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The Messiah Music
Listen to the music online.

Messiah music midi file
Another version to listen to online

Messiah Interpretation, Appreciation, and Midi of the music
Listen and learn at the same time.

The Messiah Libretto
the complete text of the oratorio

History of Messiah performances and rearrangements
since Handel’s time

Video on the 1992 Calvary Temple performance
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And the Glory . . .

by Traute Klein, biogardener

When adversity threatened to destroy the life of George Frederic Handel, he came face to face with God. During those sacred three weeks in 1741, the Messiah was born. It still comes to life each December when Calvary Temple in Winnipeg performs a dramatized version before an audience of 10,000.

"And the glory, the glory of the Lord, shall be revealed."

Thus starts the first chorus, my favorite, of the world's best known oratorio, George Frederic Handel's "Messiah." I cannot count the number of times that I have sung it, but I will never get tired of it. I know all four parts by memory, soprano, alto, tenor, bass, yet I am as thrilled to sing it the hundredth time as I was the first. Great music lifts the heart and turns our spirit heavenward.

Remarkably, a German composer, Georg Friedrich Händel, came to write the most heavenly music in the English language. I am going to publish the story behind this unusual occurrence on my Healing Hug site. Here I want to tell you about the Winnipeg church which pioneered the dramatization of the oratorio and has kept up the tradition for 19 consecutive years.

For eight days in December, the congregation of Calvary Temple, will perform a dramatization of Handel's Messiah in the largest sanctuary of the province. The entire facility is transformed into a backdrop for the presentation. The action takes place on the staircases to the balcony, in the aisles, and on the stage in front of the choir and orchestra. Two large screens above either side of the stage make sure that everyone can see all of the action. Everyone except the members of the choir, that is, which includes me.

The life of Jesus is acted out in vignettes, woven into a present-day story to which everyone can relate. The drama is rewritten every year, and the Messiah music is selected to accompany the drama.

Musicians and singers are volunteers. All soloists are regular choir members. They audition for the various parts every year. Two of the soloists last year were just in their mid-teens. Some soloists sing their arias as actors on the stage or somewhere in the church.

Admission has always been free. People travel long distances to witness the performance, from all over Manitoba, from the surrounding provinces, and from the United States. About 2,000 people fill the church for each of the five performances.

Pass it on.

The church has prepared material to help other churches to launch their version of a Messiah drama, but I am not aware of how many churches have actually succeeded in their endeavor. I found only one on the Internet in 2000 in the First Baptist Church in Hendersonville, NC.

Unfortunately, Calvary Temple's new pastor has chosen to lead the church in a different direction. There have been no Messiah performances since 2002. As a result, the musicians and performers, including me, have scattered among other churches in the city. People who recognize me ask me when Calvary Temple will again perform the Messiah, because it was such a blessing to them. I have no answer for them, but I invite them to concerts at the church where I am now singing.