"Messiah is 'the classic, ' not only in the West but even in Japan. I have been performing this magnificent work with Bach Collegium Japan every year in the past decade, but it still makes us exuberant each and every time we perform it. . . . In this book my friend Calvin Stapert helps us understand this masterwork from manifold points of view, pouring deeper appreciation for the work into our hearts through the funnel of his words. Thank you very much, Cal!"
-- Masaaki Suzuki founder and director of Bach Collegium Japan
-- Jeremy Begbie
Duke University "Calvin Stapert observes that oratorio, like opera, was written to entertain. Messiah certainly does that. But it does more. It proclaims good news. This fascinating, informative book will enrich the hearing of one of the world's musical masterpieces. It will also deepen and enhance appreciation of one of Christianity's true treasures."
-- John Buchanan
Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago