messiah opens with an instrumental number in the form of a(n)
Messiah (Handel) The three-part structure of the work approximates to that of Handel's three-act operas, with the "parts" subdivided by Jennens into "scenes". Each scene is a collection of individual numbers or "movements" which take the form of recitatives, arias and choruses.[15] There are two instrumental numbers, the opening Sinfony[n 2] in the style of a French overture, and the pastoral Pifa, often called the "pastoral symphony", at the mid-point of Part I.[18]