(Daventry only) TIME Signal.
A Sacred Oratorio by HANDEL
With additional accompaniments, edited by EBENEZER PROUT
DORA LABBETTE (Soprano);
ELSIE BLACK (Contralto);
LEONARD GOWINGS (Tenor) : HAROLD Williams (Baritone)
THE WIRELESS CHORUS
The WIRELESS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
(Leader, S. KNEALE KELLY )
Conducted by STANFORD ROBINSON
.
I DID think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself!' cried Handel, when he had written the last notes of the Hallelujah Chorus, thus completing the Second Part of Messiah. This great Oratorio was written in no more than twenty-four days in the summer of 1741, yet, nearly two centuries after its composition, it is generally regarded as Handel's supreme achievement, and one of the greatest musical works in existence.
Messiah is written for the usual four Soloists,
Chorus and Orchestra. The whole work is subdivided into three Parts. Considerable ' cuts ' are usually made in it, but for the sake of completeness, the opening words of every number are here quoted.
PART I
1. The First Part opens with an Overture, in two distinct sections, the first broad and dignified. the second quicker, strong and spirited. Then follow Isaiah's prophecies of the coming Messiah.
2-3. Tenor Solos. ' Comfort ye my people' ; and 'Every valley shall be exalted.'
4. Chorus. ' And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.'
5-6. Bass Solos. 'Thus saith.the Lord ...
I will shake the heavens and the earth'; and ' But who may abide the day of His coming ... For He is like a refiner's fire.'
7. Chorus. ' And He shall purify the sons of Levi.'
8-9. Contralto Solos. ' Behold ! a virgin shall conceive ' ; and ' 0 thou that tellest good tidings.' Chorus takes up these last words.
10-11. Bass Solos. 'For behold, darkness shall cover the earth ... but the Lord shall arise ' ; and ' The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.'
12. Chorus. ' For unto us a Child is born.'
13. There comes here a beautiful contrast, as very softly the Orchestra plays the simple, dream-like Pastoral Symphony, a picture of the shepherds keeping their night-watch in the fields. (This is not, of course, a ' Symphony ' in the modern sense of a big-seale independent orchestral work. but only a short instrumental interlude.)
14-16. Soprano Solos. 'There were shepherds .... And lo! the angel of the Lord came .... And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host.'
17. Chorus. ' Glory to God in the highest.' 18. Soprano Solo. 'Rejoice greatly!'
19-20. Contralto and Soprano Solos. Contralto. ' Then shall the eyes of the blind'; and ' He shall feed His flock '; Soprano, ' Come unto Him, all ye that labour.' (It is usual for these Solos to be sung thus, instead of the whole being sung by Soprano, us given in some of the older scores.)
21. Chorus. 'His yoke is easy.'
A Prophet who was obeyed
2 Chronicles, Chapter xv, Verses 1-15
(Continued)
PART II
The opening of the Second Part speaks of the 22. Chorus. ' Behold the Lamb of God.' 23. Contralto Solo. 'He was despised.'
24. Chorus. 'Surely, He hath borne our griefs.' 25. Chorus ' And with His stripes we are healed.'
26. Chorus. ' All we, like sheep, have gone astray.'
27. Tenor Solo (Short Recitative). ' 'All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn.'
28. Chorus. ' He trusted in God.'
29-30. Tenor Solos. ' Thy rebuke hath broken
His heart': and ' Behold, and see if there be any sorrow, like unto His sorrow.'
31-32. Tenor Solos. ' He was cut off : and 'But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell.'
33. Chorus. ' lift up your heads,-O ve gates !
... Who is the King of Glory ? The Lord strong and mighty .... The Lord of Hosts.'
34. Tenor Solo. (Short Recitative.) ' Unto which of the angels said He ..." Thou art my son ' ' ?
35. Chorus. 'Let' all the angels of God worship Him.'
36. Bass Solo. ' Thou art gone up on high.' 37. Chorus. ' The Lord gave the word; great was the company of the preachers.
38. Soprano Solo.
'How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace.'
39. Chorus. ' Their sound is gone out into all lands.'
40. Bass Solo. 'Why do the nations furiously rage together ? '
41. Chorus. 'Let us break their bonds.'
42-43. Tenor Solos. 'He that dweUeth ir, heaven shall laugh them to scorn'; and ' Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.'
44. The Hallelujah Chorus. ' Hallelujah !
For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.'
PART III
45. Soprano Solo. ' I know that rny redeemer liveth.'
46-49. Chorus. These next four numbers are, perhaps, the most dramatic part of the whole work. The subdued solemn ' Since by man came death,' is answered triumphantly with ' By man came also the resurrection of the dead ' ; similarly, ' For as in Adam all die ' is answered by ' Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.'
50-51. Bass Solos. ' Behold, I tell you a mystery : We shall not all sleep ' ; and ' The trumpet shall sound.'
52. Contralto Solo (Recitative). 'Then shall be brought to pass the saying " Death is swallowed up in victory." '
53. Contralto and Tenor Duet. '0 death. where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory ? '
54. Chorus, But thanks be to God, Who giveth us the victory.'
55. Soprano Solo. ' 'If God be for us, who can be against us ? '
56. Chorus. is the Lamb Blessing and honour be unto Him.'
57. Chorus. ' Amen.'
ADDRESS BY
THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE BELLS
Hymn, 'Eternal Father, strong to save' (A. and M. 370)
The General Confession and The Lord's Prayer 'Special Thanksgivings and The General Thanksgiving
Psalm 23
Lesson, Isaiah xxxv Psalm 67
Special Biddings to Prayer The Grace
Hymn
Sermon by His Grace The Archbishop of Canterbury
Hymn, God be with you till we meet again '
(English Hymnal 524)
The Blessing
The sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury tonight is specially notable on account of the message to listeners on lightships that it will contain. The movement to supply wireless to the lightsmen who, whether on lightships or on lighthouses, are often almost entirely cut off from their kind, was started by the Missions to Seamen in 1926, when fifteen wireless sets were provided. At Christmas a fund was opened by the Daily News and Star, and in ten days enough money was received to give the boon of wireless to all the lightsmen around our coasts. All, therefore, are now in a position to hear the special message that the Primate will broadcast tonight.
UNTIL 1909, Crosby Hall , a beautiful old building of the fifteenth century, stood in the City. In that year it was removed, stone by stone, to Chelsea, and it has now been acquired by the British Federation of University Women to serve as a club-house for women students from all over the world. There are forty-seven study-bedrooms, and women graduates from Universities abroad can carry on research work under the most favourable conditions and at the same time gain experience by meeting each other. f45,000 has already been collected by University women, and Professor Winifred Cullis , their President (who will be remembered for her series of talks on ' Health and Common-sense,' broadcast early this year) is now appealing for another £5,000 to complete the scheme for the new wing.
Contributions should be sent to [address removed]
Elizabeth Schumann (Soprano); Keith Falkner (Baritone); Arthur Catterall (Violin); Harriet Cohen (Pianoforte)
Mighty Lord is the first Bass air in the Christmas Oratario. It sings the praise of Him 'Who all things doth sustain,' and Who, disdaining earthly state, lay in a manger.
The 'Arioso' is one of the beautiful meditations with which the story of the Passion is, in Bach's work, interspersed. This one comes after the- scene of the Crucifixion, when Pilate has delivered the body of Jesus to Joseph of Arimathea.
