Messiah, HWV 56: Part I, No. 4, Chorus: And the Glory of the Lord (Urtext): Cantata/ Oratorio, Orchestra Accompaniment, Score and Parts

This chorus sits at the heart of what makes Messiah endure in performance: a fugal structure that builds from intimate four-part writing into full orchestral grandeur, all in service of text that demands celebration. The Schering/Soldan edition provides clear continuo realization and manageable part writing without sacrificing Baroque authenticity, making this accessible to choirs that may lack period-instrument specialists yet want genuine musicality. Few pieces teach the interplay between choral independence and orchestral support as effectively as this one.

Exuberant and architecturally precise. The movement opens with intellectual rigor—a fugal subject that unfolds methodically—but quickly transforms into jubilation as voices accumulate and the orchestra joins in affirmation. There's a rare quality here of celebration emerging from craft, as if the text's meaning and the music's structure are one and the same.

Choruses with solid training in fugal singing, comfortable reading multiple voice parts simultaneously, and access to an orchestra or period-informed accompaniment. This is equally valuable for choral conductors teaching Baroque form and for programs preparing a full Messiah performance.

• Establish the subject clearly in the first soprano entrance; this fugal subject must remain audible through multiple voice entries, so resist the urge to add weight until all four voice parts have stated it.
• Balance the two oboes with the string body throughout, particularly in measures where the oboes double the soprano line. They should clarify, not overwhelm.
• Shape the harmonic progression into each cadential moment with slight broadening of tempo; the work's architecture depends on singers feeling the weight of these arrival points.
• Use the harpsichord continuo to anchor vertical alignment during exposed choral passages, especially where voices move in sixteenth-note figurations that can blur without a steady harmonic foundation.

Program this as a standalone concert piece when you need a showstopper that demonstrates both choral sophistication and orchestral collaboration, or prepare it as part of a larger Messiah performance. Its 2–3 minute duration makes it ideal as an opening or closing choral number, and its reputation means audiences respond immediately. Pedagogically, it works well in a season that explores Baroque choral literature or the development of the oratorio genre.

• Reading and singing fugal voice-leading with independence and clarity
• Managing entrance timing and subject recognition in polyphonic texture
• Balancing with orchestra while maintaining choral line integrity
• Coordinating with continuo realization and understanding harmonic function
• Executing text clarity and rhythmic precision in melismatic passages