Pastoral Symphony (Pifa), from The Messiah (viola duo)

Title: Pastoral Symphony (Pifa) from The Messiah

Composer: G. F. Handel, arr. David Gable

Instrumentation: Two Violas

Printout: 2 pages

Note: When Handel wanted to create a quiet, bucolic mood to introduce the scene in which the angel speaks to the shepherds, he used violas and violins doubled in octaves. The darker timbre of the viola is ideally suited to this pastoral music.