Handel: Messiah HWV 56 (Highlights)

Inspiring choral music: the Hallelujah chorus is one of the greatest choral hits of all time, and Handel’s Messiah in its entirety is one of the most popular oratorios ever. The large-scale work, which Handel composed in 1742 over the course of a mere 24 days, was given its highly acclaimed premiere in Dublin and was, during the composer’s lifetime, his most often performed oratorio. Although Messiah has no actual dramatic plot, simply reflecting on the character of the Messiah, Handel pulled out all the stops by integrating many compositional elements from his experience in writing opera. He created a work that still has the power to deeply move its audience every time, with its brilliant choruses and poignant arias.