Part 1, scene iii, no. 8 Recitative: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23
“Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, GOD WITH US.”
This is the first recitativo secco, or dry recitative, Handel uses in Messiah. Secco recitativo is characterized by the speech-like rhythm of the music and the use of basso continuo to accompany the voice. Basso continuo was the most common type of accompaniment in baroque music. It consisted of a bass instrument and a harmony instrument, in this case cello and harpsichord, that improvised above a bass line called figured bass. The composer would write JUST the bass line with some “figures” – numbers or accidental markings. The bass instrument would play the bass line and the harmony instrument would be used to “realize” the figured bass, or improvise a chordal accompaniment using the composer’s shorthand. In dry recitative, the harmonic motion tends to be slow and that is what we find here.
The text is intended to be the most important part of secco recitative. Baroque opera composers, of which Handel was one of the greatest, used dry recit to move the story forward, reserving the arias for emotional commentary. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive” serves this purpose, and yet Handel imbues it with dignity and purpose beyond the simplicity of the music. This is a crucial part of the story. Handel states that in clear syllabic text (one note per syllable). This is a proclamation of highest import.
It is, isn’t it? Only one virgin has ever borne a child. This is miraculous in every way possible. I’ve often wondered about Mary. Just last night I heard a talk by one of our pastors on this very topic. Her point was not that the virgin conception was miraculous and mysterious. It was that Mary was so young. The word virgin in biblical context tells us that. Girls were married off fairly early, and while Mary was engaged, she was not yet with her husband. She was probably 13 or 14, at the high end MAYBE 16. Once she hit puberty, it was time. The betrothal for a virgin lasted between 10 months and a year.
The point Kris made about Mary’s youth is that she was still young enough to believe in possibilities, in dreams. It was, perhaps, easier to accept that such a thing could happen, and she was young enough, perhaps, not to fully understand the consequences of this pregnancy outside of marriage.
Mary was also betrothed to a good man. When he found out she was pregnant, he could have had her stoned which would have saved his reputation. He knew the child wasn’t his, but who else would believe that? At best, people would have assumed they had been intimate outside of marriage – a shameful act in their society – and at worst, he had been cuckolded. Yet Joseph, even before the angelic visit, makes the decision to end things quietly. He is also a godly man. When the angel appears and tells him the truth, he recognizes this prophecy. He believes the angel and names the child Jesus, “for he will save the people from their sins.” Matthew 1: 21
Emmanuel. God with us.
