When I was growing up in the north of England in the 1950s and 1960s, the annual public performance of the Messiah was an essential part of the approach to Christmas for many people, either as performer or listener. Fifty years on I still make sure I find time to listen to it at some point during Advent. Another tradition which enriches my life. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Strong words
Today is the second Sunday of Advent and this morning at church our Bishop will be with us for a confirmation service. It will be a very happy occasion and during it we will listen to the prophet Isaiah's great message of encouragement from chapter 40, one of the set readings for today. It is one of my favourite Old Testament passages and is indelibly associated in my mind with Handel's immortal setting from his Messiah.
When I was growing up in the north of England in the 1950s and 1960s, the annual public performance of the Messiah was an essential part of the approach to Christmas for many people, either as performer or listener. Fifty years on I still make sure I find time to listen to it at some point during Advent. Another tradition which enriches my life. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
When I was growing up in the north of England in the 1950s and 1960s, the annual public performance of the Messiah was an essential part of the approach to Christmas for many people, either as performer or listener. Fifty years on I still make sure I find time to listen to it at some point during Advent. Another tradition which enriches my life. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
There is a performance in San Jose every year...so I'm looking forward to renewing with tradition.
ReplyDeleteOh I do thank you. I am not well today - -a cold descended on me last night and I was not fit for church today, so this excerpt I a welcome sound. Yes, listening to the Messiah is a necessity for me at Christmas and at Easter...
ReplyDeleteLove it! I too grew up with the Messiah and often performed it ourselves at Christmas - with the lack of a bass and later, lack of my Grandpa's dominant tenor voice! (We made up for it with altos!) I still think of the invitation 'Come for tea' when I hear this ...:-)
ReplyDeleteAxxx
Oh, you are lucky to have one on tap, so to speak, Fly. I'm afraid I have to listen to it on CD nowadays, as I been able to find a local performance for years. Enjoy your renewed tradition.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, Broad. Sorry you weren't well enough for church and today's wonderful readings. We had nine teenagers and adults confirmed this morning and the singing almost raised the roof! As for the refreshment afterwards, let's just say I didn't need any lunch when I got home...
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, Annie. When I was at school I wasn't allowed to sing in the school's annual performance as I was needed in the orchestra, but once I left school I loved singing in the chorus, whether at full staged performances or the very enjoyable one-day scratch events. Your family performances sound like great fun. Come to tea indeed! :-)))
ReplyDeleteI am sitting in the Vancouver airport, facing the rising sun, on my way home to the prairies after a pilgrimage of sorts to visit some of the places my late son enjoyed. I have time while I wait here, and my ear buds with me, and thanks to your suggestion I now haven the music of Handel's Messiah playing in my very ear. I am thankful.
ReplyDeleteMy husband will be going to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra performance a week before Christmas, so this is a pleasure to be repeated for me soon.
ReplyDeleteI meant to say 'my husband and I'.
ReplyDeleteHello poetreehugger. I'm so glad you are enjoying listening to Handel's music as you wait for your flight. I can imagine that your trip must have been one of very mixed and often difficult emotions, so I hope you can take comfort from Isaiah's words.
ReplyDeleteI envy you and your husband your forthcoming live performance. As I said earlier, I haven't been to one for years, sadly.
Isn't blogging wonderful to create a link between you in the airport at Vancouver and me at my desk in Wales and all the others who read and comment on our blogs.
I remember those Messiahs very well......from being a girl in Rochdale in the 50s I went every year to listen to them and some years to sing. We were lucky to have wonderful versions available in every town and village but my favourite was always not the Free TRade hall which was posh but the Belle Vue one held where the wrestling matches took place normally.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me.
Hello Jean and thanks for visiting. Ah, another Lancashire lass, eh? The major venue in our area for hearing the Messiah was King George's Hall in Blackburn, but there were more local performances, including my grammar school's.
ReplyDeleteYour mention of the Free Trade Hall and Belle Vue took me back decades to school music society trips to hear the Hallé Orchestra at the FTH and primary school or family outings to Belle Vue circus. The FTH is now a hotel, I gather. How things change....
Hi Perpetua,
ReplyDeleteA case of déjà vu. This morning we too had our Diocesan Bishop to confirm, had Isaiah 40. 1-11 as the first reading & the aria 'Comfort ye my people' sung as a solo during the administration of Communion!
Snap indeed, Ricky! I'd forgotten your confirmation was today and I hope you all had a wonderful time. I would love to have heard the soloist - up in the organ gallery, I presume?
ReplyDeleteOh a lovely reminder to me. Thank you for that! I too used to go to listen to performances of the Messiah at Christmas. There were various ones around London. Very much part of the festive period. Thanks for sharing that!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, Sian. Glad you enjoyed it and that it bought back happy memories. It seems to have done that for a lot of people and indeed I started to listen to my CD of Messiah while making supper this evening. Sadly, live performances seem to be much less common nowadays.
ReplyDeleteWell you know I'm not religious Perpetua, but I love Handel's Messiah. It is so beautiful and sends shivers up my spine. Thanks for posting the clip. A lovely start to the day for me xxx
ReplyDelete"I would love to have heard the soloist - up in the organ gallery, I presume?"
ReplyDeleteIndeed - Bob MacGregor accompanied by Michal Novenko. Everything went well though I only just got Bishop Geoffrey onto his train to Dresden with a minute or so to spare!
Ayak, great music may have been written for religious reasons, but it's a gift to the whole of humanity, whatever their beliefs. The Messiah is glorious and certainly has that 'tingle factor' for me too. Glad you enjoyed it first thing in the morning.
ReplyDeleteA close-run thing, then, Ricky. :-)
ReplyDeleteDear Perpetua,
ReplyDeleteThank you, once again, for an enlightening and inspiring posting. Like "The Broad," I'm not feeling quite up to par today so listening to music, especially Handel, is comforting. An important Christmas tradition.
Peace.
You're very welcome, Dee. Sorry you too are feeling a bit poorly and I'm glad that the Handel was comforting and seasonal. I hope I'm not hidebound (says she with fingers crossed) but I do think worthwhile traditions are to be cherished.
ReplyDeleteThere is something so powerful about that music....and I am delighted to have found you through Annie....she has the knack of drawing people together doesn't she. Thanks for your blogging encouragement. I look forward to learning more about you through your blogs....just going to dig out my Huddersfield Choral Soc. recording to sing along all morning, remebering the 5 or 6 years when I sang with the Todmorden Choral Society, standing next to a wonderful lady called Hilda, who was 100 in 2002, when she sang it for the last time....unable to see hardly anyhting, but knowing it so well she only held the score in front of her to hide her tissues.
ReplyDeleteHello Janice and welcome. Yes, Annie does introduce people, doesn't she?
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you about the power of the Messiah, music and words. Whenever I play it I always try to sing along, but as I'm a soprano whose voice has dropped a bit, the top notes are out of my reach nowadays, unfortunately.
That is such a lovely story about the old lady singing the Messiah from memory at such a great age. Thank you for sharing it.
Well timed: I shall be singing in the chorus of 'Messiah' this Sunday at Perth Concert Hall! I first sang in it about 22 years ago and it is still my absolute favourite piece to sing. It has everything. And yes, this particular aria is indeed full of 'comfortable words', isn't it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as recordings go, my favourite was Georg Solti (I think) and the Berlin Phil with Kiri te Kanawa. I played the tapes to bits! Now I enjoy the Dublin version as sung by the Dunedin Consort: light and delightful.
Oh what fun, DB! It's so long since I sang in a performance that I do envy you. I sing along at home, but that's not the same. My current version is a remastering of a rather old recording with Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and it's super. Best wishes for Sunday and I hope the weather is kind to you and your audience.
ReplyDelete