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Structure of Handel's Messiah - Quiz
Contributed by: Crossley
  • 1. How many major systems of numbering the movements of Messiah are mentioned in the text?
A) Four
B) Two
C) One
D) Three
  • 2. Which historic edition from 1959 is based on earlier editions and contains 53 movements?
A) Hallische Händel-Ausgabe
B) Novello edition
C) Bärenreiter edition
D) Handel edition
  • 3. Which edition from 1965 in the Hallische Händel-Ausgabe contains 47 movements (not counting some short recitatives)?
A) Revised edition
B) Historic edition
C) Bärenreiter edition
D) Novello edition
  • 4. How many movements does the Novello edition contain according to the text?
A) 50
B) 47
C) 55
D) 53
  • 5. How many movements does the Bärenreiter edition contain, not counting some short recitatives as separate movements?
A) 47
B) 60
C) 53
D) 40
  • 6. Which types of short sections are excluded when counting the 47 movements in the Bärenreiter edition?
A) Choruses
B) Arias
C) Sinfonias
D) Recitatives
  • 7. What is the abbreviation used in the text for the Novello edition?
A) Hnd
B) Bär
C) Hun
D) Nov
  • 8. What is the abbreviation used in the text for the Bärenreiter edition?
A) Bat
B) Nov
C) Bär
D) Hrt
  • 9. How many parts of the work are explicitly listed with headers in the text structure?
A) Three
B) Four
C) Two
D) Five
  • 10. How many times did Handel revise the work for specific performances according to the text?
A) Only once
B) Several times
C) Never
D) Exclusively twice
  • 11. Where are the Novello numbers placed when referring to alternative movements?
A) In footnotes
B) In parentheses
C) In brackets
D) In bold
  • 12. In what year was the Novello edition published?
A) 1800
B) 1965
C) 1959
D) 1742
  • 13. In what year was the Bärenreiter edition published?
A) 1750
B) 1975
C) 1959
D) 1965
  • 14. What is the German name of the publication series that includes the Bärenreiter edition?
A) Messiah Ausgabe
B) Händel Werke
C) Hallische Händel-Ausgabe
D) Novello Ausgabe
  • 15. What are the general notes organized by in the text?
A) Musical keys
B) Movement numbers
C) Voice types
D) Composer dates
  • 16. Which part follows Part I and precedes Part III in the text's section headers?
A) Part IV
B) Overture
C) Part II
D) Appendix
  • 17. Who composed the oratorio Messiah (HWV 56)?
A) George Frideric Handel
B) Luke
C) Isaiah
D) Charles Jennens
  • 18. In what year was Messiah composed?
A) 1741
B) 1740
C) 1745
D) 1750
  • 19. Who wrote the libretto for Messiah?
A) George Frideric Handel
B) King James
C) Charles Jennens
D) The prophet Isaiah
  • 20. Most of the libretto is drawn from which biblical source?
A) The Apocrypha
B) The Old Testament of the King James Bible
C) The Quran
D) The Book of Mormon
  • 21. Where were several psalms in the libretto taken from?
A) The Gospel of Luke
B) The Book of Isaiah
C) The Book of Psalms exclusively
D) The Book of Common Prayer
  • 22. What does Messiah lack that is typically found in Handel's other oratorios?
A) Biblical references
B) Musical instruments
C) A chorus
D) An encompassing narrative and named characters
  • 23. Why might Messiah not contain named characters?
A) To avoid charges of blasphemy
B) Because there were no singers available
C) Because Charles Jennens forgot them
D) Due to a lack of time
  • 24. How is the narration of the story carried on in Messiah?
A) Through direct dialogue
B) Through dramatic acting
C) Via a narrator on stage
D) By implication
  • 25. What liturgical period does Part I of the oratorio correspond with?
A) The end of the church year
B) Ordinary Time
C) Lent, Easter, the Ascension, and Pentecost
D) Advent, Christmas, and the life of Jesus
  • 26. What liturgical period does Part II of the oratorio correspond with?
A) The end of the church year
B) Lent, Easter, the Ascension, and Pentecost
C) Advent, Christmas, and the life of Jesus
D) Epiphany
  • 27. What does Part III of the oratorio deal with?
A) The life of the shepherds
B) The birth of Jesus
C) The end of time
D) The crucifixion
  • 28. Whose words are used to tell the birth and death of Jesus?
A) The prophet Isaiah
B) King James
C) The Gospel of Luke
D) Charles Jennens
  • 29. What is the only true 'scene' of the oratorio?
A) The resurrection
B) The day of judgment
C) The annunciation to the shepherds
D) The crucifixion
  • 30. From which Gospel is the scene of the annunciation to the shepherds taken?
A) The Gospel of John
B) The Gospel of Mark
C) The Gospel of Luke
D) The Gospel of Matthew
  • 31. Which animal imagery features prominently in many movements of Messiah?
A) Shepherd and lamb
B) Eagle and dove
C) Ox and ass
D) Lion and bear
  • 32. Which extended piece is the only one to talk about the Messiah on earth?
A) "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd"
B) "Worthy is the Lamb"
C) "Behold the Lamb of God"
D) "All we like sheep"
  • 33. Which movement opens Part II of the oratorio?
A) "All we like sheep"
B) "Behold the Lamb of God"
C) "Worthy is the Lamb"
D) "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd"
  • 34. What is the theme of Scene 1 in Part I?
A) "Christ's redemptive miracles on earth"
B) "Isaiah's prophecy of salvation"
C) "God's triumph"
D) "The prophecy of the Virgin Birth"
  • 35. What is the theme of Scene 3 in Part I?
A) "Isaiah's prophecy of salvation"
B) "The prophecy of the Virgin Birth"
C) "The appearance of the Angels to the Shepherds"
D) "His ascension"
  • 36. Which movements comprise Scene 3 of Part I?
A) Movements 18–21
B) Movements 2–4
C) Movements 13–17
D) Movements 8–12
  • 37. What is the theme of Scene 4 in Part I?
A) "The appearance of the Angels to the Shepherds"
B) "The redemptive sacrifice, the scourging and the agony on the cross"
C) "Christ's redemptive miracles on earth"
D) "The Day of Judgment and general Resurrection"
  • 38. Which movements comprise Scene 4 of Part I?
A) Movements 18–21
B) Movements 22–30
C) Movements 13–17
D) Movements 8–12
  • 39. What is the theme of Scene 5 in Part I?
A) "Christ's redemptive miracles on earth"
B) "Whitsun, the gift of tongues, the beginning of evangelism"
C) "His sacrificial death, His passage through Hell and Resurrection"
D) "The victory over death and sin"
  • 40. Which movements comprise Scene 5 of Part I?
A) Movements 34–35
B) Movements 18–21
C) Movements 13–17
D) Movements 22–30
  • 41. What is the overarching description given for Part I?
A) "The accomplishment of redemption by the sacrifice of Christ..."
B) "The world and its rulers reject the Gospel"
C) "A Hymn of Thanksgiving for the final overthrow of Death"
D) "The prophecy and realisation of God's plan to redeem mankind by the coming of the Messiah"
  • 42. What is the overarching description given for Part II?
A) "Isaiah's prophecy of salvation"
B) "The accomplishment of redemption by the sacrifice of Christ, mankind's rejection of God's offer, and mankind's utter defeat when trying to oppose the power of the Almighty"
C) "A Hymn of Thanksgiving for the final overthrow of Death"
D) "The prophecy and realisation of God's plan to redeem mankind..."
  • 43. What is the overarching description given for Part III?
A) "A Hymn of Thanksgiving for the final overthrow of Death"
B) "The prophecy and realisation of God's plan..."
C) "The accomplishment of redemption by the sacrifice of Christ..."
D) "God discloses his identity in Heaven"
  • 44. What is the theme of Scene 1 in Part II?
A) "His ascension"
B) "God's triumph"
C) "His sacrificial death, His passage through Hell and Resurrection"
D) "The redemptive sacrifice, the scourging and the agony on the cross"
  • 45. Which movements comprise Scene 1 of Part II?
A) Movements 22–30
B) Movements 36–39
C) Movements 31–32
D) Movements 40–41
  • 46. What is the theme of Scene 2 in Part II?
A) "The redemptive sacrifice, the scourging and the agony on the cross"
B) "God discloses his identity in Heaven"
C) "His sacrificial death, His passage through Hell and Resurrection"
D) "The world and its rulers reject the Gospel"
  • 47. Which movements comprise Scene 2 of Part II?
A) Movements 42–44
B) Movements 33–35
C) Movements 22–30
D) Movements 31–32
  • 48. Which movements comprise Scene 4 of Part II?
A) Movements 31–32
B) Movements 40–41
C) Movements 34–35
D) Movements 36–39
  • 49. What is the theme of Scene 5 in Part II?
A) "Isaiah's prophecy of salvation"
B) "Whitsun, the gift of tongues, the beginning of evangelism"
C) "The world and its rulers reject the Gospel"
D) "God's triumph"
  • 50. Which movements comprise Scene 5 of Part II?
A) Movements 36–39
B) Movements 42–44
C) Movements 40–41
D) Movements 22–30
  • 51. What is the theme of Scene 6 in Part II?
A) "His ascension"
B) "God's triumph"
C) "Whitsun, the gift of tongues, the beginning of evangelism"
D) "The world and its rulers reject the Gospel"
  • 52. Which movements comprise Scene 6 of Part II?
A) Movements 47–48
B) Movements 42–44
C) Movements 36–39
D) Movements 40–41
  • 53. What is the theme of Scene 7 in Part II?
A) "The Day of Judgment and general Resurrection"
B) "The world and its rulers reject the Gospel"
C) "God's triumph"
D) "His sacrificial death, His passage through Hell and Resurrection"
  • 54. Which movements comprise Scene 7 of Part II?
A) Movements 49–52
B) Movements 45–46
C) Movements 42–44
D) Movements 40–41
  • 55. What is the theme of Scene 1 in Part III?
A) "The glorification of the Messianic victim"
B) "The promise of bodily resurrection and redemption from Adam's fall"
C) "The Day of Judgment and general Resurrection"
D) "The victory over death and sin"
  • 56. Which movements comprise Scene 1 of Part III?
A) Movements 45–46
B) Movements 42–44
C) Movements 47–48
D) Movements 49–52
  • 57. What is the theme of Scene 2 in Part III?
A) "The Day of Judgment and general Resurrection"
B) "The promise of bodily resurrection and redemption from Adam's fall"
C) "The victory over death and sin"
D) "Isaiah's prophecy of salvation"
  • 58. What is the theme of Scene 3 in Part III?
A) "The glorification of the Messianic victim"
B) "The promise of bodily resurrection and redemption from Adam's fall"
C) "God's triumph"
D) "The victory over death and sin"
  • 59. Which movements comprise Scene 3 of Part III?
A) Movements 47–48
B) Movements 45–46
C) Movements 22–30
D) Movements 49–52
  • 60. What did Charles Jennens say about the subject of Messiah?
A) "The text is entirely from the Book of Common Prayer."
B) "...the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah ..."
C) "It is a drama of personalities."
D) "It is merely a musical experiment."
  • 61. In which city was Handel when he composed Messiah?
A) Rome
B) London
C) Paris
D) Dublin
  • 62. What type of works had Handel successfully composed in London before Messiah?
A) Italian operas
B) German symphonies
C) French ballets
D) Spanish zarzuelas
  • 63. How is the orchestra scoring for Messiah described?
A) Percussion-focused
B) Brass-heavy
C) Extremely massive
D) Simple
  • 64. Why might Handel have been uncertain about woodwind players for the Dublin premiere?
A) Their tuning systems
B) Their high financial cost
C) Their lack of skill
D) Their availability
  • 65. Which closing movement of Part II is highlighted by trumpets and timpani?
A) Glory to God in the highest
B) Hallelujah
C) The Pifa
D) Worthy is the Lamb
  • 66. What title was used for the overture in Handel's autograph?
A) Overtura
B) Sonata
C) Prelude
D) Sinfony
  • 67. What alternative names are used for arias in Messiah?
A) Airs or Songs
B) Motets or Anthems
C) Cantatas or Ballads
D) Chorales or Hymns
  • 68. In what form are some of the arias written?
A) Da capo form
B) Strophic form
C) Sonata-allegro form
D) Theme and variations
  • 69. Which other composer chose the same biblical passage about resurrection for a major work?
A) Beethoven
B) Bach
C) Mozart
D) Brahms
  • 70. What work by Brahms shares the biblical passage used in Part III of Messiah?
A) Schicksalslied
B) Alto Rhapsody
C) Ein deutsches Requiem
D) A German Requiem in English translation
  • 71. How often is the chorus divided into an upper and lower chorus?
A) In every movement
B) Throughout all of Part I
C) Only once
D) Never
  • 72. What is the standard choral voicing used in Messiah besides the single divided instance?
A) SSAATTBB
B) TTBB
C) SSAA
D) SATB
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