The Hallelujah Chorus
One word, sung again and again, by a whole choir... then the voices chase each other. Open up the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah (Dublin, 1742): the four voice parts, the two textures Handel alternates, all together in block chords and one after another in imitation, and the bright key of D major. Then play the block chords, imitate your own motif a fifth higher, and build a big final cadence.
In this lesson you'll
- Hear and name the two textures: homophony (all voices in the same rhythm, block chords) and polyphony (voices entering one after another with the same idea, imitation).
- Play D major's main chords, D, G and A (I, IV, V), as short, strong block chords in the rhythm of one repeated word.
- Invent a short motif in D and imitate it a fifth higher, on A; then build a big final cadence, A to D, then G to D, and hold.
Music in this lesson
- Hallelujah Chorus (from Messiah)George Frideric Handel · 1742
Remember
A choir sings in four parts, soprano, alto, tenor and bass; Handel switches them between homophony (together, block chords) and polyphony (apart, overlapping lines): the contrast is what makes it thrilling.
D major is bright, perfect for trumpets and timpani, which join for the big moments; its main chords are D, G and A: one, four and five.
For a big ending, use both cadences from lesson 8: five to one, the full stop, then four to one, the amen, and hold the last chord.