Product Description
Messiah (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. The text was compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.
This translation is intended primarily to serve as a guide to listeners of G. F. Handel's immortal work, especially those unfamiliar with the English language. It was not our intention to produce a literary translation, much less a version to be sung.
With this in mind, we have tried, as far as possible, to place the meaning of the sung words exactly below them so that the listener can understand exactly what is being sung as the music unfolds. This is extremely important in this type of music, where repetitions occur, but mainly because of the dramatic devices frequently used by Handel, as, for example, in Recitative No. 5, where the words And I will shake are sung melismatically, using the device of descriptive music to emphasize the meaning.
About the arranger
Fillipe Mendel has been immersed in music since he was a child. Coming from a Portuguese family, he believes that music can and should tell a story and, as such, he is the composer and arranger of over hundreds of religious, classical and contemporary songs. Speaking of stories, he also often writes romantic suspense novels. He currently lives in Brazil, in the state of São Paulo.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.