10064a He Shall Feed His Flock from 'Messiah'

G. F. Handel (1685-1759)

arranged by Roger Harvey for Alto and Soprano duet
and 10-piece brass ensemble

Difficulty: Medium

Price: £22.50

Programme note:
Messiah was first performed at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin in 1742, where the Dean was novelist Jonathan Swift. He had been difficult about the event, had it delayed and insisted that profits from the performance be donated to a hospital for the mentally ill. Despite this problematical debut it has become Handel's most popular work. It is peformed in its entirety on an annual basis by choral societies throughout the world and arias and choruses from it are frequently performed in mixed programmes.
It was famously written to texts by Charles Jennens, in only 24 days though, in the practice of the time, Handel recycled many of the movements from earlier works, not all of them his own.
It is in 3 main parts: Part 1 covers Advent and the Christmas, Part 2 tells the story of the Passion and Part 3 is mostly about events in the Book of Revelation.

Performance note:
This version is designed to be used as accompaniment to the usual vocal version. The markings are for the Watkins Shaw edition but, with little alteration, could be adjusted for other editions.
Flugel is required for the 4th trumpet part.
Since the ensemble is mostly replacing a small string group, it should at all times ensure that the style is very light, taking great care to avoid thickening the texture and so covering the vocal lines. In particular the higher trumpet parts should be played without forcing. The tuba doubling of the bass line at the lower octave should also be treated with care; it should add richness in the tuttis but avoid any heaviness of style.