George Frideric Handel: For Unto Us A Child Is Born
Messiah Part I
Context
George Frideric Handel’s Messiah has remained one of the composer’s most beloved works. Incredibly, Handel completed this 260-page oratorio in just 24 days during the summer of 1741. The scriptural text was compiled by Charles Jennens, with the source being the King James Bible. The first performance of Messiah was on 13th April 1742, to celebrate Easter.
Initially the oratorio garnered a lukewarm reception from audiences, however the work began to gain popularity over some years, with it now being the go-to work to perform during the Easter period. During this new Messiah exploration on Classicalexburns, blogs will be posted regularly to cover all of the pieces involved in making up this much-loved oratorio.
The Lyrics
For unto us a child is born
Unto us
A son is given
Unto us
A son is given
For unto us a child is born
For unto us a child is born
Unto us
A son is given
Unto us
A son is given
For unto us a child is born
For unto us a child is born
Unto us
A son is given
Unto us
A son is given
Unto us
Unto us
The son is given
The son is given
And the government shall be upon his shoulder
And the government shall be upon his shoulder
And the government shall be upon his shoulder
And his name shall be called
Wonderful
Counsellor
The Mighty God
The Everlasting Father
The Prince of Peace
For unto us a child is born
For unto us a child is born
Unto us
A son is given
Unto us a child is born
Unto us a son is given
And the government shall be upon his shoulder
And the government shall be upon his shoulder
And his name
And his name shall be called
Wonderful
Counsellor
The Mighty God
The Everlasting Father
The Prince of Peace
For unto us a child is born
For unto us a child is born
For unto us a child is born
For unto us a child is born
Unto us
A son is given
Unto us
A son is given
And the government shall be upon his shoulder
And the government shall be upon his shoulder
And the government shall be upon his shoulder
And his name shall be called
Wonderful
Counsellor
The Mighty God
The Everlasting Father
The Prince of Peace
For unto us a child is born
For unto us a child is born
Unto us
A son is given
Unto us a son is given
Unto us a son is given
And the government, the government shall be upon his shoulder
And the government, the government shall be upon his shoulder
And his name shall be called
Wonderful
Counsellor
The Mighty God
The Everlasting Father
The Prince of Peace
The Everlasting Father
The Prince of Peace
(Isiah: 9:6)
The Music
For Unto Us closes Scene 3 of the oratorio and it tells the news of the birth of a son. Essentially one big fugue, the chorus work is started with the sopranos, with their delicate voices setting the scene. The tenors then enter as a countervoice to the sopranos. Handel’s keen use of melismas creates a huge number of bars with just vocal movement on words such as ‘born’. When all of the voices unite for the ‘Coun-selor – The Mighty God – The Everlasting Father’ section, there is a sense of triumph and sheer joy at the news of a son. The orchestra reflects this joy and plays repeated figures to aptly support the important voices of the people.
As Handel develops the theme the final proclamations represent the important unison words of the piece. For Unto Us finishes as the orchestra plays the main theme one last time before coming to a joyous end, and thus concluding this scene.
Ⓒ Alex Burns
Happy Reading!
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