Shepherds and Angels

After the Pastoral Symphony in Handel's Messiah comes the soprano's delight. I should know. I am a soprano and I used to sing this. Only one time was it not a delight and that was at a college Christmas concert, when I had my usual Christmas laryngitis. (which is a whole nuther story)

The soprano sings from Luke 2:8-13: "There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying:"

To which the chorus responds: "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will towards men."

What a thrill!

Following this, is more prophecy from the books of Zechariah and Isaiah which tell about Jesus' earthly life. (Remember they were written more than 500 years before Jesus was born.) The soprano sings, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy king cometh unto thee. He is the righteous Saviour, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen." (Zechariah 9:9-10)

From Isaiah 35:5-6 an alto sings, "Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing."

Yep, that's Jesus.

She continues: "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, and He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young." (Isaiah 40:11)

This was beautifully pictured in a stained glass window over the choir loft in the church I attended as a child. I stared at it every Sunday and loved it.

The soprano extends the invitation: "Come unto Him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and He shall give you rest. Take His yoke upon you and learn of Him; for He is meek and lowly of heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)

To end Part I of the Messiah, the chorus responds, "His yoke is easy and His burden is light."

Thus ends the Christmas portion of the Messiah. But wait, you say. Where is the Hallelujah Chorus? Hm-m-m, I think I'll tell you next time.
Merry Christmas,
Paulita