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Handel Messiah
Paul Goodwin conductor
Emma Matthews soprano
Luciana Mancini mezzo-soprano
Charles Daniels tenor
Christopher Richardson bass
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus
‘The trumpet shall sound … and we shall be changed!’ sings the bass in Handel’s Messiah.
Indeed, the MSO’s annual performance of the great oratorio is full of trumpets and life-changing moments.
The 2016 performance, conducted by Paul Goodwin, should be no exception. After Messiah’s first performance, in Dublin on April 13, 1742, Faulkner’s Journal said, ‘The best judges allowed it to be the most finished piece of Musick. Words are wanting to express the exquisite Delight it afforded to the admiring crowded Audience.’ Alas, after its first London performances the following year, audiences were not as effusive: too many choruses and not enough story, was the prevailing opinion.
It caught on, though.
Of course, the stand-or-not-to-stand debate still furiously rages during the Hallelujah chorus. Legend has it that George II was so moved by the chorus that he rose to his feet, followed by his courtiers.
Perhaps they were just stretching their legs.
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