| Series |
Cascade companions
Cascade companions. ^A1143835
|
| Contents |
Introduction -- The Baroque doctrine of affections -- Charles Jennens, deism, and the enlightenment -- George Frideric Handel -- Charles Jennens' Scripture collection -- Oratorio musical components -- Compositional devices -- Part the first (The anticipated redemption: Prophecy). Scene 1: The world after the Fall ; Scene 2: The promise ; Scene 3: Shaking up the world ; Scene 4: First words of a virgin birth ; Scene 5: Into the shepherds' field ; Scene 6: Four images of a savior: a healer who doesn't suffer -- Part the second (Redemption fulfilled, the prophecies reinterpreted). Scene 7: Redemption through personal suffering ; Scene 8: Prophecies of death and resurrection: turning point ; Scene 9: From resurrection to ascension ; Scene 10: The Gospel is preached ; Scene 11: The resurrected Messiah defeats the enemies of God ; Scene 12: In response, the believers sing -- Part the third (The promise to all believers: New Testament hope). Scene 13: Homage to the triumphant savior ; Scene 14: Resurrection hope ; Scene 15: The conclusion of the apostle Paul's words to Corinth ; Scene 16: Around the throne of the lamb -- Conclusions. |
| Abstract |
We think we know Handel's Messiah, having heard it or performed it so many times. But is there another way to look at this masterpiece? Who assembled the texts? Why? How did Handel incorporate his own spiritual understanding of the texts? In this treatise, we view the composition from the same Baroque aesthetic perspective the composer used: the Doctrine of Affections--an approach heretofore unexplored in relationship to Handel's Messiah--which held that every major and minor key prompted a particular, very specific, and involuntary emotional and spiritual response in the listener. When facing a choice between following the accepted rules of musical composition or using the Affect best suited to the scriptural text, Handel almost exclusively chose the Affect; in other words, he chose spiritual insight over compositional tradition. Overlaying the various Affects on each movement of Handel's composition, we discover the true heart and spiritual depth of the composer's magnum opus. |
| LCCN | 2023567111 |
| ISBN | 1666739049 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 9781666739046 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 9781666739053 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 1666739057 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | (electronic book) |
