This monumental work was begun on the 22nd of August, 1741, and finished on September 14th, therefore in the short space of twenty-three days. It was performed first in Dublin on April 13th, 1742, and it won immediate success. In London it was given for the first time on March 23rd, 1743, and at this performance King George the Second was so stirred during the singing of the words, ‘For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth,’ that he rose to his feet and the whole audience followed his reverent example. From this incident sprang the familiar custom of rising during the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. The work was given thirty-four times during Handel’s lifetime and he himself directed it for the last time on April 6th, 1759, only a week before his death. The first really adequate performance of it was given in Westminster Abbey in 1784, when it was given by the largest mass of performers ever assembled up to that time, the orchestra numbering 242 and the chorus 267. This was, however, eclipsed by the performance in the Crystal Palace at the centenary of the composer’s death, when an orchestra of 460 and a choir of 2,700 performed the work. It is in three parts, the first containing the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah and the narrative of the nativity. It opens after a noble orchestral introduction with a tenor recitative and aria, ‘Comfort ye my people’ and ‘Every valley shall be exalted.’ This, like many of the Handel arias, is very ornate and requires a flexible vocal technique, single syllables being used for long florid passages. A similar illustration of this is found in the bass recitative, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ and in the middle part of the following pastoral aria, ‘But who may abide,’ where the demands upon a fluent vocal delivery are exceedingly great, especially for the naturally slow-moving bass voice. These vocal demands, however, are not confined to the solos, but appear with equal force in some of the choruses as well, a good illustration of which is the brilliant fugal chorus, ‘And he shall purify.’ This is followed by the favorite contralto solo, ‘O Thou that tellest good tidings to Zion,’ which is taken up at its close and developed by the chorus. One of the most magnificent choruses in the first part is ‘For unto us a child is born’ and this is followed by the exquisite pastoral symphony which precedes the narration of the shepherds. The contralto and soprano arias, ‘He shall feed his flock’ and ‘Come unto Him all ye that labor,’ are among the most beautiful lyric melodies of oratorio literature and these are followed by the fugal chorus which closes the first part, ‘His yoke is easy.’