Mitch Friedfeld wrote:

>What is it called when the music takes the shape of what's in the lyrics?
>
>Maybe I'd better try to describe it.  Take the Messiah.  In "Glory to God
>in the Highest," the word "high" is on the highest note.  When the bass
>sings "The Nations Shake," he is very melismatic, shaking.  Outside of
>classical music, Elvis Costello in "Alison" stops the music at the word
>"Stop" (IIRC).

IIRC, it was called "the doctrine of the affections," or something like
that.  Handel, of course, was only carrying on a tradition that other
Baroque composers going back to Monteverdi (the Second Practice and all
that) used, and I'm almost certain others farther back in the past did it
as well.

>This is the first time in history that Costello and Handel have been
>mentioned in the same sentence.

You have certainly forgotten about that old B movie, "Abbott and Costello
Meet George Frederick Handel".....?

Bill H.