Hallelujah (Handel)
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Hallelujah is a composition for four-part choir and orchestra by Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759). He wrote the piece of music in London in 1741 as part of his oratorio Messiah (" Messiah "). Today it is one of the most famous musical works of all.
context
Handel's oratorios are dramatic works without scenic representation, consisting of instrumental pieces, recitatives , arias and choirs in English. The plot is mostly based on ancient models or the Old Testament . Unlike Bach's oratorios and passions, they were not intended for ecclesiastical liturgy . Messiah , however, has a special position because the text compiled by Charles Jennens consists exclusively of Bible words and its subject is Jesus Christ himself. This blurs the line between concert and church service .
Hallelujah is the final chorus of the second of the three parts of the oratorio. It forms the doxological conclusion of the salvation history that has already taken place, from the prophetic expectation about the birth and pastoral work of the Savior, his suffering and death, his resurrection and ascension to the spread of the gospel over the whole earth. The third part is the eschatological outlook. This third part, the future completion of God's reign , is anticipated in a certain way by the Hallelujah when it proclaims with the host of angels from the Revelation of John that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of the Lord. In this respect, it can be seen as the climax and summary of the entire "plot".
structure
text
| English text |
translation |
German version |
|
Alleluia! |
Musical means
The almost 4-minute piece is in D major , the festival and royal key of baroque music . At first the orchestra only starts with the strings, then timpani and trumpets are added in an effective increase.
The fanfare-like Hallelujah call with its anapaestic continuation, which changes in the fourth interval from the overtone to the dominant, forms the unit element of the sequence. The four other themes that interpret the text sound partly alternating, partly in counterpoint with him: a symmetrically ascending and descending unison motif for Lord God Omnipotent , a melody for the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God contrasting lows and highs , a fugue theme that rises ecstatically on “he” and “reign” for the advent of the Messiah and a tone repeater in long note values for the king of kings, whose rule is timeless. This last motif is repeated several times, one tone higher, so that the visual impression of angelic choirs outbid each other results, whose praise with the drawn-out plagal closing of the last Hallelujah leads to the divine glory itself.
reception
The Hallelujah shared the history of the Messiah's reception , but took a special place in it early on. As early as 1750, there is evidence of the custom of getting up when it is sounded - at that time apparently also in other choir places. The first document that traces this custom back to the example of King George II at the first London performance in 1743 comes from 1780 by a non-eyewitness - contemporary evidence, even for the king's presence, is missing. The custom is more plausibly explained by the worship service atmosphere, which gave rise to the Hallelujah in the concert hall and which turned the “audience” into “worshipers”. Getting up at the Hallelujah is still common today, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world, but has long also been culturally and ideologically controversial.
Independently of the oratorio, the Hallelujah has achieved a popularity through sound media of all kinds that makes it widely applicable for quotations and ironic references.
literature
- Hubert Wißkirchen : Georg Friedrich Händel: Hallelujah (from the Messiah) . In: Sigmund Helms and Klaus Velten (eds.): Musical works in lessons , Volume 1, Regensburg 1988
- Matthew Guerrieri: Rise and say 'Hallelujah' , The Boston Globe , December 12, 2009
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ netzwerk-lernen.de
- ↑ after Wißkirchen, see literature
- ↑ after Guerrieri, see literature
- ↑ Example from the Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz
