Composition
Handel composed the Dixit Dominus (HWV 232) in Rome in 1707, at the age of twenty-two, during his formative Italian period. The work demonstrates, at startlingly early age, the full command of large-scale Baroque choral writing that would characterize his mature oratorios. The scoring for five soloists, double chorus, and orchestra is technically ambitious - the choral writing, particularly the rapid-fire "Conquassabit capita" movement, requires exceptional ensemble precision - and the dramatic intensity anticipates the theatrical choral writing of the Messiah and the oratorios by several decades.
Biblical Text
The Dixit Dominus sets the complete Latin text of Psalm 110 (Vulgate: Psalm 109), the most-cited Old Testament text in the New Testament. Psalm 110:1 - "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'" - is quoted or alluded to in Acts 2:34-35, Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42, 1 Corinthians 15:25, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, and Hebrews 1:13 and 10:13. The frequency of citation reflects the psalm's central importance for New Testament Christology: it provided scriptural authority for the exaltation of Christ to the right hand of God after the resurrection.
Verses 5-6 - "The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations" - provide the text for "Conquassabit capita" (He will shatter heads), Handel's most dramatically violent choral movement, scored with rapid, hammering repeated chords that create an overwhelming physical effect.
Creator
Handel was in Italy from 1706 to 1710, composing for Italian patrons and absorbing the Italian Baroque style of Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Vivaldi. The Dixit Dominus was composed for the Carmelite feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Rome, probably under the patronage of the Marchese Francesco Maria Ruspoli. The work shows Handel already in full command of the Italian stile concertato, applying its techniques to a Hebrew psalm text with a confidence that suggests his Italian period was less an apprenticeship than a creative explosion.
Legacy
The Dixit Dominus was largely unknown for two centuries after its composition, overshadowed by the later oratorios. Its rediscovery in the 20th century established it as one of the most technically accomplished and dramatically powerful works of the Baroque period, remarkable for the age at which it was composed. It is now regularly performed alongside the mature oratorios as evidence of the extraordinary musical intelligence Handel brought to his biblical texts from the beginning of his career.