes to writing music. I can hardly write any poetry; I guess I’ll just have to stick to prose. But I love meditating on the Scriptures. I love contemplating the words of the great hymns and singing them, even if it’s just to myself in private. And I love Handel’s Messiah. As Handel wept while setting the Scriptures to music, I have frequently become emotional listening to Christ’s glories sung or had tears for my Savior when it seemed I could hear the lash coming down on his back during “Surely, surely, He hath borne our grief.”

Reading or hearing the words of great sacred music can have a quickening devotional effect. Many times I’ve felt like I was already in the Presence of God while meditating on the words of Charles Wesley’s hymn, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain.” Many sacred works have touched me like that. I’d like to encourage you to try this as a devotional exercise. Obtain a good hymnal and use it in your private devotions. Read the words or sing them to yourself in private. The hymns make theology come alive. If we memorize the words, the blessing becomes portable.

Another source of blessing is to read the stories behind the writing of the hymns. There are many books of hymn stories available. One that has been a special blessing to me is Treasury of Great Hymns and Their Stories by Mrs. Guye Johnson, published by Bob Jones University Press. Not only does she give the story behind the words, but she also tells the story of the tune or tunes used for the hymns. I have read through this book devotionally, a little at a time, and have thanked God for the wonderful truths of His Word so beautifully set to poetry and music.

If we feel a little dry spiritually, the hymns and other sacred music are a great source of blessing. I have felt revived many times tuning my heart with good poetry and music. We can thank God for raising up a great host of men and women that are skilled to artistically teach us His truth.

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These resources are helpful for information on Handel and his greatest oratorio, Messiah:

Patrick Kavanaugh. The Spiritual Lives of Great Composers. (Nashville, TN: Sparrow Press, 1992). Biographical vignettes of classical composers. The author lists many other books for more information on these composers. [CBD | Amazon]

The website http://www.gfhandel.org/

In addition to hymnals a source of good Christian poetry is Grace in Winter: Rutherford in Verse by Faith Cook, published by Banner of Truth, 1989. Mrs. Cook gives information on Samuel Rutherford and arranges selections from his letters into poetry; much like Anne Ross Cousin did in the hymn, “The Sands of Time Are Sinking.” [WTS | CBD | Amazon]

George Frideric Handel Begins Writing Messiah