Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 2.djvu/556

544 Aria di bravura, in 'Rejoice greatly.' Even the minor divisions are no less clearly represented. We recognise the Cavatina in 'Sin not, O king'; the Aria d'imitazione in 'Their land brought forth frogs'; the Aria all' unisono in 'Honour and arms'; and the Aria concertata in 'Let the bright Seraphim': and it is worthy of remark that the classification is marked with equal precision, whether the examples be selected from dramatic or epic works. So far as Airs were concerned, Handel found plenty of room for his genius to assert itself within the limits defined by universal custom. But, with his Choruses, the case was very different. Here, he was absolutely free. Fashion had made no attempt to interfere with choral writing—in fact, such choral writing as his had not yet been heard. It is from him that we learn what a Chorus ought to be—and he presents it to us in an endless variety of forms. Sometimes he uses it—as it is frequently used in Greek Tragedy—as a means of drawing a lesson from some portion of the dramatic story, or moralising upon some event mentioned in the epic narrative. He has so used it in 'Envy, eldest born of Hell,' 'Is there a man?' and 'O fatal consequence of rage,' in Saul; 'The name of the wicked,' in Solomon; 'Thus, one with every virtue crowned,' in Joseph; and in innumerable other cases. Sometimes he is forcibly dramatic; as in 'Help! help the King!' in Belshazzar; or, 'We come, in bright array,' in Judas Macchabaeus. More frequently, he is descriptive, as in 'He gave them hailstones,' 'Eagles were not so swift as they,' and a hundred other instances with which the reader's memory will readily supply him. In this form of expression he never fails to produce a marvellous effect. No matter what may be the subject he undertakes to illustrate, he is always equal to it. In 'Chear her, Baal,' and 'May no rash intruder,' he soothes us with his delicious Accompaniments. In 'He sent a thick darkness,' we shudder at the awful gloom. In 'See the conquering Hero comes,' he conjures up a Scene which presents itself before us, in all its successive details, with the fidelity of a Dutch picture. But here, even when the subject is sacred, he speaks only of its earthly surroundings. When he would raise our thoughts to Heaven, he uses means which seem simple enough, when we subject them to a technical analysis, but which nevertheless possess a power which no audience can resist—the power of compelling the hearer to regard the subject from the Composer's point of view. Now, that point of view was always a sincerely devout one: and so it comes to pass that no one can scoff at the 'Messiah.' We may go to hear it in any spirit we please: but we shall come away impressed, in spite of ourselves, and confess that Handel's will, in this matter, is stronger than ours. He bids us 'Behold the Lamb of God'; and we feel that he has helped us to do so. He tells us that 'With His stripes we are healed'; and we are sensible, not of the healing only, but of the cruel price at which it was purchased. And we yield him equal obedience when he calls upon us to join him in his Hymns of Praise. Who, hearing the noble subject of 'I will sing unto the Lord' led off by the Tenors, and Altos, does not long to reinforce their voices with his own? Who does not feel a choking in his throat before the first bar of the 'Hallelujah Chorus' is completed, though he may be listening to it for the hundredth time? Hard indeed must his heart be who can refuse to hear when Handel preaches through the Voices of his Chorus. But it is not alone with voices that he speaks. The Orchestra was his slave: and by its aid he teaches us much that is worthy of our attention. It is true that we are very rarely permitted to hear what he has to say, as an instrumentalist: but, his secrets are worth finding out; and, though the subject is a vexed one, we do not intend to let it pass undiscussed.

The Orchestra, in Handel's time, consisted of a smaller Stringed Band than we are accustomed to use at the present day; but the Violins were reinforced by a greater number of Oboes, and the Basses, by a far stronger body of Bassoons. Flutes were chiefly used as Solo Instruments; but sometimes played in unison with the Oboes. The Brass Instruments were, Trumpets (doubled ad libitum), with Drums for their natural Bass; Horns; and Trombones (Alto, Tenor, and Bass), when the character of the music demanded their presence. The Harp, Viola da gamba, and other soft Instruments were occasionally used for obbligato accompaniments, in which they sometimes played an important part. The Organ was used throughout; and its part was provided for by the Figures of the Thoroughbass, which served also for the Harpsichord. With these means at his command, Handel was able to accomplish all that his fiery genius suggested; and his method of combining and contrasting the various elements of which his Band was composed may be studied with very great profit. It was his constant practice, in Airs of the cantabile class, to leave the Voice quite free from instrumental embarrassments, and supported only by the Basses, and the Chords indicated beneath the Thorough-Bass—which Chords were supplied either by the Harpsichord, or the Organ. Sometimes, the Symphonies to these Airs were played, like those usually found in the Aria di portamento, by the Violins in unison, which, thus used, between the vocal phrases, produced double their ordinary effect. In the grander Airs, the Accompaniments were much more elaborate, and served to contrast these pieces strongly with those of the former class. In the Choruses, though the entire Band was brought into constant requisition, there were often long and highly complicated passages accompanied solely by the Organ and the Basses; and, in cases of this description, the introduction of the Violins, at certain important points, produced a very striking effect—as in the 'Amen Chorus' of the 'Messiah'—not unlike that to which we have already alluded in speaking of the Symphonies of the Aria cantabile. When the Trumpets and Drums were introduced, it was always with electrical effect. Handel never