Music analysis for listeners: Messiah Part I
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- Start Date: 10 Dec 2025End Date: 10 Dec 2025Wed (Daytime): 11:00 - 16:00In PersonFull fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00
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What is the course about?
Handel was an experienced and successful opera composer in London, but changes of taste and financial problems meant a change of genre from opera to oratorio.
We ask the question how:
- How did Handel’s style adapt to a religious text in English, after so many years writing operas in Italian?
- How did he balance recitative and solos with frequent choruses?
- How did he employ his harmonic, orchestral and vocal-writing skills to illustrate the text?
By analysing representative samples of the work and comparing them briefly to some moments from Handel operas, we will understand how he adapted to his circumstances and how this composition has appealed to audiences from its first performance until today.
What will we cover?
- The context of this composition in Handel’s output
- The analytical detail of at least one passage of recitative, one solo, and one chorus
- The methods the composer used to appeal to his audience.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Understand the structure and forms used in Part 1 of Messiah
- Analyse several parts in detail, including melody, word-setting, rhythm, harmony, and orchestration
- Understand the mechanics of how Handel created this music and what effect he intended it to have on us the audience.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is for those with some familiarity in listening to a particular composer or opera, having taken a previous beginners course, or a willingness to undertake short reading tasks between sessions. We may look at music scores and identify key features of music notation, but this will not be the main focus of the studies.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Sessions will comprise combinations of lecture, discussion, listening, video and score study. Course materials (handouts, scores, links to online videos) will be shared via google classroom. You will be encouraged to do extra reading outside class.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
You may also wish to purchase some of the music books or recordings discussed in class, links to these materials will be available online after each session.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
To find out more about music history classes Music history courses in London and online which lists our full programme of classes ordered by term, and by day of the week. You may then click on each title to read the full course outline.
Pauline Greene studied composition at Nottingham University and then composed, performed and was Musical Director with various theatre companies. She taught flute and composition, performing her music across the UK at various venues, including the Southbank Centre and the Edinburgh Festival, with her group The Concert Party, which she managed and directed. She has taught at the Universities of Middlesex and Hertfordshire, and ran the Music Access course at Morley College. She taught at Birkbeck from 1984-2023, moving from Music to Arts Management, and currently lectures on the MA in Events and Experience Management at Goldsmiths. She has given talks at the Royal Opera House, Wigmore Hall and Glyndebourne. At City Lit Pauline teaches a wide range of music history courses, with specialisms in opera, music for dance, theatre and film, musical analysis, and music since 1900. She is still involved in the organisation of small-scale charity concerts and one-off musical events, and she sings and plays with several small groups.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
