Handel's Messiah
Saturday, December 13, 2008 at 8pm
Church of the Immaculate Conception
200 Ware Avenue, Towson
7pm pre-concert lecture by Jonathan Palevsky, WBJC Radio
Clara Rottsolk soprano
Monica Reinagel alto
Aaron Sheehan tenor
Jason Hardy bass
Melinda O'Neal conductor
Handel Choir and Handel Period Instrument Orchestra
Handel Choir holds the distinction of having performed Messiah annually since 1935, the longest consecutive run in Baltimore. Ever fresh, ever new, our performance offers this cherished work with period instruments and distinguished guest soloists in the architecturally stunning, acoustically beguiling Church of the Immaculate Conception. Join us to enjoy this annual holiday tradition!
Handel rarely performed Messiah in the same way, from the première in Dublin in 1742 to annual performances at London's Foundling Hospital to performances in Covent Garden Royal Opera House and the three performances he led in 1759, the year of his death. He varied the content to suit the occasion, sometimes re-writing arias or recitatives and assigning them to different voices to best showcase the singers he had available at the time. All the choral parts were sung by males, with boy choristers singing the soprano parts and male altos or counter tenors singing the alto parts, for a total of about 30 choristers. The vocal soloists were usually international stars from the opera house. In 1788 Mozart arranged Messiah for performances in Vienna, adding new woodwind instruments, translating the work into German, modernizing phrasings, adding dynamic markings and enlarging the performing forces. Messiah fell into obscurity in England after Handel's death but was rediscovered in the 1820's and performed with expanded, "romantic" musical forces and performance conventions. In 1834 there were 644 performers in Westminster Abby for the Royal Music Festival, and there were 3,000 performers and 10,000 audience members for later renditions in the gigantic Crystal Palace.
The Handel Choir's performance cannot be called authentic just by virtue of returning to smaller performing forces and using period instruments, for such a thing as authenticity is not attainable. But we would like to think Handel might at least give a little smile at our efforts to enjoy this work in perhaps a closer resemblance to its original renderings, all the while sharing in the "infinite self-renewal" of this marvelous work.
