Sunday Afternoon at the Opera - Handel: Messiah

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera host Keith Brown writes:

Although, like his other oratorios, it was originally intended for performance at Lent, Handel's Messiah (1741) has a now longstanding association with Christmastime. I've broadcast many different recordings of this immortal work on the last Sunday in December or on one of the Advent Sundays, and around Eastertime, too. Most of these recorded versions of Messiah have employed historically informed baroque performance practice both in singing and with period instruments. The "period" approach to the music has become the norm.

The latest "period" Messiah to come into my hands is the 2014 Erato two-CD set. Emmanuelle Haim leads a French "period" ensemble Le Concert d'Astrée orchestra. The Concert d'Astrée choir and the four solo singers, however, are British. Handel was constantly tinkering with the score of Messiah, altering various numbers for each new performance. Consequently, there is no definitive version of the oratorio, unless you consider the copy Handel bequeathed to the Foundling Hospital near the end of his life to contain his final thoughts on the composition. Le Concert d'Astrée has chosen the version performed at Covent Garden Theatre during Holy Week, 1752, as edited for publication by musicologist John Tobin. Handel never meant Messiah to be sung in church, but then, of course, it has often been given in church/chapel venues following the master's death.

The old year rolls around to its conclusion. I think back to all those who have helped me through the course of 2015 to make this opera program possible. Again and again over the years from Rob Meehan I get on loan for broadcast the latest recordings of cutting-edge opera of today. Rob is a specialist collector of 20th and 21st century music on disc, especially in the "alternative" approaches to the audio artform. He's also a former classical deejay here at WWUH. Again and again I keep thanking him for his invaluable contributions. Curiously, this two-month period of programming is one of the very few that does not include anything of his. I did not contribute any recordings of my own either.

Everything featured in November and December comes out of our station's ever-growing holdings of classical music on disc. Our station's director of classical programming, Steve Petke, donated his DGG recording of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, so he deserves a shout-out as well. As always, I am beholden to our station's Operations Director Kevin O'Toole, for continuing to mentor me in the preparation of these notes for cyber-publication.