Handel Messiah
Handel's masterpiece, packed with fabulous choruses including the most famous of them all
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Recordings
Scores
These are some of the more common scores; other editions are available. Different editions may vary significantly e.g. in the music, words or page numbering. Check which edition your choir is using before purchasing. Also watch out for different formats (e.g. large print, spiral-bound reprints) as these may not be what you want.
(See the Practice aids page for more information)
Practice aids
Musical Notes
I've actually never sung Messiah in its entirety, only Part I and the Hallelujah Chorus. So there's something to look forward to! The three parts broadly cover Christ's birth, his death and resurrection, and the promise of eternal life. Part I is often performed on its own, particularly at Christmas, sometimes with the Hallelujah Chorus added as a finale. Perhaps that's because the complete work is rather long, or because Part I fits so naturally into a Christmas concert – or perhaps it simply has the best choruses!
So I'm not really qualified to comment on the work as a whole, but I absolutely loved learning and singing the choruses in Part I, particularly those with Handel's wonderfully intricate, flowing runs: And He Shall Purify, His Yoke Is Easy and, of course, For Unto Us a Child Is Born.