Main content

Handel's Messiah: Hallelujah!

Tom Service lifts the lid on Handel's Messiah.

Written in just 24 days, premiered in Dublin almost 280 years ago, and performed thousands of times since, Handel’s β€˜Messiah’ is one of the most popular choral works of all time. A staple of many amateur and professional festive concert seasons, it’s also raised huge amounts of money for charity through the annual Foundling Hospital performances and Scratch Messiahs, which now take place all over the world.

But what exactly is the Messiah? How and why did Handel write it? And does its familiarity make us take it for granted? Tom Service investigates…

Producer: Ruth Thomson

Available now

29 minutes

Last on

Fri 2 Dec 2022 16:30

Music Played

  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Ambrosian Singers. Performer: English Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
    • VIRGIN.
    • VTDCD-323.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Saul - oratorio in 3 acts

    Performer: Sixteen Orchestra. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • CORO.
    • COR 16103.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Saul - oratorio in 3 acts

    Performer: Sixteen Orchestra. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • CORO.
    • COR 16103.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Sixteen Orchestra. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • CORO.
    • COR 16062.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Nicholas Mulroy. Performer: Dunedin Consort. Conductor: John Butt.
    • Linn.
    • CKD 285.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Maldwyn Davies. Performer: Sixteen Orchestra. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • HYPERION.
    • CDD-22019.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Matthew Brook. Performer: Dunedin Consort. Conductor: John Butt.
    • Linn.
    • CKD 285.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Emma Kirkby. Performer: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Conductor: Christopher Hogwood.
    • Decca.
    • 430 4882.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Claire Wilkinson. Performer: Dunedin Consort. Conductor: John Butt.
    • Linn.
    • CKD 285.
  • Henry Purcell

    Dido and Aeneas - opera in 3 acts Z.626

    Performer: Sarah Connolly. Performer: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Performer: Elizabeth Kenny. Performer: Steven Devine.
    • CHANDOS.
    • CHAN-0757.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Le Concert d’AstrΓ©e. Conductor: Emmanuelle HaΓ―m.
    • Erato.
    • GBAYC1402237.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Kobie van Rensburg. Performer: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Conductor: RenΓ© Jacobs.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
    • HMC 901928/29.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Nicholas Mulroy. Performer: Dunedin Consort. Conductor: John Butt.
    • Linn.
    • CKD 285.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Dunedin Consort. Conductor: John Butt.
    • Linn.
    • CKD 285.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Quel fior che all' alba ride - Italian duet no.15 HWV.192 for 2 sopranos and continuo

    Performer: Emma Kirkby. Performer: Judith Nelson. Performer: Susan Sheppard. Performer: Christopher Hogwood.
    • Decca.
    • 478 7106.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Annie Gill. Performer: Nicholas Mulroy. Performer: Dunedin Consort. Conductor: John Butt.
    • Linn.
    • CKD 285.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Se tu non lasci amore - Italian duet no.14 HWV.193 for soprano, alto and continuo

    Performer: Roberta Invernizzi. Performer: Marina de Liso. Performer: La Risonanza.
    • Glossa.
    • GCD 921516.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Handel Festival Chorus. Performer: Handel Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Henry Wood.
    • Symposium.
    • SYMPCD-1251.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Huddersfield Choral Society. Performer: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Malcolm Sargent.
    • EMI.
    • 5757762.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Royal Philharmonic Chorus. Performer: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Thomas Beecham.
    • RCA.
    • 09026-61266-2.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: English Baroque Soloists. Performer: Monteverdi Choir. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
    • PHILIPS.
    • 434 297-2.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Huddersfield Choral Society. Conductor: Malcolm Sargent.
    • EMI.
    • 5757762.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Vicki Brown. Performer: George Parker. Performer: The New London Chorale. Performer: TOM PARKER.
    • RCA.
    • G010000267536A.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Gabrieli Consort. Performer: Gabrieli Players. Performer: Paul McCreesh.
    • Archiv.
    • E453 4642.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Sounds of Blackness.
    • Reprise.
    • 9 26980-2.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah

    Performer: Les Arts Florissants Orchestra. Performer: William Christie.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
    • HAF 890149899.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 12 Dec 2021 17:00
  • Fri 17 Dec 2021 16:30
  • Fri 2 Dec 2022 16:30

Why do we call it 'classical' music?

Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).

Six of the world's most extreme voices

From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?

How did the number 12 revolutionise music?

How did the number 12 revolutionise music?

How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.

Why are we all addicted to bass?

Why are we all addicted to bass?

Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.

Watch the animations

Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.

When does noise become music?

We like to think we can separate β€œnoise” from β€œmusic”, but is it that simple?

Podcast