Messiah is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. It is Handel’s
most famous work, and in England, the most often performed of
any big choral work. The title Messiah means “the anointed one”
and is the name given to Jesus Christ in the Christian teaching.
Background to its composition [change] George Frideric Handel
was born in Germany. When he was a young man he came to England
and he liked it so much that he soon visited England again and
stayed there for the rest of his life, becoming a naturalised
Englishman says the legend. Actually he was composer for the
King of Hannover, who then became King of England, and Handel
followed his "employer". The main reason why Handel liked
England at that time was because the people liked his music and
gave him support. At this time Handel was known as a composer of
operas. For about 20 years Handel spent most of his time working
on operas: composing them, organising performances and looking
for opera singers to sing his works. By the late 1730s, however,
people’s taste