First Nights - Handel's Messiah and Baroque Oratorio
About this Course
While Italian opera set the standard in the Baroque era, German composer George Frederic Handel quickly gained popularity for his oratorios, which put operatic techniques to work in the service of sacred music. Handel's Messiah premiered in Dublin on April 13, 1742, and remains popular to this day. Harvard's Thomas Forrest Kelly (Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music) guides learners through Messiah's musical highlights, while detailing Handel's composition process, the preparations and rehearsals, and the premiere performance. Learners in this module of First Nights need not have any prior musical experience. In this unit, you will learn the basics of musical form and analysis, the genres and styles used in Messiah , the circumstances of its first performance, and its subsequent history. Additional First Nights Modules: Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and the Birth of Opera Handel's Messiah and Baroque Oratorio Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony" Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique and Program Music in the 19th Century Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring: Modernism, Ballet, and RiotsCreated by: Harvard University
Level: Introductory
Related Online Courses
In this course, you’ll be learning about musical rhythm from across the world. You don’t have to read music notation to take this course; you don’t have to play an instrument. You don’t need to... more
Humanities in Focus guides learners to explore and answer three fundamental questions 1. What is Humanities? 2. Why Humanities Matter? 3. Why Humanities matters to Me? In each learning sequence,... more
Tourism’s profound impact on the world Tourism continues to experiencing incredible growth. Of all the industries of major importance worldwide, Travel and Tourism directly contribute $1.4 t... more
Sustainable tourism development put into practice In this course you will be teamed up and challenged to apply your argumentation skills to implement insights from various tourism disciplines and... more
In this course, part of the Public Library Management Professional Certificate program, we’ll explore the nuts and bolts of creating a strategic plan by reviewing and reflecting on the strategic p... more