Handel’s Messiah: The Creative Process

The soundtrack of the Christmas season for many music lovers, Messiah is performed annually by choral societies across the world. And so, perhaps unsurprisingly, many aspects of it have been explored by scholars over the years. The work is the subject of several listeners’ guides and there are a number of books and articles of various lengths that describe the biographical circumstances of the work’s formation and details of its many performances, many including lists of singers for each performance (an area that has itself spawned a whole field of research).

There has been no extensive study of the creative process of Messiah, however, since 1969. This book seeks to redress this imbalance by providing a thorough investigation of the work’s creative process. Beginning with the creative process of the libretto, it examines the earliest sketches, Handel’s use of pre-existent material, alterations made to the autograph score, and the latest versions of movements. Each stage of composition is examined via primary source material, with particular reference to the autograph score and conducting score. Each chapter is formed as a case study and contains related discussion points for use in teaching or study settings.