"Joy to the World" is a popular Christmas carol by
Georg Friedrich Händel. The words are by English hymn
writer Isaac Watts, based on the second half of Psalm
98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719
in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in
the language of the New Testament, and applied to the
Christian state and worship. Watts wrote the words of
"Joy to the World" as a hymn glorifying Christ's
triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a
song celebrating hi...(+)
"Joy to the World" is a popular Christmas carol by
Georg Friedrich Händel. The words are by English hymn
writer Isaac Watts, based on the second half of Psalm
98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719
in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in
the language of the New Testament, and applied to the
Christian state and worship. Watts wrote the words of
"Joy to the World" as a hymn glorifying Christ's
triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a
song celebrating his first coming. The nations are
called to celebrate because God's faithfulness to the
house of Israel has brought salvation to the world.
The music's origins are unclear. The name "Antioch" is
generally used for the tune. It is often attributed to
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) on the grounds of a
'chance resemblance' to choruses in the oratorio
Messiah (premiered 1742), not least because a theme of
the refrain (And heaven and nature sing...) appears
similar to the orchestral opening and accompaniment of
the recitative Comfort ye. Likewise, the first four
notes seem to match the beginning of the choruses Lift
up your heads and Glory to God from the same oratorio.
However, there is no autographed score by Handel and no
currently known documentary evidence to suggest that
Handel wrote it, so 'Antioch' remains, at best, a
skillful collection of borrowings from Handel.
Other hymnals credit the tune to Lowell Mason
(1792-1872), who introduced it to America (US) in 1836
as 'arranged from Handel'. But, in 1986, John Wilson
showed that 'Joy to the World' was first published in
two English collections, one firmly dated 1833. Being
three years earlier, this is thought to exclude Lowell
Mason from being the composer, but his original
attribution remains a likely cause of the often-stated
link to Handel.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_to_the_World).
I created this Interpretation for String Quartet (2
Violins, Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC