Cocktail Party Fact: The oldest national anthem, God Save the King, came into use in the 1740’s. Audiences have been standing up for the Hallelujah Chorus longer than they’ve been rising for all the currently recognized national anthems.

Commitment Factor: About two and a half hours

Vital Statistics: Baroque Period (1740). Approximately forty-five choruses, solos, duets, and instrumental interludes (with some variation from performance to performance, depending on the forces and soloists Handel had at his disposal).

What to Listen For: Most of Handel’s oratorios are really operas, complete with plots, sung in English without costumes. Messiah is an abstract meditation but it has become the most popular oratorio ever created because it contains some of the best music the Baroque produced. The great “Amen” at the end is a final affirmation that dwarfs the “Amens” written by other composers. The music says “Amen” over 250 different ways, including two instrumental versions and a moment of silence. Handel was an opera composer and he arranged his parade of solos, duets, and choruses with a theater man’s eye for variety and drama. The Hallelujah Chorus is the climax of an intensely dramatic sequence. The missionaries go forth, the kings and rulers take arms against the Lord, the conflict rages, and the opening lines of the chorus announce the triumphal resolution. The chorus is immediately followed by a change of pace in the form of a serene soprano solo. And the soprano solo is followed by the racing excitement of The Trumpet Shall Sound.