EDWARD'S LECTURE NOTES:
More notes at http://tanguay.info/learntracker
C O U R S E
Handel’s Messiah and Baroque Oratorio
Thomas Kelly, Harvard University
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C O U R S E L E C T U R E Opera and Oratorios: Constituent Parts Notes taken on November 27, 2015 by Edward Tanguay |
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Handel started out as a composer of operas
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Handel's life
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born 1685 in Halle
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moved to Italy
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learned about Italians produce music
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came back to Germany
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went to England
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died 1759 in London
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moved to oratorios later
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his audience moved with him
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the music of oratorios
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very like the music of operas
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18th century opera
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is a wonderful creation
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the harpsichord plays while people talk
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called reciting
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they actually sing
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it's real-time, things move forward
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at some point, when you get to an interesting moment, time stands still, the orchestra begins to play, some character steps out of the circle and begins to sing a beautiful song, often accompanied by the supportive voices of other actors
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when that is over,the harpsichord begins to play again, the actors engage in more recitative, action moves forward, and then someone steps out and sings a beautiful song again
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talking, song, talking, song
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the songs are like freeze frames which enable a particular character to express how he feels at a particular point
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it's not designed to be realism, but a story structure specifically designed to explore different states of human emotions within a narrative
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a musical expression of that emotion
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there tend to be choruses in 18th century opera, but they tend to only sing at the beginning and end of acts and are not integrated in the plot as in other musical genres such as oratorios
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choruses are not a big deal in operas but are a very big deal in oratorios
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18th century physicians believed that the emotions are governed by the four bodily humors
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sanguine
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phlegmatic
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choleric
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melancholic
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three musical parts of oratorios
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1. recitative or talking
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2. the songs or arias
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3. chorus