Showing posts with label Messiah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Messiah. Show all posts

Friday, February 27, 2026

Classical Works: Top 100

Classical Works:

Top 100

This was originally posted as a top 10 on the DMDB Facebook page on 2/21/10 and then expanded to a top 50 on 5/2/2011. This list was determined by an aggregate of more than 30 classical-music-focused, best-of lists combined with the works’ standings in the overall Dave’s Music Database. Here’s the top classical works (which includes operas, symphonies, concertos, etc.) according to the DMDB. Note: most of these are considered “albums” based on their lengths. Those works noted with an asterisk (*) are shorter pieces and not considered album-length works.

Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here.

Composer Name of Work (year composition was finished)
1. Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (1808)
2. Richard Wagner The Ring Cycle (Der Ring Des Nibelungen) (opera, 1848-1874)
3. Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 7 (1812)
4. Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (1824)
5. Antonin Dvorák Symphony No. 9 in E minor (From the New World) (1893)
6. Antonio Vivaldi The Four Seasons (1725)
7. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 (1875)
8. George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, & Dubose Heyward Porgy and Bess (1935)
9. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 in B Minor (“Pathétique”) (1893)
10. Georges Bizet Carmen (opera, 1873-74)

11. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) (1786)
12. Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 6 “Pastorale” (1808)
13. Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E-flat “Sinfonia Eroica” (1804)
14. Hector Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique (1830)
15. Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg Variations (1741)
16. Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 4 (1885)
17. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Don Giovanni (opera, 1787)
18. Richard Wagner Tristan Und Isolde (opera, 1857-59)
19. Johann Sebastian Bach Brandenburg Concertos (1719-21)
20. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor (1788)

21. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) (1791)
22. Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” (1811)
23. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 (1785)
24. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 (1785)
25. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter” (1788)
26. Johann Sebastian Bach Cello Suites (1717-23)
27. Giacomo Puccini La Bohème (The Bohemian Life) (opera, 1896)
28. Giacomo Puccini Tosca (opera, 1900)
29. Gioacchino Rossini Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) (opera, 1816)
30. Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major (1806)

31. George Friedrich Handel Messiah (1741)
32. Franz Schubert Symphony No. 8 “Unfinished”) (1822)
33. Giuseppe Verdi La Traviata (The Fallen Woman) (1853)
34. Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor (1904)
35. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A Major (1791)
36. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Requiem Mass in D minor (1791)
37. Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D minor (1937)
38. Franz Schubert Piano Quintet in A Major (“Trout”) (1814)
39. Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection” (1894)
40. Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre Du Printemps) (ballet, 1913)

41. Claudio Monteverdi L’Orfeo (Orpheus) (opera, 1607)
42. Sergei Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor (1901)
43. Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C minor (1876)
44. Béla Bartók Concerto for Orchestra (1944)
45. Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 14 (1826)
46. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor (1786)
47. Giacomo Puccini Turandot (1926)
48. Giuseppe Verdi Rigoletto (1851)
49. Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 (1826)
50. Giuseppe Verdi Aida (opera, 1871)

51. George & Ira Gershwin An American in Paris (classical soundtrack, 1951)
52. Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major (“Titan”) (1884-88)
53. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 in C minor (1786)
54. Franz Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C major (1828)
55. Henry Purcell Dido and Aeneas (1689)
56. Claudio Monteverdi Vespers of the Blessed Virgin (1610)
57. Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 (1826)
58. Ludwig van Beethoven Fidelio (1805)
59. Modest Mussorgsky Tableaux d'une Exposition (Pictures at an Exhibition) (1874)
60. Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto in D major (1879)

61. Felix Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor (1845)
62. Edvard Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor (1868)
63. Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina Missa Papae Marcelli (Pope Marcellus Mass) (1562)
64. Johann Sebastian Bach Mass in B Minor (1749)
65. Giacomo Puccini Madame Butterfly (Madama Butterfly) (1904)
66. Antonin Dvorák Cello Concerto in B minor (1895)
67. Vincenzo Bellini Norma (1831)
68. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 38 in D major (1787)
69. Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) (1911)
70. George Friedrich Handel Water Music (1717)

71. Sergei Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor (1909)
72. Franz Josef Haydn String Quartet No. 5 in D major (Largo) (1797)
73. Franz Josef Haydn String Quartet No. 3 in C major (Emperor) (1797)
74. Johann Sebastian Bach St. Matthew Passion (1736)
75. Felix Mendelssohn Octet for Strings in E flat major (1825)
76. Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonatas (32) (1795-1822)
77. Claudio Monteverdi L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppaea) (1642)
78. Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 8 in F major (1812)
79. Franz Josef Haydn Symphony No. 104 in D major (1795)
80. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major (1791)

81. Alban Berg Wozzeck (1922)
82. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A major (Stadler) (1789)
83. Johann Sebastian Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Violin (1720)
84. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 39 in E flat major (1788)
85. George Friedrich Händel Julius Caesar in Egypt (Giulio Cesare in Egitto) (1724)
86. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 35 in D major (1782)
87. Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 4 in B flat major (1806)
88. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 14 in E flat major (1784)
89. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major (1786)
90. Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 9 in D major “Farewell” (1912)

91. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major (1784)
92. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major (1777)
93. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major (1784)
94. Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major (1806)
95. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Cosí Fan Tutte (Thus Do They All) (1790)
96. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) (1781)
97. Johann Sebastian Bach Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major (1723)
98. Claudio Monteverdi Madrigals of Love and War (Madrigali Guerrieri ed Amorosi) (1638)
99. Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor (1800)
100. Luciano Pavarotti/Placido Domingo/Jose Carreras The Three Tenors in Concert/Mehta (1990)

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First posted 2/21/2010; last updated 2/27/2026.

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Friday, April 13, 2018

April 13, 1742: Handel's 'Messiah' first performed

Last updated August 26, 2018.

Messiah, oratorio, HWV 56

George Friedrich Händel (composer)

Composed: 8/22/1741 – 9/12/1741

First Performed: 4/13/1742

Sales: - NA -

Peak: - NA -

Quotable: --

Genre: classical > choral music > oratorio

Parts/Movements:

Act I: 1) Sinfonia in E minor 2) “Comfort ye my people", Recitative for tenor 3) "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted", Air for tenor 4) "And the glory of the Lord", Chorus 5) "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts", Recitative for bass 6) "But who may abide the day of His coming", Air for bass 7) "And He shall purify the sons of Levi", Chorus 8) "Behold, a virgin shall conceive", Recitative for alto 9) "O thou that tellest good tiding to Zion", Air for alto 10) "For behold, darkness shall cover the earth", Recitative for bass 11) "The people that walked in darkness", Air for bass 12) "For unto us a Child is born", Chorus 13) Pifa in C major 14) "There were shepherds abiding in the field", Recitative for soprano 15) "And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them", Recitative for soprano 16) "But lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them", Arioso for soprano 17) "And the angel said unto them", Recitative for soprano 18) "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude", Recitative for soprano 19) "Glory to God in the highest", Chorus 20) "Rejoice greatly", Air for soprano 21) "Then shall the eyes of the blind be open'd", Recitative for soprano 22) "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd", Air for soprano 23) "His yoke is easy, His burden is light", Chorus

Act II: 1) "Behold the Lamb of God", Chorus 2) "He was dispised and rejected", Air for alto 3) "Surely, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows", Chorus 4) "And with His stripes we are healed", Chorus 5) "All we like sheep", Chorus 6) "All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn", Recitative for tenor 7) "He trusted in God that He would deliver Him", Chorus 8) "Thy rebuke hat broken His heart", Recitative for tenor 9) "Behold, and see if there be any sorrow", Arioso for tenor 10) "He was cut off out of the land of the living", Recitative for tenor 11) "But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell", Air for tenor 12) "Lift up your heads, O ye gates", Chorus 13) "Unto which of the angels said He at any time", Recitative for tenor 14) "Let all the angels of God worship Him", Chorus 15) "Thou art gone up on high", Air for bass/alto 16) "Great was the company of the preachers", Chorus 17) "How beautiful are the feet of them", Air for soprano 18) "Their sound is gone out into all the lands", Arioso for tenor 19) "Their sound is gone out into all the lands", Chorus 20) "Why do the nations so furiously rage together", Air for bass 21) "The Kings of the earth rise up", Air for bass 22) "Let us break their bonds asunder", Chorus 23) "He that dwelleth in heaven", Recitative for tenor 24) "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron", Air for tenor 25) "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron", Recitative for tenor 26) "Hallelujah", Chorus

Act II: 1) "I know that my Redeemer liveth", Air for soprano 2) "Since by man came death", Chorus 3) "Behold, I tell you a mystery", Recitative for bass 4) "The trumpet shall sound", Air for bass 5) "Then shall be brought to pass the saying", Recitative for alto 6) "O death, where is thy sting?", Duet for alto & tenor 7) "But thanks to be to God", Chorus 8) "Worthy is the Lamb was slain", Chorus 9) "Amen", Chorus 10) "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts", Supplemental Recitative for bass

Average Length: 140:00

Review:

“With the arguable exception of the Water Music, the oratorio Messiah is the one work of Handel’s which is universally known. Yet it was composed at a time when Handel’s fortunes were at a low ebb. His final attempt to return to opera with Imeneo (1740) and Deidamia (1741) had proved a failure, and rumor even had it that, having despaired of the London public, he was preparing to leave England. Fortuitously, the clergyman and writer Charles Jennens, Handel’s collaborator in Saul, lured Handel back to the idea of English oratorio; at much the same time, the composer received an offer from William Cavendish, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to take part in the following season of oratorio performances in Dublin. The libretto offered to Handel by Jennens was based around the birth and Passion of Christ. It was called Messiah. Handel set to work on the libretto on August 22, 1741, completing the score just over three weeks later on September 12.” BR

“The resulting sacred, non-dramatic oratorio was a first for Handel, and, although it heralded the composer’s final great phase of oratorio composition, he never wrote one like it again. Messiah is therefore completely atypical within the context of Handel’s oratorios, the majority of which relate to Old Testament or Apocryphal stories in dramatized form. As a statement of Christian faith it moves the worldly Handel closer to Bach than any other work of his, although not sufficiently to prevent contemporary accusations of operatic influences. It is also worth recalling that during Handel’s day Messiah was more frequently performed in theaters than in churches.” BR

“Jennens divided his text into three parts, the first of which deals with the Prophecy of the Messiah and its fulfillment. The second takes us from the Passion to the triumph of the Resurrection, while the final part deals with the role of the Messiah in life after death. Handel’s setting consists of the usual juxtaposition of recitative, arias, and choruses. Jennens’ libretto draws across a wide spectrum of both Old and New Testament sources, but uniquely among Handel’s oratorios there are no named characters. The drama is thus articulated purely through the textual message, most powerfully through the overwhelming choruses that have ensured the enduring popularity of the oratorio. The first performance took place at the New Music Hall in Dublin on April 13, 1742. It was received with huge acclaim, the Dublin Journal proclaiming that ‘Messiah was allowed by the greatest Judges to be the finest Composition of Musick that ever was heard.’ The following year the triumph was repeated at Covent Garden, when Handel added two more solos. Further revisions took place in 1745 at the famous Foundling Hospital performances, leaving all subsequent conductors with editorial problems as to Handel’s ‘final’ intentions. By the time of the composer’s death in 1758 Messiah had already attained an iconic status it has never relinquished.” BR

“Alongside its immensely popular choruses – of which the Hallelujah is king – Messiah’s primary allure is its effective arias and recitatives for solo voices. The opening Every Valley, sung by tenor, sets the tone for tunefulness and expressive charm, and is well-matched by the soprano’s Rejoice Greatly, the alto’s He was Despised and the bass’ The Trumpet Shall Sound.” BR

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