Here you will find fascinating historical background to "Messiah," including its unlikely inception, and learn about its reception and impact from Handel's day to our own.  Calvin Stapert devotes most of his book to scene-by-scene musical and theological commentary on the entire score, demonstrating how the music of "Messiah" beautifully intertwines with and illuminates its Biblical text.  Through these pages Handel's popular and much-loved masterpiece will be greatly enhanced for listeners old and new alike.  Paperback, 197 p.