Page "Messiah (Handel)" Paragraph 126

The opening soprano solo in E major, " I know that my Redeemer liveth " is one of the few numbers in the oratorio that has remained unrevised from its original form.

its simple unison violin accompaniment and its consoling rhythms apparently brought tears to Burney's eyes.

It is followed by a quiet chorus that leads to the bass's declamation in D major: " Behold, I tell you a mystery ", then the long aria " The trumpet shall sound ", marked pomposo ma non allegro (" dignified but not fast ").

Handel originally wrote this in da capo form, but shortened it to dal segno, probably before the first performance.

The extended trumpet fanfare that precedes and accompanies the voice is the only significant instrumental solo in the entire oratorio.

Handel's awkward, repeated stressing of the fourth syllable of " incorruptible " may have been the source of the 18th century poet William Shenstone's comment that he " could observe some parts in Messiah wherein Handel's judgements failed him ; where the music was not equal, or was even opposite, to what the words required ".

After a brief solo recitative, the alto is joined by the tenor for the only duet in Handel's final version of the music, " O death, where is thy sting?

" The melody is adapted from Handel's 1722 cantata Se tu non lasci amore, and is in Luckett's view the most successful of the Italian borrowings.

The duet runs straight into the chorus " But thanks be to God ".