Part 1, scene iii, no. 12 Chorus: Isaiah 9:6
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”
Outside of the Hallelujah chorus, this is arguably the most well-known movement of Messiah and for good reason. Handel pulls out all the stops for this chorus. We are given a delightful initial subject for the fugue’s exposition. It is just about perfect in its execution. This is a theme that sticks in one’s head and leaves one whistling it. And it almost needs to be whistled – this is not really a humming subject – it is dance-like and ebullient. Handel brings the whole chorus together to proclaim the names this child will be called: Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace while the violins dance in sixteenth notes about a dotted eighth rhythm in the bass. You will remember that the dotted eighth rhythm was used to usher in a king.
This is the birthday of the King and Handel gives us suitable music for such an event!
What many people don’t know was that Handel borrowed this subject from a duet he had written earlier the same year. This was common practice in his time, to rework material he had used elsewhere. Considering Messiah was written in about three weeks this makes sense, although it was not unusual for Handel to compose large works in short amounts of time. This chorus has become far more famous than its antecedent, so I, for one, am glad Handel reused it!
The text is a grand reminder and comforting, particularly now: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Let’s fix our hope on that.
