Each Advent, many churches and community choirs host the beloved tradition of a “Messiah” sing-a-long. The libretto – or text – is full of paraphrased Old Testament references to the birth of Christ and prepares listeners for a Christmas mindset.
Although G.F. Handel’s “Messiah” is undoubtedly the most well-known oratorio in history and hugely popular in England and Germany, the genre actually originated in Italy. During the Counter Reformation, St. Philip Neri (1515-95), who wrote the rule for the Congregation of the Oratory, believed the faithful could benefit from prayers, songs, and even concerts of sacred music in the vernacular. An oratory is where such practices were held and where the word “oratorio” originates.
Initially, the genre of oratorio was small and, at times, used as a substitute for bombastic opera during the penitential season of Lent. To reflect the spirit of the season, the texts retold stories of sacrifice from the Old Testament. In the oratorio’s origins, the texts were either in Latin or the vernacular (and thus classified as oratorio latino or volgare, respectively). By the time of Handel’s “Messiah,” the length, instrumental and vocal resources had expanded monumentally, and the texts were in the language of the people.
The work was composed extraordinarily quickly: begun Aug. 22, 1741, and completed less than a month later on Sept. 14. To conserve space at the premiere, women were advised not to wear hoops in their gowns and men were asked to leave their swords at home.
“The Messiah” is in three parts, with the first part being the Christmas section. Unusual for the genre, no specific named characters appear in this part. For instance, there is no role for the Blessed Mother or St. Joseph. Instead, Charles Jennens, who also provided Handel with the text for several other oratorios, paraphrased parts of the Bible to narrate the story.
“Rejoice Greatly,” a soprano solo, is a Da Capo Aria, a three-part form with texts truncated from the Book of Zechariah (Zech 9:9-10): “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy King cometh unto thee. He is the righteous Savior, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen.” The first section begins in B-flat major, a tonality associated with hope, clearly appropriate here.
An instrumental theme opens the work and introduces the melody that will be repeated upon the soprano’s entrance. The singer repeats the word “rejoice” numerous times in the first section, with Handel enhancing the mood by adding many, many notes on reiterations of the word.
The second part of the aria provides musical contrast and begins on the text, “He is the Righteous Savior.” The joyful major key is replaced by minor with the volume lessened considerably. The final part returns to the opening in the original key and, although unnotated, the singer is expected to embellish or add extra notes, making the music simultaneously familiar and new.
Handel’s devotion to his craft was legendary. He once threatened to hold a soprano out the window until she agreed to perform the music the way he intended (she wisely acquiesced). His high standards and unwillingness to compromise contributed substantially to the history of music. His works in the sacred genre, particularly his beloved
“Messiah,” are a wonderful soundtrack to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity and prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Our Savior.
Christina L. Reitz, Ph.D., is a professor of music at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
Watch it online
Watch a rendition of Handel’s “Messiah” by the Staatskapelle Dresden, conducted by Alondra de la Parra in 2019.
NEW YORK — Life in plastic may be fantastic but the tedious ideology-driven comedy "Barbie" (Warner Bros.) is not. Although genuinely objectionable elements are relatively few, moreover, this is distinctly not a movie for the age group to which the figurine of the title is primarily marketed.
Margot Robbie plays the famous Mattel doll that first arrived on store shelves back in 1959. Together with her sidekick Ken (Ryan Gosling), Barbie inhabits a pink-hued feminist paradise where the president, the nine justices of the Supreme Court and all Nobel Prize winners are women.
Troubled and bewildered by hitherto alien thoughts of death as well as by a sudden physical imperfection -- a patch of cellulite on her leg -- our heroine consults one of her many alter egos, Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon). The problem, it seems, is that whoever is currently playing with Standard Barbie is sad and her sorrow is affecting her toy.
So it's time to journey to the real world to meet the cause of the difficulty and, presumably, cheer her up sufficiently to restore the status quo. Ken stows away in the back seat of Barbie's car and thus gets to share in the adventure.
Arriving in Los Angeles, Barbie discovers the tribulations -- and Ken the joys -- of patriarchy. Barbie also learns to her surprise that, far from being revered as a symbol of female empowerment, she's reviled as the embodiment of women's subjugation.
Ken manages to return to Barbie Land first and proceeds to imbue it with male dominance. Thus, by the time Barbie gets back to her natural setting, it's not only been tainted by warped values but turned topsy-turvy.
Barbie will need the cooperation of all her many eponymous iterations to avert cultural and political disaster. Fortunately, she'll also have the help of Gloria (America Ferrera) and Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), a mother-and-daughter duo from the realm of human beings.
As scripted by director Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, the picture bemoans the plight of women while blithely stereotyping men as selfish, childish and aggressive. With the rivalry of the sexes raging, little of the humor (Will Ferrell plays the dizzy CEO of Mattel) and less of the sentiment (Rhea Perlman plays the wise granny who co-founded the company) works.
Despite all the controversy that continues to swirl around her, Barbie has undeniably proved a long-lasting source of enjoyment for youngsters. Her namesake movie, by contrast, is too closely focused on its own agenda to provide older viewers with much entertainment and too freewheeling to be acceptable for little kids.
The film contains stylized physical violence, a few instances each of mild swearing and crass talk, mature wordplay and brief sexual and anatomical humor. The OSV News classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
— John Mulderig, OSV News. John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on Twitter @JohnMulderig1.