End your concert with a bang and start the yearly music tradition with your youngest musicians! Listeners will be amazed by the authenticity of this arrangement, which is able to capture so much of the original that one will hardly notice the difference. An absolute essential for all string libraries!
Messiah is one of Handel's most beloved and famous works. Written in three acts, the libretto, designed by Charles Jennens, comes from the Old and New Testaments and tells the story of Jesus Christ. Handel wrote the work in under a month with the first premiere in the spring of 1742. The frequently performed and popular movement is the Hallelujah Chorus which concludes the second part. There is a legend that King George II was so inspired by the music that he stood to his feet. Whether the story is true or not, tradition still has people standing during the Hallelujah Chorus. Messiah is not originally intended as a Christmas work and earlier performances likely happened more during Lent and Easter. The many arrangements and versions, even by Handel, including one by Mozart, make it impossible to establish an authentic original; however, the work is still heavily performed every year, particularly around the holidays.