George Frideric Handel – "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd" (1741)

Come unto him, all ye that labor

Come unto him, ye that are heavy laden

And he will give you rest

I became very well-acquainted with George Frideric Handel’s Messiah when I was in high school.

George Frideric Handel

I was a bass-baritone in our chorus, which performed a number of choral movements at one time or another – “And the glory of the Lord” and “For unto us a child is born” were two of my favorites.  (Most people are obsessed with the “Hallelujah” chorus, but “And the glory of the Lord” is just as stirring.)

And I accompanied a number of singers who performed the solo movements – the greatest of which is “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.”

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I haven’t tried to count how many live performances of the Messiah take place in the Washington, DC area every December, but I’m guessing there are dozens.  

Somehow I went decades without attending one of them.  But earlier this month, I remedied that oversight by attending a performance of Handel’s most famous work at the National Presbyterian Church.  

The orchestra, chorus, and soloists at that performance were first rate, and the performance was free – although they did twist your arm to make a donation.  (I dropped a crisp new five-dollar bill into the offering plate – I’m nothing if not generous in my contributions to worthy causes.)

By contrast, tickets to the Messiah performances at the Kennedy Center ran you as much as $99.   

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“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd” is roughly five and a half minutes of profoundly sublime music.  It is intense and thrilling, but at the same time it instills a profound sense of calm and inner peace in the listener.  

I think the secret to this movement is its tempo.  You can’t hurry “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd” – you need to take a deep breath and wait for your heart rate to slow down before performing it.

Click here to watch the Academy of Ancient Music’s 2022 performance of “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd” at the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge.  (Katie Jefferies-Harris is the alto soloist, and Eleonore Cockerham is the soprano.)

Click here to listen to the entire performance.