Handel’s ‘Messiah’

Synopsis

In the mid-to-late 19th century, Handel’s ‘Messiah’ was adopted and inflated by the Victorians into a series of epic concerts at the Crystal Palace. But how did the original treatment and the modern fashion for ‘authentic’ presentation relate to the original conditions of the ‘Messiah’s’ composition and performance? Investigates the written evidence for the actual composition, including Handel’s original autograph score, the conducting score he used later and other relevant Handelian works, with musical illustrations recorded at Jenkyn Place, home of the Gerald Coke Handel Collection.
It becomes clear that for Handel himself performance was inseparable from composition. Explores the conditions of performance in Handel’s time and establishes that that too, was not fixed and defined but dependant on the available artists for example, and on how those artists treated the material. Concludes that there is no definite written version of ‘Messiah’, but rather that it is a musical work of some flexibility and exists properly only in performance.

Series

Arts Foundation Course, An: Course A102

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 25 min.

Year of production

1986

Availability

Off-air recording licence
Sale; 1998 sale: £85.00 (+VAT +p&p)

Subjects

Music

Keywords

Handel, George Frederick; oratorios

Credits

Producer

Tony Coe

Cast

Donald Burrows

Production Company

Name

BBC Open University Productions

Distributor

Name

Open University Worldwide

Web

http://www.ouw.co.uk External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 1908 274066

Address

Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA

Notes

NB. As of May 2016 Open University Worldwide are no longer distributing DVDs. They have posted this message on their website: ‘Unfortunately Open University Worldwide Limited has decided that product sales are no longer viable given the reduced funding to Higher Education institutions and diminishing demand for the products we have traditionally stocked. At present the Open University Students Association (OUSA) will continue to sell the "Good Study Guide", and we are in discussion with other possible distributors to continue to make The Open University’s products available for purchase. As soon as we have any information on other channels of distribution we will update this notice’. Some products are still available via second hand dealers on Amazon.co.uk