Alto Handel Messiah But Who May Abide Score

Alto (contr'alto) Choir Practice: "But who may abide the day of His coming" from Part I of "Messiah" by George Frideric Handel. The Air , based on (Malachi 3:2) , begins with the question ""But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? " and continues, in a sharp shift of time and tempo at measure 59 "Prestissimo", with the statement "For He is like a refiner's fire". The question is repeated at measure 94 in a shorter version, giving way once more to a prestissimo section at measure 115. The statement returns a final time after a rest, marked Adagio at measure 148, giving the soloist the opportunity to express it in an ultimate cadenza, and concludes with a prestissimo postlude.