It's that time of year again...time for fans of serious Christmas music to attend a performance of arguably Handel's second-biggest hit, his oratorio Messiah. Most music historians would put Messiah just behind his celebrated Water Music in terms of overall popularity. But not during the Christmas season, obviously.
Funny thing is, Messiah wasn't originally written as a Christmas work per se. Coming at a particularly difficult time in Handel's career following the lacklustre reception to his final attempts at opera with Imeneo in 1740 and Deidamia in 1741, Handel dearly needed a hit.
He found it in the form of a sacred, non-dramatic oratorio based largely on the Passion and then the triumph of the Resurrection of Christ, with the libretto by Jennens drawing from both Old and New Testament sources. In that case, it would more correctly be performed as part of Easter celebrations rather than Christmas.
Handel completed the score in little more than three weeks between August 22nd and September 12th of 1741, and it received its premiere performance at the New Music Hall in Dublin on April 13th, 1742. So that likely would have coincided with Easter celebrations that year.
The oratorio was performed to huge acclaim at that first performance and from then on, Handel never looked back. He wrote many other grand oratorios but never quite recaptured the popularity of Messiah again. It would become his signature work at the time of his death in 1758.
So why are we flocking to performances of Messiah at Christmas rather than at Easter? I don't have the answer to that, but I do know for many, Christmas just isn't Christmas without attending a performance of Handel's Messiah.
I've told the story before about the year I threw caution to the wind and attended two performances in two different cities on the same day, and I still can't quite comprehend what possessed me to do it. I was much younger back in those days of course, so I thought nothing of attending a Sunday afternoon performance with Chorus Niagara in St. Catharines and then after a quick dinner driving up to Guelph for a performance with the Guelph Chamber Choir that evening at the River Run Centre.
Once a day is plenty for me now, thanks, and we still have several from which to choose from before the season winds down.
Locally the Choralis Camerata performance has already been held, as have performances in the Hamilton area, by and large. And as I noted last week in this space Chorus Niagara is in their alternate year this year so their Handel's Messiah will return next season.
So now you'll have to drive a bit to get to a performance before Christmas but in all these cases the effort will certainly be worth it.
The next Messiah performance within driving distance will feature the Elora Singers at St. Joseph's Church in Fergus just outside of Elora tonight at 7:30 pm. Entitled Singers Messiah, this unique interpretation will feature the Elora Singers as both chorus and soloists. Considering many of the singers are in fact accomplished soloists in their own right, this seems rather appropriate.
The Elora Singers are for my money one of the premiere chamber choirs in the country so you are guaranteed a splendid performance this evening, and the weather promises to be good should you decide to make the drive up that way. For tickets call the box office at 519-846-0331 or go to www.elorasingers.ca.
If you don't mind the trip to Toronto there are two popular performances of Messiah still to come, both coming mid-December. And both will offer decidedly different interpretations.
From December 17th to the 22nd the Toronto Symphony and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir present their traditional large-scale (some might call it well-upholstered) Messiah at Roy Thomson Hall in downtown Toronto. This is almost always a sellout so you had better act fast if you still want to attend a performance. Evening performances are at 7:30 pm and the Sunday matinee is at 3pm.
The TSO will be conducted by Alexander Shelley, Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and the all-star cast of soloists includes Baritone Russell Braun.
For tickets to any of these performances go to www.tso.ca.
Meantime the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Ivars Taurins presents a more scaled-down period instrument performance of Messiah at Koerner Hall in the city's north end on similar dates, December 17th through the 20th at 7:30 pm. They will also have their ever-popular Singalong Messiah conducted by "Mr. Handel" on Saturday, December 21st at 2 pm at Roy Thomson Hall.
I attended a performance of their Singalong Messiah at a different location many years ago and it is truly a wonderful experience. If I recall correctly I sang baritone and was glad I was drowned out by better voices all around me!
For tickets to any of the Tafelmusik Messiah performances call 416-408-0208.
Finally, the wonderful Guelph Chamber Choir under the direction of Dr. Charlene Pauls will be joined by the Music Viva Orchestra performing on period instruments at the River Run Centre in downtown Guelph on Saturday evening December 21st at 7:30 pm. When I attended this particular performance many years ago as part of my Messiah double bill I recall the trumpets were stationed around the hall including the balcony, to great effect. I have no idea what Dr. Pauls has up her sleeve or on the tip of her baton this time round but it's worth attending just to find out.
There is also a Singalong Messiah in support of Family & Children's Services of Wellington County on Friday, December 20th at 7:30 pm with the same orchestra and Choir as sort of a warm up to the big performance on Saturday night. Admission is by donation with a suggested donation of $20 mentioned.
For tickets to the Saturday performance at the River Run Centre you can call the River Run box office or go online to the River Run site to purchase tickets. I would imagine the Friday evening performance will have tickets available at the door.
So there you go: a Messiah for every taste and several flavours to choose from this season. One thing is constant though...don't forget to stand for the Hallelujah Chorus. It's just tradition now, so just do it.
Now, how do I convince a choir to take a gamble on an Easter performance of Messiah one of these years...
Have a great weekend!
December 8th, 2019.
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