Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg

The Messiah

On 6 March 1789, a special concert was given in the Pálffysche Palais in Vienna: the first performance of a contemporary arrangement of Handel’s »Messiah«, conducted by no lesser person than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The performance took place at the instigation of the diplomat and music lover Gottfried van Swieten, who commissioned Mozart to subject Handel’s masterpiece, already famous at the time, to a thorough revision and give it a German text. (The Baroque original was felt to be »rough« and »old-fashioned«.) Mozart not only shortened the score and reallocated some of the vocal parts, he also – and this was his main contribution – adapted the instrumentation with flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons and horns to suit the taste of the second half of the 18th century.