Handel’s Messiah with Exeter Cathedral Choir
Sunday 6 December 2026 | 2:30pm
This Christmas, experience one of Handel’s greatest masterpieces, Messiah, performed by Exeter Cathedral Choir and early music specialists, Devon Baroque Orchestra.
About Messiah
Handel’s Messiah is one of the greatest icons of European music, impacting audiences around the world for more than 250 years.
‘Handel composed Messiah in just twenty-four days, a remarkably short space of time but not exceptional by his own extraordinary standards. What is almost beyond comprehension, however, is how in these three weeks he was able to create a work of such sustained inspiration, power and seemingly inexhaustible invention. More than 250 years have passed since its first performance, yet Messiah’s status as one of the great icons of European music remains undiminished, and it continues to speak to millions of people of many cultures and faiths around the world.’ – John Bawden
- Composer & Librettist: Composed by German-British Baroque composer George Frideric Handel with a text compiled from the Bible by Charles Jennens.
- Speed of Writing: Written in roughly 24 days (between 22 August and 14 September 1741).
- Structure: Features 53 movements divided into three parts: Redemption, Resurrection and Glorification.
- Language: Written in English rather than Italian or German, which helped make it more accessible.
- Charitable Purpose: The Dublin premiere raised about £400 for local charities, and Handel later gave annual benefit performances for London’s Foundling Hospital.
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Tickets: from £6
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Kindly supported by Rathbones
