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Messiah, HWV 56: Part II, no. 44. “Hallelujah” (Chorus)

by George Frideric Handel

PianoOrganGuitarCelloFluteOboeviolinVoiceBassoonbassVocalOrchestraTenorChoirHornTromboneTimpaniTrumpetTubaKeyboardpercussionEuphoniumViola RomanticBaroqueOperaFreeGuitar tabsChristmasScoresEasterbNew

Where to get it

Arrangement details come from recorded listings. Check the retailer’s current edition before buying.

172 retailer listings for this from $1.90 to $79.95, recorded March 2012. 18 archives offer it free.

Free and public domain

These archives publish scores at no cost. We earn nothing from these links — they are here because they are often the better answer.

Shops that have since moved

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Referenced at

These list the piece but do not sell it — discographies, archives and encyclopaedias. Included because they are often where the edition details are.

About this piece

Messiah, HWV 56: Part II, no. 44. “Hallelujah” (Chorus) is a work by George Frideric Handel. Editions in our index are scored for piano, organ, guitar and cello. We track 172 editions for sale priced between $1.90 and $79.95, from Sheet Music Plus, Virtual Sheet Music, Musicnotes and Sheet Music Direct. Those figures were recorded in March 2012; check the retailer for what it costs today. 18 public-domain archives publish it free of charge, including Sheet Music Archive, Flutetunes and 8notes.

Composed in three weeks, premiered in Dublin

The Hallelujah chorus closes Part II of Messiah, which Handel drafted in about three weeks in the late summer of 1741. It was first performed not in London but in Dublin, at the New Music Hall on Fishamble Street, on 13 April 1742, as a charity benefit — the advertisement asked ladies not to wear hoops so more people could fit in.

The tradition of standing during this chorus is usually explained by George II rising at a London performance. There is no contemporary evidence that he was present, and the earliest account of the story dates from decades afterwards. The custom is real and well-established; the explanation for it is not.

A practical note: Messiah exists in many versions because Handel revised it repeatedly for different singers over some twenty years, and there is no single definitive text. Choral editions vary in which version they follow. If you are singing with a group, buy the edition the group is using rather than the cheapest.

Published in

This piece appears in 43 published collections.

Common questions

How much does Messiah, HWV 56: Part II, no. 44. “Hallelujah” (Chorus) sheet music cost?
Prices run from $1.90 to $79.95 across 172 retailers. Prices change; the figures shown are the most recent we recorded.
Is Messiah, HWV 56: Part II, no. 44. “Hallelujah” (Chorus) available for free?
Yes. 18 archives in our index publish it at no cost, typically as a public-domain scan or engraving. Free editions vary in quality and edition; a paid edition may be easier to read or better fingered.
What instruments is Messiah, HWV 56: Part II, no. 44. “Hallelujah” (Chorus) arranged for?
The editions we track are scored for piano, organ, guitar, cello, violin, voice, tenor, choir, horn, trombone, tuba and percussion. Specific arrangements listed include Choral, Bass, Sab Choir, Piano and Optional 2 Trumpets.

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