"For unto us a Child is born" from Handel's "Messiah" sung by King's College Boy's Choir

With Christmas just around the corner, I felt that something from Handel's monumental masterpiece would be right for the occasion. After he wrote the "Hallelujah" chorus, Handel was quoted as saying, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself." The first part is the Christmas story, which is why everybody does it at Christmas. The second part is the crucifixion, but then also the resurrection; and then Part III is about redemption. Performances in Handel's day were often benefit concerts, to help release people from debtor's prison and provide for orphans in London's well-known Foundling Hospital. One scholar wrote, "Messiah has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, fostered the orphan... more than any other single musical production in this or any country." However, George Friederic Handel did not want the credit. At the end of "Messiah," Handel wrote the letters "SDG" for Soli Deo Gloria, which means, "To God Alone the Glory." This historic recording is from 1994 with Stephen Cleobury conducting. WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!