Handel composed Messiah in just 24 days in late summer 1741, setting a libretto by Charles Jennens drawn from the King James Bible and the Psalms of the Book of Common Prayer. Premiered in Dublin the following April, the oratorio quickly established itself as one of the supreme achievements of Baroque choral music, and it has remained a cornerstone of the concert repertoire ever since.
Structured in three parts tracing the prophecy and birth of Christ, his passion, resurrection, and ascension, and finally the promise of resurrection and glorification, Messiah stands apart from Handel’s dramatic operas and other oratorios in having no named characters or staged narrative action. Its power lies instead in the cumulative effect of arias, recitatives, and choruses that move between contemplation and exultation with extraordinary rhetorical force, reaching one of its most famous peaks in the Hallelujah chorus.
Here are The Classic Review editorial team’s recommendations for the best recordings of Handel’s Messiah.
The English Concert & Choir, Trevor Pinnock
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Gabrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh
English Baroque Soloists & Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner
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