Part 1, scene iv, no. 13 Interlude: Pifa
After the joyful ebullience of For unto us a child is born, Handel lowers and raises the curtain on a new scene. One of only two instrumental pieces in the whole of Messiah, the Pastoral Symphony or Pifa introduces a quiet night in the fields outside of Bethlehem. Using a rocking compound rhythm known as a sicilienne or a type of music played by Sicilian shepherds., this sweet lullaby is scored senza ripieno, or without the full orchestra, using only a small group of strings. Most performances we hear today ignore that marking, probably because it is so beautiful everyone wants to play!
I’d always wanted to know what Pifa meant, so I did what any uninformed and curious person does – I searched the web. There was surprisingly not a lot of information on this. I had to go down a rabbit hole and one thing led to another. From what I pieced together, this made the most sense: the Italian word pifferaio means “piper or one who plays the bagpipes.” A piffero was a double reed antecedent to the oboe, and was frequently played with the zampogna or a type of bagpipe. Originally, these were rustic instruments but over time Pifferi (or those who play the pipes) provided music for important occasions. Handel, who had spent a fair amount of time in Italy, doubtless knew about this musical custom.
And yet he includes no wind instruments in his scoring of Pifa, just strings and continuo. He gives us the feel of the bagpipe by using a pedal point or drone in the bass. This soft lullaby is meant to tell us that a baby has been born, but an important one, as well as lull the shepherds and sheep to sleep in the cold hills. Handel uses a da capo format or ABA form, most commonly used in arias. The repetition of the first section soothes the listener even further as it is frequently played much softer on the return.
We hear in this recording a very small group of instrumentalists, much like would have been used in Handel’s day, but with some liberties taken. In the repeat of the A section, this recording uses an oboe and bassoon which is not in the original score, but I think enhances the idea of a bagpipe.
Learning about the pifferi has changed how I listen to this piece. I’ve always thought it was lovely, but somewhat dull, thrown into the middle of a masterpiece. Knowing the deeper meaning of what Pifa means completely changes this. I can hear the pipes, I can hear the Sicilienne, and I can hear the monotony of sitting night after night in the hills outside of Bethlehem guarding a flock of stupid sheep. To know that the pifferi announced great things, and that the greatest announcement of all time is prefaced to sleepy shepherds by a sweet lullaby, allows me to hear the subtle irony Handel infuses into this piece.
The extraordinary is masked within the ordinary, and I miss it because I don’t know what I am hearing.
