Scene 1 Scene 1 is the longest scene of the oratorio and reflects the Passion, in Jennens' words "Christ's Passion; the scourging and the agony on the cross", in nine individual movements, including the longest one, the Air for alto "
He was despised". Part II is the only part opened by a chorus, and continues to be dominated by choral singing. Block observes that the emphasis on the Passion differs from modern western popular Christianity, which prefers to stress the nativity of the Messiah.
22 Behold the Lamb of God The opening chorus "Behold the Lamb of God" begins like a
French overture in
G minor, a key of "tragic presentiment", according to
Christopher Hogwood. The continuo drops an
octave, then the violins rise an octave, to express "Behold". After only three instrumental measures the voices proclaim the Testimony of
John the Baptist, , which recalls
Isaiah 53. The alto begins, followed after half a measure each by the soprano, the bass, and finally the tenor. After the initial rise, the melody falls in dotted rhythms, but rises on "that taketh away the sin of the world". The melody shows similarity to the beginning of "
He shall feed his flock", but "sharpened" from
major to
minor, from
triplets to dotted rhythm, and by the octave leap in the beginning.
23 '',
Albrecht Dürer He was despised The text in this movement comes from Isaiah's
fourth song about the
Man of Sorrows: "He was despised, rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (), indicating that "the Messiah will play a substitutionary sacrificial role on behalf of his people". Handel gives the pitiful description to the alto solo in the longest movement of the oratorio in terms of duration. It is a
da capo aria, showing two contrasting moods, set in
E-flat major in the first section,
C minor in the middle section. The vocal line begins with an ascending
fourth on "he was" and adds another one on "despi-sed", ending as a sigh. The signal of a fourth has been observed by musicologist
Rudolf Steglich as a unifying motif of the oratorio. Handel breaks the beginning of the text up to a stammering "He was despised, – despised and rejected, – rejected of men, ... – despi-sed – rejected", the words interspersed with rests as long as the words, as if exhausted. Soft sighing
motifs of the violins, an echo of the singing, drop into these rests. Hogwood interprets the unaccompanied passages as emphasizing "Christ's abandonment". The middle section is also full of dramatic rests, but now the voice is set on a ceaseless agitated pattern of fast dotted notes in the instruments, illustrating the hits of the smiters in text from the
third song (), where the words appear in the first person: "He gave his back – to the smiters – ... and His cheeks – to them – that plucked off the hair. – He hid – not his face – from shame – and spitting."
24 Surely, He hath borne our griefs The dotted rhythm returns in instruments and voices in the chorus "Surely, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows", the continuation of Isaiah's text, set in
F minor. The chorus continues with the remainder of Isaiah 53:5 and ends on the words "the chastisement of our peace was upon him".
25 And with His stripes we are healed In the same key the chorus continues with a
fugue "And with His stripes we are healed". The theme begins with a sequence of five long notes, which Mozart quoted in the
Kyrie-fugue of his
Requiem. The characteristic ascending fourth opens the countersubject. The word "healed" is later stressed by both long
melismas and long notes.
26 All we like sheep Still continuing Isaiah's text, "All we like sheep, have gone astray" is set as a fast chorus in F-major on a walking bass with irregular patterns and leaps. The voices utter twice together "All we like sheep", then two voice parts move simultaneously in different directions on "have gone astray", with the last syllable extended to eleven notes. The next bit of the text "we have turned" is illustrated by fast coloraturas, lacking direction. In a dramatic sudden adagio, full of
chromatic tension, the movement ends on "and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all". Myers comments about the chorus, which seems out of place at first sight: "In Handel's famous chorus sin glories in its shame with almost alcoholic exhilaration. His lost sheep meander hopelessly through a wealth of intricate semi quavers, stumbling over decorous roulades and falling into mazes of counterpoint that prove inextricable. A less dramatic composer than Handel would scarcely have rendered his solemn English text with such defiance, for the discrepancy between the self-accusing words and his vivacious music is patent to any listener emancipated from the lethargy of custom." The movement is based on the final section of the duet for two sopranos "Nò, di voi non vo' fidarmi" (translation: No, I don’t want to trust you) (HWV 189, July 1741).
27 All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn The thought "All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn" is taken from
Psalm 22 (), the psalm from which Jesus quoted on the cross, according to
Mark and
Matthew. The text is set as a short tenor accompagnato, again based on a pattern of dotted notes in the instruments. The strings through in violent figures after "laugh Him to scorn" and "shoot out their lips", similar to an outburst of laughter. The key of
B-flat minor is termed "remote and barbarous" by Hogwood.
28 He trusted in God, that He would deliver Him What they say is given to the chorus as a strict fugue in
C minor: "He trusted in God, that He would deliver Him, if He delight in Him" (from Matthew 27:43).
Jonathan Keates observes that Handel depicts the mocking, menacing crowd here, comparable to the turbae in
Bach's Passions.
29 Thy rebuke hath broken His heart The tenor returns to sing a verse of the Psalm 69: "Thy rebuke hath broken His heart" (). Aching chromatic chords picture the broken heart. The accompagnato begins in
A-flat major, shifts without stability and ends in
B major. The tenor voice, going to report death and resurrection in scene 2, is comparable to the
Evangelist in the
Passions of Bach.
30 Behold, and see if there be any sorrow The tenor
arioso "Behold, and see if there be any sorrow" () is based on text from the
Book of Lamentations which is frequently associated with
Good Friday, both Jesus and his mother
Mary, although it originally lamented the
destruction of Jerusalem. In the short movement in
E minor, the accompaniment pauses rather regularly on the first and third beat of a measure.
Scene 2 Scene 2 covers death and resurrection in two tenor solo movements.
31 He was cut off out of the land of the living In a restrained way, the death of the Messiah is told in another tenor accompagnato, as foretold by Isaiah, "He was cut off out of the land of the living" (). Long chords begin in
B minor and end in
E major.
32 But Thou didst not leave his soul in hell His resurrection is again told by the tenor in an Air according to
Psalm 16, "But Thou didst not leave his soul in hell" ().
Scene 3 Scene 3 refers in a chorus to the ascension.
33 Lift up your heads "Lift up your heads" is a line from
Psalm 24 (). Since the text has questions ("Who is the King of Glory?") and answers ("He is the King of Glory"), Handel divides the choir in the first section to a high, announcing group (sopranos I and II, alto) and a low, questioning group (alto, tenor, bass).
Scene 4 Scene 4 covers the Messiah's position in heaven, following the teaching from the
Epistle to the Hebrews in two verses, .
34 Unto which of the angels said he at any time In a short recitative the tenor renders the first verse, quoting
Hebrews (), "Unto which of the angels said he at any time", about the Messiah as the begotten
Son of God.
35 Let all the angels of God worship Him The second verse "Let all the angels of God worship Him" (Hebrews 1:6) is a festive chorus in
D major.
Scene 5 Scene 5 alludes to
Pentecost and the beginning of preaching the Gospel.
36 Thou art gone up on high Pentecost is referred to rather indirectly, without naming the Holy Spirit. "Thou art gone up on high" from
Psalm 68 () reflects "gifts for men" and "that God might dwell among them", expressed in swinging time. Originally written for bass, Handel rewrote the Air in London in 1750 for the castrato
Gaetano Guadagni. However, the earlier editions (Novello, Best and Prout) all give this air to the Bass, in D minor; the current Novello edition by Watkins Shaw, as well as the Bäreneiter edition by John Tobin and the CF Peters edition by Donald Burrows all give the air to Alto (in D minor), and they provide transpositions for Soprano and Bass as well.
37 The Lord gave the word The thoughts are continued in an earlier verse from the same psalm () as a chorus in
B-flat major. "The Lord gave the word" is sung by just two voice parts, "Great was the company of the preachers" expanded for four parts with long coloraturas on "company".
38 How beautiful are the feet of Him The preachers are described tenderly in a duet in D minor and time, as written first by Isaiah () and quoted by Paul in his
Epistle to the Romans (: "How beautiful are the feet of Him". Two alto voices begin and are joined by the choir, stressing "good tidings", "break forth into joy" and culminating on a
cantus firmus of one repeated note: "Thy God reigneth!" Block, quoting , reflects that you see the feet of a messenger if you "fall prostrate before a superior. In the Bible, when people are confronted by a heavenly messenger (angel) the natural response is to fall down on one's face before the messenger." Handel's original version, a duet in D minor for two altos and chorus or soprano, alto and chorus, was later rewritten by him in 1749 as an aria for soprano in G minor and time and in 1750 transposed for alto in C minor.
39 Their sound is gone out into all lands Based on a number of Bible references, a tenor arioso describes the preachers further: "Their sound is gone out into all lands" (, ). In another Handel's version (so called version B), which is commonly preferred by performers now, the same text is set to new music and scored for chorus.
Scene 6 Scene 6 shows the difficulties and rejection of the preaching, based on four consecutive verses from
Psalm 2, . It is the first text in the oratorio actually referring to the Messiah, the "anointed one" (verse 2).
40 Why do the nations so furiously rage together An Air for bass in
C major, accompanied by an orchestra in continuous motion, tells of the difficulties. "Why do the nations so furiously rage together". Several terms, such as "Rage", are expressed by long melismas in
triplets. Handel originally wrote a long 96-bar version of this air, skipping the da capo repeat. In an alternate version, he removed the last 58 bars and replaced them with a recitative setting of the second verse of the scripture.
41 Let us break their bonds asunder The choir continues the thought; the intention "Let us break their bonds asunder" is expressed in a fast succession of entries of the voices.
42 He that dwelleth in heaven The text continues in a short tenor recitative: "He that dwelleth in heaven".
Scene 7 Scene 7 is called "God's triumph" by Jennens.
43 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron A forceful Air for tenor tells of God's power against enemies, again taken from Psalm 2: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron" ().
44 Hallelujah Part II closes with the
Hallelujah chorus which became famous as a stand-alone piece, set in the key of
D major with trumpets and timpani. The choir introduces
Hallelujah, repeated in
homophony, in a characteristic simple
motif for the word, playing with the interval of a
second, which re-appears throughout the piece. Several lines from the
Book of Revelation (, ) are treated differently, as in a
motet, but unified by "Hallelujah" as a conclusion or as a countersubject in a fugal section. The line "for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" is sung by all voices, first in
unison, then in imitation with Hallelujah-exclamations interspersed. (The melody is based on the fugue theme from Corelli's "Fuga a Quattro Voci".) The second line "The kingdom of this world is become" is sung in a four-part setting like a
chorale. The third idea "and He shall reign for ever and ever" starts as a fugue on a theme with bold leaps, reminiscent in sequence of
Philipp Nicolai's
Lutheran chorale "
Wachet auf". As a countersubject, the words "for ever – and ever" assume the rhythm of the Hallelujah-motif. The final acclamation "King of Kings...and Lord of Lords" is sung on one note, energized by repeated calls Hallelujah and "for ever – and ever", raised higher and higher in the sopranos and trumpets, up to a rest full of tension and a final solemn Hallelujah. == References ==