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Handel's "Messiah" and Bach's "St. Matthew Passion"
~ Described for viewers unfamiliar with these oratorios
(Oratorios are compositions for large choruses.)
Handel's "Messiah" and Bach's "St. Matthew Passion"
~ Described for viewers unfamiliar with these oratorios
(Oratorios are compositions for large choruses.)
Handel's "Messiah"
This sacred oratorio was composed during the Baroque era (1600-1750) by German-born English composer George Frideric Handel (1685–1759). In 1741, he was commissioned by Dublin's Lord Lieutenant to write a new oratorio based on a biblical libretto (the text for an opera) that his friend and art patron Charles Jennes composed and assembled for it. Handel finished the piece in 24 days in September and it debuted on April 13, 1742, at the New Music Hall in Dublin. Nearly a year later, it received its London premiere. Its performance takes approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Believed by Christians to have been divinely inspired, the lyrics of the Messiah are from the King James Bible and the literal text represents the development of the Christian plan of salvation, dividing it into 3 parts: Jesus‘ birth and life, redemption, and resurrection.
Lindsborg's Bethany Lutheran Church member residents have been singing the Messiah since 1881, the birth year of Bethany College, and performing it annually since 1882 when other protestant denomination members joined in, forming choruses some as large as 500 or more singers that have been directed by college conductors. This, in the earlier days, attracted countless opera singers and musicians from Europe and New York City to perform in it, while attracting thousands of faithful patrons, who were inspired by it, with the press reporting about it. To hold these audiences, the Messiah Auditorium (Ling Auditorium) was built with a seating capacity of 4,000.
This sacred oratorio was composed during the Baroque era (1600-1750) by German-born English composer George Frideric Handel (1685–1759). In 1741, he was commissioned by Dublin's Lord Lieutenant to write a new oratorio based on a biblical libretto (the text for an opera) that his friend and art patron Charles Jennes composed and assembled for it. Handel finished the piece in 24 days in September and it debuted on April 13, 1742, at the New Music Hall in Dublin. Nearly a year later, it received its London premiere. Its performance takes approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Believed by Christians to have been divinely inspired, the lyrics of the Messiah are from the King James Bible and the literal text represents the development of the Christian plan of salvation, dividing it into 3 parts: Jesus‘ birth and life, redemption, and resurrection.
Lindsborg's Bethany Lutheran Church member residents have been singing the Messiah since 1881, the birth year of Bethany College, and performing it annually since 1882 when other protestant denomination members joined in, forming choruses some as large as 500 or more singers that have been directed by college conductors. This, in the earlier days, attracted countless opera singers and musicians from Europe and New York City to perform in it, while attracting thousands of faithful patrons, who were inspired by it, with the press reporting about it. To hold these audiences, the Messiah Auditorium (Ling Auditorium) was built with a seating capacity of 4,000.
An article from the New York Times in 1939 reads:
" . . . In Lindsborg, the Messiah is religion—as much a part of the Swedish peoples worship as the church services which they attend every Sunday. It is an outpouring of the story they believe—the voice of John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, the birth of Jesus, His ministry, His crucifixion, and the triumphant resurrection with its resounding ‘Hallelujah.’ ” *
As of Easter 2021, thus far the Messiah has had 28 Lindsborg Bethany College professors conductors since 1882.
Go Here for Handel's Messiah's "Worthy is the Lamb" and "Amen," the chorus, Easter Sunday, 2015, conducted by Dr. Mark Lucas, 28th conductor; and Here for Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus of 1981, conducted by Dr. Elmer Copley, the 18th conductor.
" . . . In Lindsborg, the Messiah is religion—as much a part of the Swedish peoples worship as the church services which they attend every Sunday. It is an outpouring of the story they believe—the voice of John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, the birth of Jesus, His ministry, His crucifixion, and the triumphant resurrection with its resounding ‘Hallelujah.’ ” *
As of Easter 2021, thus far the Messiah has had 28 Lindsborg Bethany College professors conductors since 1882.
Go Here for Handel's Messiah's "Worthy is the Lamb" and "Amen," the chorus, Easter Sunday, 2015, conducted by Dr. Mark Lucas, 28th conductor; and Here for Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus of 1981, conducted by Dr. Elmer Copley, the 18th conductor.
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Bach's Saint Matthew's Passion, short for The Passion of our Lord According to St. Matthew
This sacred oratorio was composed also during the Baroque era in 1727. It is one of hundreds of sacred pieces Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) wrote during his long tenure as director of church music and cantor of the Lutheran school at Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany. Its performance takes approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Most of the story is from the Gospel according to St. Matthew. However, several contemporary poets provided the actual verses that Bach set to music. The principal poet was Christian Friedrich Henrici, a poet who wrote under the name of Picander.
Saint Matthew's Passion is divided into two parts. The first part is on the betrayal of Jesus Christ, Jesus' Last Supper, and His prayers and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. The second part includes His crucifixion, death, and burial.
Orchestrated by Bethany College Oratorio Society 12th conductor Dr. Hagbard Brase, the performance of Saint Matthew's Passion made its debut on Good Friday in 1929 during that year's Holy Easter Week Messiah Festival for the dedication of the Presser Hall which was to replaced the Messiah Auditorium (Ling Auditorium). On that day, Johann Sebastian Bach's oratorio became a key element to the repertoire of the Festival performances and has continued being performed on Good Friday with a few exceptions that have included the 2020 and 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic.
Prince Wilhelm of Sweden and Bethany College President Ernst Pihlblad
at the groundbreaking ceremony for Presser Hall in 1927 on the College Campus
at the groundbreaking ceremony for Presser Hall in 1927 on the College Campus
Presser Hall would have a seating capacity of 1,800.
* Sources: Dr. Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, page 168; Wikipedia; Lindsborg's Chris Abercrombie's YouTube production links
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"Let Us Celebrate Them"
* * *
Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~
reconnecting past to present
* * *
All color photography throughout Swedes: The Way They Were is by Fran Cochran unless otherwise indicated, or obviously concluded it is not.
Copyright © 2021 www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
"Let Us Celebrate Them"
* * *
Swedes: TheWayTheyWere
~ restoring lost local histories ~
reconnecting past to present
* * *
All color photography throughout Swedes: The Way They Were is by Fran Cochran unless otherwise indicated, or obviously concluded it is not.
Copyright © 2021 www.swedesthewaytheywere.org. All rights reserved.
