1741: Messiah at Sea

1741, Irish Sea. On a rough crossing from Holyhead to Dublin, George Frideric Handel carries the manuscript of a masterpiece. London has turned away from his Italian operas, and he is looking for a different kind of success - with a new oratorio.

In Dublin, Messiah is performed for the first time, drawing on English text, choral power and a more direct style of storytelling. Now, Handel must adapt to changing tastes, and he creates a work that moves beyond the theatre into churches, concert halls and public life. From its charitable beginnings to its enduring place in choral culture, Messiah becomes one of the most widely performed works in classical music.

Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. For Episodes 9 to 16, Gillian welcomes Suzannah Lipscomb to help her explore the fascinating stories and rich sound worlds of the Late Renaissance and Baroque.

Producer: Chris Taylor
Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford
Story Consultant: Kate Leys
Series Editor for BBC Audio: Emma Harding
Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan.

MUSIC DETAILS
George Frideric Handel: Messiah – Hallelujah
Dunedin Consort
John Butt (conductor)

George Frideric Handel: Water Music – Alla Hornpipe
Irish Baroque Orchestra
Peter Whelan (conductor)

George Frideric Handel: Deidamia – “Due bell’alme”
Simone Kermes
Il Complesso Barocco
Alan Curtis (conductor)

George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “For Unto Us a Child is Born”
Dunedin Consort
John Butt (conductor)

George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “He Was Despised”
Hilary Summers (alto)
Brandenburg Consort
Stephen Cleobury (conductor)

George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “And He Shall Purify”
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers (conductor)

Samuel Coleridge‑Taylor: Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast – “Awake, Beloved”
Arthur Davies (tenor)
Welsh National Orchestra
Kenneth Alwyn (conductor)

George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion”
Stevie Wonder
Take 6

George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “All We Like Sheep”
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers (conductor)

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