by Elizabeth Gariti
For many, the Holidays wouldn’t be the Holidays without Handel’s Messiah, listening to it, seeing it, singing in it. In a time where everyone is searching for the ultimate interactive experience, participating in a Messiah Sing Along is as good as it gets. It’s a chance for the audience to become part of the choir and performance and one with each other.
Messiah sing-alongs can range from the informal, church-basement versions to full performances, with professional soloists, chorale and orchestra. Usually, the soloists sing the solos, and the audience sings the choruses along with the chorale.
I attended a Messiah sing-along with the Canterbury Choral Society and Orchestra at the Church of Heavenly Rest, the stunning, fortress-like, all-granite cathedral at 90th St. and 5th Ave., on Thursday night. The full orchestra was warming up as I took a seat in the designated Soprano section of the starkly beautiful nave, adorned with simple holiday greenery of wreaths and boughs. Soon after, Founder and Conductor Charles Dodsley Walker walked on accompanied by four soloists, Soprano Kathleen Kelly, Alto Sherry Zannoth, Tenor Philip Smith and Bass Keith Harris. After a brief introduction, vocal warm-up and explanation of our role as choir (“Please remember to look at me.”), the first dramatic chords of the “Overture” began.
Messiah Sing-Alongs are a tradition dating back to Handel’s time. Even the first Messiah performances were augmented by amateurs. Since their inception in 1952, the Canterbury Choir has performed Part I (the Advent and Christmas portions) of the Messiah 27 times, the last 22 as sing-alongs.
I took an informal survey of fellow audience/choir members about how they began singing the Messiah and why they were participating in the Canterbury Choir’s Messiah sing-along that evening. Most had learned it in choirs and singing it is now part of their holiday tradition. Some of these people were singing with the Canterbury Choir as a warm-up for the Big One – the annual National Chorale-Handel Messiah Sing-In at Avery Fisher Hall. For one couple I spoke with, it was their first time ever singing it, but they are musicians and wanted to test their musical chops by sight reading through it. And then there are others, like myself, who haven’t sung it since high school, but, like any catchy set of tunes, it keeps coming back.
Well, sort of. Part of the fun of a Messiah sing-along is finding out what you recall and what you don’t. I still had the basics, but I’d forgotten it was so high for one, and the long strings of eighth notes, which are a Handel standard, were much more difficult than I remembered. How did I ever sing those in high school? But it was thrilling when we as audience/choir did get it and recovered from the dropped notes, missed cues and warbling shakiness to shout “Allelujah” in unison with orchestra, conductor and chorale.
Messiah is Handel’s most famous work. He was a devout Christian, and the work is a presentation of Christ’s life, with the text taken from the King James Bible. Although the work was conceived and first performed for Easter, it has become traditional since Handel's death to perform the Messiah during the Christmas season. Christmas concerts often feature only the first section of Messiah plus the "Hallelujah" Chorus. Handel wrote the work in just 24 days during the summer of 1741. It was first performed in Dublin in 1742 and after that, he conducted it many times, altering the work to suit the needs of the moment. In Victorian times, Messiah was so popular it began the push to bring music from a pastime of the elite to the common man. This was probably the origination of the audience sing-alongs.
The Canterbury Choral Society’s beginnings were in 1951 when the Rector of the Church of the Heavenly Rest wanted a volunteer choir to sing at a series of Advent evensong services. In order to attract members, Mr. Walker had the idea to present Part I of Messiah, with orchestra, as a climax to the series of services, performing a chorus or two each week. When the evensong services were discontinued, the sizeable group of singers did not wish to disband, so the Canterbury Choral Society officially began in the Fall of 1952. Today it is over 80 members strong, with professional orchestra and soloists. It was a treat to attend such a polished performance in such an intimate setting. The orchestra was lovely and the singers were sophisticated and elegant.
For more information about the Canterbury Choral Society and Orchestra, see the Church of Heavenly Rest’s website.
There are other Messiah sing-alongs throughout New York City. The Saint George’s Choral Society has theirs on December 9th, the West Village Chorale is holding an open sing on December 11, and the Downtown Symphony’s Messiah Sing-Along is on December 17. Of course, there’s The Big One, the National Chorale Messiah Sing-In at Avery Fisher Hall on December 19. Seventeen conductors preside over the chorale, soloists and an audience/chorus of over 3000. Not to be missed.
Whether you sing the Messiah in your church basement, a cathedral or at Avery Fisher Hall, participating in a sing-along is a lot of fun. It’s a chance to experience the thrill of performance, the unity of the crowd and become one with the holiday spirit.
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