Movement 19 of Handel's Messiah is a brief alto recitative, reciting the miracles that will occur when Jesus is born. Accompanied by bass, cello, and harpsichord.
Am
Movement 20 in Handel's Messiah is a gentle, flowing double aria for alto and soprano. The text describes how Jesus will protect his people. The alto sings the first half in F, and then the soprano takes over in Bb for the second half. Simple and beautiful. Could be done by one singer with a large range, but really perfect to feature two.
F
This grand and peaceful SATB chorus is movement 21 of Handel's Messiah. The last movement in Part 1, it is usually the last song before intermission in performances of the full work. Gentle and easy to sing with a triumphant ending, with a text simple enough for anyone to understand.
Bb
A slow, moving aria for alto, Movement 23 of Handel's Messiah, describing Christ's sorrows. Strings gently weep in the accompaniment. As the A section is over five minutes in length, Handel's instructions to continue with a bridge and then repeat the A section in its entirety are rarely followed. This recording ends, like most, at the end of the A section; the bridge is available separately as Spiritrax 1209, "He Gave His Back to the Smiters".
Eb
This quiet alto aria about Christ's generosity towards his abusers is the B section of movement 23 of the Messiah. It was recorded separately so that it can be used alone, as a short and simple aria, or as a bridge to "He Was Despised" (Spiritrax 1208) as per Handel's original instructions.
Cm
A bounding, joyous SATB chorus, movement 26 of Handel's Messiah. Ends with a slow quiet coda. Orchestral direction follows the London Philharmonic recording.
F
An exciting aria for bass soloist, movement 40 of the Messiah. Furiously bowing strings mirror the nations and kings in the lyrics, which "furiously rage together".
C
Movement 28 of Handel's Messiah is a four-part SATB fugal work about Christ's faith in God. All vocal parts are doubled clearly in the orchestra, making the complex music easy to sing. A fairly fast allegro movement with a slow dramatic ending.
Cm
