HANDEL’S MESSIAH AS HISTORY OF RELIGIONS: WHY EV’RY VALLEY SHALL BE EXALTED
HANDEL’S MESSIAH AS HISTORY OF RELIGIONS: WHY EV’RY VALLEY SHALL BE EXALTED

Summary/Abstract: Handel’s Messiah (composed 1741, performed since 1742) includes a first aria for tenor, Ev’ry Valley Shall Be Exalted (I.3), in which Charles Jennens, Handel’s Brit librettist and benefactor, reworked Isaiah 40:4 from the King James Bible and Book of Common Prayers (1662 edition). Recently, musicologists suspected some “rejoicing against Judaism” not only in the Christian theological reinterpretation of Isaiah in mid-18th century England, but also in Jennens’ libretto and, more alarmingly, even in Handel’s music. On the contrary, I argue, Handel and Jennens were sufficiently skilled for offering a perfect illustration of (and giving musical endurance to) a neglected but crucial topic belonging to the religious history of Europe and Asia. The second part of this note, following contributions by Bruce Lincoln on the “flat earth” (1983, 1989), explores its representations and apocalyptical / eschatological function not only in ancient Judaism and early Christianity, but also in Zoroastrianism, Brahmanism, and (early to mainstream Mahāyāna) Buddhism. The author would also like to illustrate in concreto the significance of music for a comparative history of religions as well as the tools historians of religions have for improving their appreciation of Handel.

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