Handel’s Messiah

One of my holiday traditions is to see Handel’s Messiah.  And my favorite place to see it is St. Thomas Church in midtown Manhattan.  This year, the performance, by the men and boys’ choir of St. Thomas Church and visiting soloists, was spectacular. In the seventeenth century, Handel revolutionized music by composing an oratorio based on sacred texts.  Controversial at the time, some critics lambasted it as a profanation of the story of Jesus, because it was performed in a secular context. It wasn’t even in Latin—it’s in English!  But the public of Dublin, then London embraced it, and King James the Second was so moved that he inaugurated the tradition of standing during the Halleluiah Chorus. The orchestration is by Mozart, so you have a sense of an amazing historical tradition where biblical texts depicting ancient events are interpreted first by Handel, then passed along to us via one of the world’s most celebrated composers, and then preserved for posterity. The voices of the men and boys of St. Thomas’ choir harmonize beautifully to create a moving sound collage.  The soloists offered moving renditions of the sacred texts, including an eerily soprano-like male counter –tenor.  There is no more lovely musical experience at holiday time.