and is reminiscent of the French overture. The middle section tells in mellow movement "He is the righteous Saviour and he shall speak peace unto the heathen"—with "peace" repeated several times as a long note. Finally, a da capo seems to begin, but only the first entry of the voice is exactly the same, followed by even more varied coloraturas and embellishments to end the aria. 19 Then shall the eyes of the blind be open'd In prophetic words of Isaiah, the alto (originally soprano) recitative relates the Saviour's actions: "Then shall the eyes of the blind be open'd ... and the tongue of the dumb shall sing" (). 20 He shall feed His flock like a shepherd A summary of the Saviour's deeds is given in a compilation of words from both Isaiah and Matthew. The Old Testament part "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd" (), is sung by the alto in music in 12/8 time which is reminiscent of the Pifa, but moving first down, then up. The New Testament part, in the Gospel words of Jesus, are changed to the third person "Come unto Him, all ye that labour" (). The soprano sings the same melody, but elevated by a fourth from F major to B flat major. Handel originally wrote the entire aria for soprano solo in B flat. 21 His yoke is easy Matthew's gospel continues "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light", however for the closing choral movement of Part I, the words are changed to "His yoke is easy, His burden is light". Light and easy-going is the theme of a fugue, drawn from the duet for two sopranos "Quel fior che all’alba ride" (HWV 192, July 1741). "His yoke" is again set as an upward fourth, and "easy" is a playful coloratura. The texture is intensified to the end, when all proclaim as a solemn statement "and His burden is light". See also Messiah (Handel) Structure of Handel's Messiah Messiah Part II Messiah Part III Händel-Gesellschaft (volumes 45 and 45a) Letters and writings of George Frideric Handel References External links Georg Friedrich Händel / Messiah (1742) / A Sacred Oratorio / Words by Charles Jennens opera.stanford.edu George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) / Messiah Simon Heighes, for The Sixteen recording, 1997 Messiah (Handel) Christian music lists 1741 compositions Advent music