Handel's Messiah: A Facsimile

"Marking the 250th anniversary of Handel's death, the British Library is publishing a full colour facsimile of the composer's most famous work, Messiah. Composed in the summer of 1741, Handel's original Messiah manuscript is one of the British Library's greatest treasures and the jewel in the crown of the music collections. Consisting of 280 pages, the draft score gives a fascinating glimpse into the composer's methods, showing his frequent changes of mind and occasional frustrations in committing his ideas to paper. The British Library's full-colour reproduction brings this creative process to life, showing every pen stroke and every crayon coloured amendment"