How to Study Handel’s Messiah in Your Homeschool This Christmas

As I started thinking about our Christmas lessons for December, I knew I wanted to do something special with the composer we’re already studying this term. We’ve been listening to Handel, and Messiah felt like such a natural piece to spend a little more time with during Advent.

There is so much more to Messiah than the familiar Hallelujah chorus. Much of the music we hear at the beginning of the work comes straight from the Scriptures we read during the Christmas season, from Isaiah’s prophecies of the coming Savior to the angels announcing Christ’s birth.

I wanted my children to spend a little more time with those pieces this Advent, listening to the music alongside the Scripture and getting to know Messiah a little better. So I began putting together a simple Christmas composer study for us, and I thought I’d share what we’re doing with you too.

A Little About Handel’s Messiah

Handel composed Messiah in 1741, using a collection of Scripture passages gathered by Charles Jennens. The words come from both the Old and New Testaments, beginning with the promise of a Savior and continuing through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

For our Christmas study, we’ll spend most of our time with the first part of Messiah, where Isaiah’s prophecies of the coming Savior lead into the familiar Christmas story of the shepherds and angels.

I especially love how naturally this brings Scripture into our composer study. We can read a passage together and then listen as those same words become part of Handel’s music. As we return to the pieces throughout Advent, the children begin to recognize the Scripture within the music.

Where to Begin Listening to Messiah with Your Children

Messiah is a large work, and you certainly don’t have to listen to all of it to enjoy it with your children this Christmas. For our Advent lessons, I like choosing just a few pieces from Part I and letting the children become familiar with them over several weeks.

Here are three beautiful ones to begin with:

Every Valley Shall Be Exalted
This one comes from Isaiah 40:4 and is especially fun to listen to with children. Handel lets the music follow the words. You can hear the notes rise on “mountain,” fall on “low,” and move back and forth through the “crooked” places. My children always enjoy having something like this to listen for, and it often leads them to notice other things in the music on their own.

For Unto Us a Child Is Born
The words of Isaiah 9:6 will probably be familiar to many of our children, which is part of what makes this one so beautiful at Christmas. Read the verse together first and then listen for those same words as the choir sings them. I love those moments when something from our Bible reading suddenly becomes familiar somewhere else.

Glory to God
This is a wonderful one to save for closer to Christmas. After reading about the shepherds and angels in Luke 2, listen to Handel’s setting of the angels’ words, “Glory to God in the highest.” It brings together the Christmas story we’ve read so many times with the music we’ve been getting to know.

You can keep coming back to these same pieces throughout Advent. Play one during morning time, while the children are drawing or doing handicrafts, or whenever composer study fits into your day. After a few weeks, you may be surprised by how quickly they begin recognizing the music before you even tell them what is playing.

A Gentle Christmas Study of Handel’s Messiah

As I started choosing the Scripture and music I wanted to use with my children this December, I decided to put everything together into a simple four-week study that we could use throughout Advent.

A Gentle Christmas Study of Handel’s Messiah follows the music from Isaiah’s prophecies of the coming Savior through the shepherds and angels of the Christmas story. Each week brings together Scripture, carefully chosen pieces from Messiah, gentle narration, and things to listen for along the way.

Everything is arranged into four simple weeks, with the Scripture, music, and listening guidance together in one place. You can use it during morning time, composer study, or wherever it fits best into your Advent homeschool days.

I also included a special Christmas Day Hallelujah lesson, along with an optional journal page for children who would enjoy drawing or writing about what they hear.

Take a Look at the Handel’s Messiah Study →

Enjoying Handel’s Messiah This Christmas

I’m looking forward to spending some of our December homeschool days with Messiah this year. I love the thought of my children hearing these familiar words of Scripture in Handel’s music as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.

Whether you choose a few pieces to enjoy with your children or spend Advent working through the complete study, I hope Messiah becomes music your family recognizes and enjoys together for Christmases to come.