Sacred Duets
Stephen Jones, flute, oboe, and organ2022
This selection from “Messiah” by Handel has been considered a duet in spite of the fact that the Contralto and Soprano never sing together, only consecutively. The Contralto sings “He shall feed His flock” as a solo in the key of F major. After a brief modulation, the Soprano sings the same melody as a solo, “Come unto Him, all ye that labor” in the key of Bb major.
I often wondered what it would sound like as an actual duet. Handel provided plenty of material so I used the existing counterpart and added the Soprano to the first section and the Contralto to the second, keeping his original melodies intact. I suggest that whichever part has the melody be more prominent. This duet could also work with other voices but I do prefer Handel’s choice of Contralto and Soprano.