Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
Hallelujah!
Bach Choir presents Handel’s ‘Messiah’ in its entirety on Sunday
It’s not uncommon to hear Part I of Handel’s “Messiah” during t he Christmas season, or selections from Parts 2 and 3 at Easter, which describe Christ’s passion and the promise of eternal life.
But the Chattanooga Bach Choir is offering the rare opportunity to hear the complete oratorio as the composer wrote it on Sunday afternoon, April 15, when the ensemble performs the “Messiah” at First Christian Church on McCallie Avenue.
David Long will conduct the Bach Choir and Orchestra in Handel’s masterpiece. Joining the choir will be featured soloists Maria Rist, soprano; Jack DuRoy, boy soprano; Andrea Dismukes, alto; Blaine Tooley, tenor; and Matthew Hoch, bass.
Rist is director of sacred music at the Basil- ica of Sts. Peter & Paul. Dismukes is on the voice faculty of Lee University. Tooley is director of worship at Collierville United Methodist Church in Collierville, Tenn. Hoch is associate professor of voice at Auburn University and minister of music at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Auburn, Ala. DuRoy is a sixth- grader in the Signal Mountain Christian Co-op.
“Handel’s oratorio, ‘ Messiah,’ is among his most popular and enduring works,” says Long.
“He became famous for his operas in Italian, but turned his attention to English language oratorios in the 1730s. Handel composed ‘ Messiah’ in an astounding interlude, somewhere between three and four weeks in August and September 1741. The text was prepared in July by the prominent librettist Charles Jennens, and was intended for an Easter performance the following year.”
The libretto for “Messiah” is a loosely structured narrative. Part I prophesies the birth of Jesus Christ. Part II exalts his sacrifice for humankind, and the final section heralds his Resurrection, Long describes. The oratorio premiered in the Musick Hall in Dublin on April 13, 1742.
For more information: www. chattanoogabach choir.org.