Sacred Music 

    Bach and Handel are the only composers of this period whose sacred music is much performed today.  Bach lived all his life in Germany, and Handel settled in England so that they both worked in Protestant countries.  However, Bach wrote one great Latin mass in B minor, too long for liturgical purposes, but one of the greatest sacred works in existence.  If it is compared with the masses of Palestrina, the effect of the developments in the seventeenth century will be realized.  It is not modal, but uses major and minor keys, with modulation to related keys as an essential part of the formal structure; it has a polyphonic texture, as have Palestrina's masses, but unlike the sixteenth-century works, the interweaving melodies are based on a harmonic structure, with the primary triads as their foundation; and instead of being "a cappella" (i.e. unaccompanied), it uses quite a large orchestra.  Strings are the foundation, but Bach sometimes uses a solo violin, oboe d'amore or horn to weave an additional melody round a solo voice, and he uses trumpets effectively in several choruses.  Every number in this great work has its beauties, but perhaps two of the most outstanding are the 'Crucifixus', with its heart-rending chorus built on a ground bass, and the 'Sanctus', which provides one of the most uplifting moments in the whole of choral music.  

    However, most of Bach's sacred choral music was in the form of cantatas, in which chorales played an essential part.  The 'Christmas Oratorio' is really six cantatas strung together.  In addition he wrote four (?) settings of the Passion, including the great 'St Matthew'. (See "Chorale", "Cantata", and "Passion Music" on pp. 97-99 for further information about his works for these media.)

  Handel's sacred music that has survived is mainly in the form of oratorios, though he wrote quite a number of anthems; including those dedicated to his English patron, the Duke of Chandos.  Most of his oratorios were indistinguishable in style from his operas, making much use of the da capo aria, and having a theatrical style.  He could use a larger chorus, however, than was possible in his operas, and he made effective use of this, sometimes for reflective and sometimes for dramatic purposes.  'Israel in Egypt' uses the chorus to a great extent, and it, together with 'Judas Maccabeus' and 'Samson' are still frequently performed today.  But 'Messiah' stands apart, as being much more deeply felt.  It has few da capo arias, and creates an effective balance between aria, recitative and chorus.

    Like Bach, Handel uses modem tonality, a polyphonic texture based on a harmonic structure, and an accompanying orchestra.  But his style is simpler, and therefore easier to sing and to listen to.  He has a strong sense of the dramatic and he is more concerned with the broad effect of the whole than with giving the loving care which Bach lavished on every detail.