“Since by Man Came Death”: A Bold Declaration to Launch Messiah, Part III

For Sunday, February 22, 2026
Since By Man Came Death from Messiah by George Frideric Handel

By David Jolliffe

At the 11 a.m. service on February 22, the St. Paul’s adult choir will feature the chorus that begins Part III of George Frideric Handel’s famous oratorio, Messiah. “Since by Man Came Death” represents a gallant and bracing beginning of Part III, which Handel’s librettist, Charles Jennin, characterized as “a hymn of thanksgiving for the final overthrow of death.”

The lyrics come completely from 1 Corinthians 15, versus 21 and 22.  And, of course, Jennin uses the King James version: “For since by man came death, even so in Christ shall all be made alive!”  Handel sets the first sobering part of the text to a stunning and hauntingly beautiful a cappella chorale—the only a cappella part in all of Messiah. The mood suddenly changes with the second part of the text as the chorus continues with great joy and with full accompaniment, celebrating Christ’s victory over death.

The bracing vigor of “Since by Man Came Death” reveals something of the energy Handel incorporated in the oratorio, which he composed over a 24-day period in August and September of 1741.  Curiously, Messiah was not initially well received, but it has become arguably the most frequently performed (and some would say best loved) composition in the canon of choral music.