“Messiah,” George Frederick Handel’s epic oratorio, will be presented by the combined voices of the Transylvania Choral Society and Brevard College Chamber Singers at the Scott Porter Center for the Performing Arts Thursday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for the event are $10 and may be purchased at Southern Comfort Records, Quotations Coffee Cafe, or online at TransylvaniaChoralSociety.org and at the door.
Brisk sales already indicate this may become a “sell out.”
The 99-voice chorale and chamber orchestra will be conducted by artistic director, Dr. David Gresham, director of choral activities at Brevard College. Patti Black is the accompanist. She is nationally recognized by orchestras, choirs and theatre groups from Chicago to Asheville. Local professionals will provide the solos for the performance.
“Messiah” is certainly the most performed oratorio in the English language. It consists of three parts with Part 1, the Christmas section sung most often. For this performance, the Hallelujah Chorus will be added.
Handel, born in Halle, Germany, in 1685, was already a well-known composer of operas when he moved to England in the early 18th century. His music became very popular with English royalty Eventually he started composing oratorios which were more popular than operas.
Handel was commissioned to write this composition using a scriptural text by Charles Jennens. It was completed in the summer of 1741 and performed in Dublin that year. It was a year later when it was first performed in London.
“Messiah” was written for a modest number of voices and instruments. After Handel’s death, the piece was adapted for large orchestras and choirs. Recently, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries there has been a return to quicker rhythm and more joyous voicing of Handel’s original score.
For further information about the Transylvania Choral Society, contact David Goodman at (828) 883-4015 ordavidgpersonal@gmail.com.