Messiah

by Timothy R. Botts

Book Overview

1992 Gold Medallion Award winner Value priced Now art lovers can experience the inspiration of Handel's classic Messiah through Botts's expressive calligraphy. His full-color artwork is a visual... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0842342354
• ISBN13: 9780842342353
• Release Date: June 1991
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 10.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great calligraphy for a great piece of music

Timothy Botts does a wonderful job of illustrating portions of the tremendous work of Handel. Done from the perspective of a Christian, he clearly illustrates the emotions coming from the great truths expressed in the work. I love listening to it with book in hand during Advent and Easter

A Dream Come True for Messiah lovers

For those who know and love Handel's immortal oratorio Messiah, this beautifully-designed book is like a heavenly Godsend from above. The calligraphy that Timothy Botts adopts for the different sections of the text is tasteful and appropriate to the Biblical text and the nuances of Handel's music as well. What strikes the reader is that the calligraphy so graphically depicts the words of the oratorio that you don't need to be a Messiah lover to appreciate the calligraphy of the text. Every page is a feast for the eyes and Botts copes with the demands of the text and the music admirably. For example, in the pages of the Hallelujah Chorus, Botts includes the phrase "For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" exactly five times, just like in the musical text as we hear it. Also, he uses more florid lettering for the "Rejoice greatly" section of the soprano's aria, with serious lettering for the middle section, "He is the righteous Saviour", just as it should be in the actual oratorio. And in the "For unto us" chorus, you have the cries of "Wonderful Counsellor" in big, bold and flashy letterings at the bottom of the page, with the first part of the chorus building up to those exclamatory declamations. I could go on and on about the examples, but then there are too many to fit into one review. In short, all the different calligraphic styles integrate themselves into the whole work very nicely for a cohesive whole. The helpful thing about this book is that in addition to the visual feast that Botts provides for us with his tasteful calligraphy, he also has notes on the side of the word-pictures to explain how each different calligraphic style works in relation to the text and the music. Reading these notes, you can see how much thought he put into the word-paintings of this book, so that they matched not only the words but Handel's glorious music as well. The only point of note is that there is a slight inaccuracy in the "Trumpet shall sound" passage, because Botts illustrates the words "For this corruptible must put on incorruptible..." rather than "...must put on incorruption...", but this word-painting still comes across as an effective calligraphic pictorial representation of this verse. Overall, though, this is an absolutely divine and heavenly Messiah book that can exist both as a companion to Handel's oratorio and as an independent book of its own. It's sad to know that it is out of print, for it could put CD librettos to shame before long. I strongly recommend this otherwise cherishable book to everyone who loves the Handel Messiah, and urge everyone to find a copy to accompany their existing recordings, including Pinnock, Gardiner and Solti.

A treasure you will cherish.

There really are no words adequate to describe this book. As Handel's music lifts the spirit of the text, Timothy Bott's use of lettering, size, color and placement of words on the page in the description of the text is unique in my experience, in its ability to touch the soul. This is a book you will want to keep close by all year long, to be touched again and again by its inspiring and deeply meaningful expression of the Christmas/Resurrection story.

Messiah

I am very impressed with this book. Knowing the musical work, it is interesting how he portrays the music into pieces of art other than notes, instruments, and voices. Each and every piece can stand on it's own, and putting them all together is very meaningful. I shared this with my own children to appreciate Handel's work as they listened and looked. I have this out right after Thanksgiving, and leave it out until Easter. Often it is picked up by visitors and becomes a great subject of conversation. It would be a great addition to any home library, as well as a perfect memorial book for a church.

Replacement:what you do when your kid rips your friend's boo

This is a lovely book. Calligraphy is outstanding.