For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
~ Isaiah 9:6
Isaiah and Handel... What a powerful combination these two make! Handel's Messiah is an English-language oratorio (kind of like an opera but with different structure to the lyrics and melodic lines) and is perhaps one of the crown jewels in the greats of Christmas. The libretto (words) were drawn primarily from the King James version of the Bible and were put together by Charles Jennens. Much of the text in the first part of Messiah comes from the writings of Isaiah. Handel composed the music. Interestingly enough, he would usually tweak the score at each performance to suit the exact ensemble he was working with, so there are many different versions. Mozart also made an arrangement changing some of the instrumentation. Bottom line, this is a great one! Click here to listen to "For Unto Us a Child is Born." Or here to listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performing the Hallelujah chorus!
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