He Was Despised

Today is Good Friday. What has been running through my mind all day is the haunting aria “He Was Despised” from Händel’s Messiah. The words are taken from Isaiah 53:3: “He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” It is one of my favorite moments, though there are many, from Händel’s oratorio.

I found this video of an unusual performance in Vienna. The aria is sung by countertenor Bejun Mehta. I know nothing about this production but feel it conveys in a non-traditional way the passion and suffering of the rejected Christ.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, April 23rd, 2011 at 3:31 am and is filed under Music, Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to He Was Despised

twoemptyhands says:

May 16, 2011 at 3:00 am

Greg-

This is Scott Savage. Hi! So, I was wondering what your take is on the spinning stage/rooms. How do you think this interact with the song? This is a very captivating video. Anyways, I would love to hear more about what you have to say.

Peace,
Scott

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