Haarlems Gemengd Koor
Handel's Messiah | His Most Beloved Choral Work
The Haarlem Mixed Choir takes you on a journey through Handel's Messiah. A magnificently beautiful concert oratorio featuring the world-renowned Hallelujah. It is one of the most performed works in classical music history.
Performers
Ago Verdonschot - Conductor
Haarlems Mixed Choir
Jeannette van Schaik - soprano
Dave ten Kate - countertenor
Liam Bonthrone - tenor
Martijn Sanders - bass
Tarisio Consort - orchestra with baroque instruments
Hans van Beelen - harpsichord
George Friedrich Handel (1685-1759) composed one theatrical Italian opera after another from 1719 onwards and flourished with them in London. In 1737 he suffered a severe stroke, but he recovered. After that, he devoted himself with great zeal to more serious work: the oratorio. In 1741 he composed the Messiah in just three weeks. The premiere in Dublin was held for the benefit of the residents of Irish prisons and hospitals. Women were asked not to wear hooped skirts in order to create as much seating as possible. It became an enormous success in Ireland. In London, however, the self-assured Händel was not beloved by the nobility and performances of the Messiah were obstructed. Händel's popularity only returned in 1748 with his oratorio "Judas Maccabaeus".
Until his death, the Messiah was performed 56 times. Especially in non-ecclesiastical venues such as theaters and concert halls, and often for charitable purposes.
The Messiah is nowadays as popular as Bach's St. Matthew Passion. It is not a liturgical work. The biblical quotations arranged by Charles Jennens make it, as it were, a "biographical" work about Jesus as the Messiah.
The choirs play a central role: they underscore, affirm or celebrate what the soloists sing. The orchestra also serves the text.
website: www.hgk-koor.nl
