And The Glory Of The Lord (Messiah) - Handel

General Points

- Composed by George Frederic Handel.
- Handel died in 1759 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
- It is the first chorus for voices and orchestral accompaniment from the
oratorio 'Messiah'.
- Handel wrote Messiah in only 24 days.
The libretto is taken from the bible and tells the birth, death and resurrection
of Jesus.
- ATGOTL was first performed in Dublin.
- Composed in 1741, the Baroque Period (1600 -1750)

Features Of The Baroque Period

- Ornamented melodic parts.
- Major/Minor key structures.
- Continuo played by the harpsichord and cello to 'fill in harmonies'.
- Homophonic/polyphonic textures.
- Baroque Orchestra includes: Violin family, harpsichord, trumpets, horns and
timpani.
- One affection is set and maintained throughout the whole piece.
- Terraced Dynamics.

Structure

The work is made up of the following 4 motifs :
Motif A: 'And The Glory Of The Lord...'
- First heard by the alto part in bars 11-14 of the work.
- It's syllabic.
- The first 3 chords outline the A major chord (which is the main key of the
work).
- Ends in the last 3 notes of the A major scale which defines the key.
- A low A played at the start and a high A played at the end sets a mood of
confidence.
Motif B: 'Shall be revealed...'
- Introduced by the tenor part in bars17-20.
- The word 'revealed' is mellismatic.
Motif C: 'And the flesh shall see it together...'
- First heard by the alto part in bars 43-46.
- Same melody repeated 3 times to make up this motif.
Motif D: 'For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it...'
- Introduced by the tenor/bass part in bar 51-57.
- It is the only motif that is introduced by 2 parts.
- Most of this motif is on the same note, which is an example of pedal.
- Long notes make it sound serious and important.

Instrumentation

- Written for strings SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass)
- The string parts often double the voices.
- Double basses play same as cellos but sound an octave lower.
- The introduction is just the strings alone.
- Some vocal parts accompanied only by continuo for example the first vocal
entry.
- Harpsichord improvises harmonies from the bass line.
- Handel later added in parts for the bassoon and oboe.

Rhythm

- Time signature of 3/4 throughout.
- Use of hemiola (for example bars 9-10).
- Longer note values used to highlight motif D.
- Driving crotchet and quaver movement in keeping with affection.
- The ending is a total silence followed by a sustained cadence, this is very
characteristic of Handel.

Texture

- Alternates between homophonic and contrapuntal textures, but there are a
few short monophonic sections.
- Handel often combines different motifs to create polyphonic textures.
- Contrasts are created by the use of the single voice in contrast with the
whole choir.
- Instruments often double vocal line although usually at different octaves.
Tonality
- Major keys all the way through.
- Begins and ends in the key of A major.
- One section of the piece is played in the dominant key (E major), then
another section modulates to the dominant of the dominant (B major).