Auckland Choral's Messiah still going since 1919
Auckland Choral''s Messiah features an impressive line-up of soloists.
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Hawke’s Bay
Handel’s Messiah
Auckland Choral and Pipers Sinfonia
Auckland Town Hall
December 14 & 15
Auckland Choral has been singing the Messiah every year at Christmastime since 1919, making this the 96th consecutive year of performance which might give it the international record for the greatest number of consecutive annual performances of the work.
Despite this long history, each year Auckland Choral manages to bring a fresh interpretation with new singers, which this year includes Marlena Devoe (soprano), Wendy Dawn Thompson (mezzo-soprano), David Hamilton (tenor) and Martin Snell (bass).
Martin Snell featured in Auckland Choral’s October performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, where he drew rave reviews for his “eloquent” and “noble” performance. Soprano soloist Marlena Devoe was named the 2014 first-prize winner at the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Awards in Sydney.
Handel's Messiah was originally an Easter offering which had its first performance in Dublin in 1742. Since then, it has become the most popular oratorio of all time. In many ways it resembles an opera, with its dramatic structure, expressive music and extended reflection on Christ as Messiah.
The custom of standing for the Hallelujah chorus originates from a belief that at the London premiere, King George II did so, which would have obliged the entire audience to stand. However there is no convincing evidence that the king was present, or that he attended any subsequent performance of Messiah.
As well as the Hallelujah chorus, there are some remarkable solo pieces (“Thy rebuke hath broken his heart” and “He was despised”) with stirring chorus’s (“O we like sheep” and “He trusted in God.”
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John Daly-Peoples
Fri, 20 Nov 2015
Fri, 20 Nov 2015
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Auckland Choral's Messiah still going since 1919
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