Area of Study 1 - Handel - And the Glory of the Lord

Handel - And the Glory of the Lord

And the Glory of the Lord was composed by George Frederic Handel in 1741, in the baroque period (1600 – 1750). He died in 1759 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. The song is the first chorus for voices and orchestral accompaniment from the oratorio 'Messiah'.  An oratorio is a religious opera, when operas were banned during lent by the church, the oratorio became very popular. Handel wrote Messiah in only 24 days. And the Glory of the Lord was first performed in Dublin, Ireland.

The work is made up of the following 4 motifs:
Motif A: 'And The Glory Of The Lord...'
This motif if first heard by the alto part in bars 11-14 of the work. It's syllabic, and The first 3 chords outline the A major chord (which is the main key of the work). It also ends in the last 3 notes of the A major scale which defines the key. A low A played at the start and a high A played at the end sets a mood of confidence.

Motif B: 'Shall be revealed...'
This motif is introduced by the tenor part in bars 17-20. The word 'revealed' is mellismatic (several notes to one syllable of text). It consists largely of the same pattern of notes repeated a…