Speaking of religious music, I have a confession to make.
Even though I had never heard the piece in its entirety before, I was not particularly looking forward to seeing Handel’s Messiah. I have never considered myself to be baroque music’s biggest fan, and committing to seeing such a large work by a composer who isn’t my favorite seemed to be a daunting task. But because of my job here, and the sense of duty I feel as a composer to experience as much live music as I can, I decided to swallow my preconceptions about Handel and head for Hill Auditorium.
Between the large chorus, orchestra, harpsichordist, organist, 4 vocal soloists, and the conductor, there must have been at least 200 people crowded on the poinsettia-lined stage, waiting for the performance to begin. As I watched the rest of Hill Auditorium slowly become just as packed with veteran audience members, who chatted around me excitedly in anticipation, I braced myself for the worst.
I have never felt more pleasantly surprised about a piece of music in my life. From the strings’ opening, sighing e minor chord to the final, powerful blast of a D major chord that ends the massive work over two hours later, I felt engaged throughout all 53 movements of the piece. It helped me because each movement, a setting of 1-3 Bible verses that fit into the narrative structure of Christ’s coming, death, and resurrection, varied in length, character, and by who sang each movement. Like a dialogue, the singing switched from soloist, to chorus, to orchestra, and every combination in between.
The four soloists were absolutely sparkling. They each had a beautiful and unique color, but they also blended together surprisingly well. Soprano Janai Brugger had a crystal clear tone that floated silkily above the other voices, and her high register, piano notes were breathtaking. The alto soloist, Meg Bragle, exuded her rich, velvety tone color throughout her several demanding solos. I was amazed by how seemingly effortlessly tenor Michele Angelini soared above the orchestra, and equally overwhelmed by bass Shenyang’s potent but tasteful resonant timbre. The chorus, although quite large, was so unified that it often sounded like one powerful voice.
I appreciated the detailed program notes that accompanied this performance, because they made it very easy to follow along with the story of the piece. But the singers had such marvelous English diction that it was not really necessary to rely on program notes for understanding, for which I was grateful.
I pitied those who left after the famous Hallelujah chorus (which, I learned, does not come at the very end of the piece, but the end of Part II), because Part III contained some of the most beautiful melodies I had ever heard. The ending of the entire work is even more powerful than the Hallelujah chorus. Organist Scott VanOrnum switched from his smaller, baroque organ to the large Hill Auditorium instrument for the final movement, and the powerful sound created by this instrument in combination with the others was absolutely breathtaking.
Overall, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, UMS Choral Union, and some extremely talented soloists successfully showed me why seeing Handel’s Messiah is an annual tradition for many in Ann Arbor and around the world.
