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| December 2010 |
| Billie Silvey |
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| It was a cold Saturday in London. Most days seemed cold to me, whose blood and clothes were more suited to winters in Southern California. Frank and I had taken the tube from Tottenham Court station near our hotel in Bloomsbury to Charing Cross station near Trafalgar Square.
We spent a leisurely day exploring the National Gallery—mostly the works of Romantics like Constable and Turner, Blake and Fuseli. After lunch at a sandwich shop in the gallery basement, with its surprisingly up-close-and-personal view of the statue of one-armed Admiral Nelson through the low arched window, we studied the paintings of Lord Byron and his contemporaries at the nearby National Portrait Gallery. Passing St. Martin-in-the-Fields, a church whose namesake orchestra we had often waked up to on KUSC’s morning show of classical music, we saw the notice of a candlelight concert that night. The Thames Chamber Orchestra and Chorus would be performing Handel’s Messiah. On a whim, we picked up tickets, grabbed the tube back to our hotel to change, then rushed back to the church, which was bathed in the glow of what must have been thousands of votive candles. I couldn’t help wondering who had lighted them all. One of our tickets was mostly behind one of the large columns, but I let Frank have the better seat, as he could appreciate the niceties of technique. I would be able to hear as well as anybody. Before long, the church was filled with the familiar overture with its emphasis on violins. Then came the clear soprano lines, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God,” sung with that British clarity that most Americans can only dream of. Handel’s Messiah is the most famous oratorio ever written. An oratorio, like an opera, is a long musical composition featuring chorus, orchestra and soloists. It includes both songs (arias) and spoken words set to music (recitative). The difference is that, while an opera has a secular theme—usually passion, pain and death—an oratorio has a religious theme. The words come from scripture, and it is presented in concert form, without costumes or sets. Handel was a German composer who attained success writing operas in Italy, then moved to England, where Italian opera was popular. Over time, though, the fashion changed, and the English grew tired of the contrived plots and over-the-top emotion of opera. Invited to Dublin by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Handel wrote the music to Messiah in just over three weeks. The words were selected by Charles Jennens from both the Old and New Testaments. The oratorio was an instant success, and has been popular ever since. The first part treats the birth of Jesus. It opens with prophecies of Jesus’ coming from Isaiah 40 and Malachi 3, climaxing with the chorus “For unto us a Child is born.” Part one ends with the lovely duet aria for countertenor and soprano, “He shall feed his flock.” Part two covers the crucifixion, using words from Isaiah 53. The chorus, “All we, like sheep,” is a highlight of that section, as well as “Lift up your heads, O ye gates” and the bass solo, “Why do the nations so furiously rage together?” Part two concludes with the magnificent “Hallelujah Chorus.” Part three treats the resurrection, opening with the soprano aria, “I know that my Redeemer liveth” and including the bass “The trumpet shall sound” and concluding with the triumphant chorus, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.” Most of part three is taken from 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 5. That evening is among my most precious musical and spiritual memories. |
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