Handel wrote Messiah for modest vocal and instrumental forces, with optional settings for many of the individual numbers. In Part III he covers the resurrection of the dead and Christ's glorification in heaven. In Part II, Handel concentrates on the Passion and ends with the " Hallelujah" chorus. The text begins in Part I with prophecies by Isaiah and others, and moves to the annunciation to the shepherds, the only "scene" taken from the Gospels. Instead, Jennens's text is an extended reflection on Jesus as the Messiah called Christ. Although its structure resembles that of opera, it is not in dramatic form there are no impersonations of characters and no direct speech. He turned to English oratorio in the 1730s in response to changes in public taste Messiah was his sixth work in this genre. Handel's reputation in England, where he had lived since 1712, had been established through his compositions of Italian opera. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later. Messiah (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible, and from the Coverdale Psalter, the version of the Psalms included with the Book of Common Prayer.
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