Handel's Messiah, Part I, no. 5
Recitative for Bass. Andante.
Thus saith the Lord, the Lord of Hosts: Yet once a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come.
Haggai 2:6-7
The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple: ev'n the messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.
Malachi 3:1
This Bass recitative is extremely intricate, and almost constitutes an aria in its own right, although it in fact serves to introduce the following aria, But who may abide. The text is taken from the books of the minor prophets: Haggai 2 is worth reading more fully.
Meditation: The Lord will suddenly come to his temple. Let us be ready at all times, since we do not know the day, or the place of the Lord's coming.
Tiefling's meditations on Messiah
|
