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"He [Handel] would frequently declare the pleasure he felt in setting the Scriptures to music, and how contemplating the many sublime passages in the Psalms had contributed to his edification."
—Sir John Hawkins

By 1741 George Frideric Handel was a failure. Bankrupted, in great physical pain, and the victim of plots to sabotage his career, the once-great opera composer scheduled a "farewell" appearance in London in April. To the London elite, it looked like this "German nincompoop," as he was once called, was through. That summer, however, he composed Messiah, which not only brought him back into the spotlight, but is still deemed by some to be "an epitome of Christian faith."

Unlike Handel's fellow countryman and contemporary Johann Bach (the two were born the same year but never met), Handel never had a musical family. George's father was a practical "surgeon-barber" who discouraged his son's musical career at every turn. His son was to be a lawyer. Indeed, George studied law until 1703, even though his father (who finally allowed his son to take music lessons at age 9) died when he was 11. By age 12, Handel was substituting for his organ teacher and had written his first composition.

After musical studies in Germany and Italy, Handel moved to England, where he stayed for the rest of his life and became a composer for the Chapel Royal. His greatest passion was for the opera—an ill-timed passion, for the form was quickly falling out of fashion in England. The most popular work was the 1728 Beggar's Opera, which satirized the form itself. Still, Handel continued to pen operas into the 1740s, losing more and more money.

Handel's friends expressed concern that the concert hall was nearly empty. Never mind, he joked, an empty venue would mean great acoustics.

He didn't joke for long. In 1737 Handel's opera company went bankrupt, and he suffered what seems to be a mild stroke. But to make matters worse, his latest musical fascination—the oratorio (a composition for orchestra and voices telling a sacred story without costumes, scenery, or dramatic action)—was his most controversial yet. His first oratorio (actually, the first of its kind in English), Esther, was met with outrage by the church. A Bible story was being told by "common mummers," and even worse, the words of God were being spoken in the theater!

"What are we coming to when the will of Satan is imposed upon us in this fashion?" cried one minister. The bishop of London apparently agreed and prohibited the oratorio from being performed. When Handel proceeded anyway, and the royal family attended, it was met with success—but the church was still angry.

In 1739 advertisements for Israel in Egypt were torn down by devout Christians, who also disrupted its performances. All of this angered the devoutly Lutheran Handel. As his friend Sir John Hawkins commented, "Throughout his life, [he] manifested a deep sense of religion. In conversation he would frequently declare the pleasure he felt in setting the Scriptures to music, and how contemplating the many sublime passages in the Psalms had contributed to his edification."

Though irritated—and Handel was often irritated, earning a reputation for prolific cursing in five languages—he dismissed the Puritans' concerns. "I have read my Bible very well," he said, "and will choose for myself." In fact, Handel maintained that he knew the Bible as well as any bishop. Financially, however, it did him little good. Once the composer for roycaptiony, he was now threatened with debtor's prison.

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