Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Unfinished movements

Here are the movements that we did not accomplish, and the plans I had envisioned:

#26 chorus: All We Like Sheep. I had hoped to sing this very difficult chorus with a quartet, including two professional guest soloists during one of the summer services. Alas, our schedules are not cooperating.

#34 recit: Unto Which of the Angels. This brief recitative leads to Let All the Angels of God Worship Him, which we played as a string quartet.

#41-43: Let Us Break Their Bonds Asunder (chorus), He That Dwelleth in Heaven (tenor recit), Thou Shalt Break Them (tenor aria). These often omitted movements were difficult to program. I had hoped to have the recit and aria done during the summer by a professional tenor, but was again thwarted by the schedule. The chorus was difficult and hard to program liturgically. Does the fact that we did #44 three times make up for these lapses? :)

#49-50 : Then Shall Be Brought to Pass (alto recit) and O Death, Where is thy Sting? (alto/tenor duet). My original plan was to present these two on May 3rd- when a bluegrass band was here to play for worship. The big idea was that they band would do Ralph Stanley's O Death and then we would follow with the Handel O Death, Where is thy Sting? Events of May 3rd did not go as planned.

#51: But Thanks be to God (chorus). As noted previously, we scheduled this one for Christ the King Sunday, but found ourselves too busy to learn it completely.

#52a: Amen (chorus). The majestic final chorus of Messiah was scheduled for the close of the school year- June 14 or 21 - but with our recent losses, it will be too much for the choir to tackle.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

throwing in the towel

At this point, I can foresee that we will not complete the entire project. There are a few more weeks of the school year, with a full choir, and then five weeks of summer services with soloists providing music.
The number of singers decreases as the summer draws closer... and we are still dealing with the loss of strongest tenor. One of our strongest basses will be graduating and leaving for college soon. The choir has responded very well to this long project, but I think they are tired and might not appreciate one final push. These final Sundays of the school year are also jammed full of special events- church school Sunday, teacher recognition, graduation, confirmation, etc.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

eleven: Ascension Sunday, #36

Joanna Hawkins Nannestad, alto. Karen Tucker, organ.



six weeks after Easter Sunday, we celebrate the Ascension of Christ. Aria #38 (Thou Art Gone Up On High) is one of the more obscure solo movements of Messiah. It features some florid, Italienate lines, in the style of "Rejoice Greatly" but much simpler. Once again, Handel created several version for different singers. We selected version I for alto in d minor, and featured my lovely wife as the soloist. It was a logistical bonus, because Ascension Sunday fell on the Memorial Day Weekend, and my choir was largely on vacation.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

ten: pastoral installation #37-38

Joanna Hawkins Nannestad, alto. Karen Tucker, organist. FP Choir.



A rare occasion to include in the project: the installation of our new pastor. These two movements were immediately appropriate: the chorus #37 (The Lord Gave the Word; Great was the company of the preachers) and the aria #38 (How Beautiful are the Feet of those who Preach the Gospel of Peace.)



That aria has several versions- one version is actually a duet with chorus- but we elected to use the soprano g minor aria, which is Version I in the Watkins Shaw edition. There is an alternate c minor version for alto, but Joanna felt it sounded best at about f minor. Really, what's the use of having a Rodgers organ if you don't take advantage of the transposer button?



Well, unexpected drama- we don't use that button much, and the organist unknowingly cancelled the transposition when setting the registration for the aria. As soon as the introduction started, I could tell it was in g minor. Joanna rose to the occasion and handled the multiple high Gs... but, if given the choice, would elect a lower key!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

other liturgical occasions

It has been such a sad week around the church. Funerals and memorials are a regular part of any church musician's load, but when it is a friend and member of the choir, one must hope that the work helps deal with the grief. The unexpected death of one of our tenors (and trumpeter, and arranger, and all around musical impresario) has shaken me and the choir. Jim was also one of the driving forces behind this project- with his strong sense of pitch and adventurous musical sense, I could rest assured that the tenors would keep up, leaders would carry the alto and soprano sections, and I could keep those six basses pointed in the right direction. He was also the trumpeter for #48 "The Trumpet Shall Sound." It will be very difficult to do any of the remaining choruses without him.

I did briefly wonder what parts of Messiah might ever be fitting for a memorial service. I think I have heard #44 "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" in such a context; what else? Any ideas? This is a purely rhetorical exercise.

For the funeral, the choir sang three anthems: "Laudate Dominum" from Mozart Solemn Vespers (with a string ensemble), "Balm in Gilead" by William Dawson, and "Sing Me To Heaven" by Daniel Gawthrop. The last was a stretch, but the choir practically demanded it, and they distinguished themselves. Th strings played several times (including "Ashokan Farewell" and "Lovers' Waltz" by Ungar) and a brass quintet accompanied the hymns and also played a transcription of "Pie Jesu" from the Faure Requiem.

This service will stay with me a long time, but the project continues. In another week we have a pastoral installation!

nine: Easter two, #45

Kathy Davis, soprano. Karen Tucker, organ.

"I Know That My Redeemer Liveth". Sung on the second Sunday of Easter by our excellent soprano soloist, accompanied on the organ. How lucky we are to have a soloist capable of this formidable aria! And a good fit for this particular Sunday, as the choir takes a day off to recover from the Holy Week histrionics.

I remember now that I taught this aria to a young (college-age) soprano when I was a not-much-older novice voice teacher. She was excited about this piece, but it takes a lot of sensitivity to make it musical, and that was a particularly long slog of a teaching experience. Good thing I don't teach voice lessons any more!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

eight: Easter Sunday, #44, 46-48, 53a

The Lord is Risen indeed!

FP Choir; William Moffett, Joseph Moffett, and Jim Anderson, trumpets; your humble narrator, bass; Karen Tucker, organ.

#46 "Since By Man Came Death" was at the beginning of the service. I love this chorus on Easter Sunday- as if the first six measures still belong to Good Friday, and suddenly Easter springs forth at letter A. One of our tenors is also an avid trumpeter, and he was slated to do #48 "The Trumpet Shall Sound" with one of my baritones. The baritone has had some vocal issues lately, though, and had to bow out. I survived the aria okay, but I definitely had my mind elsewhere on a busy Sunday morning! We sang #53 "Worthy is the Lamb"- NOT the Amen chorus, only the first section. In fact, we went from #48 to #53 without pause, since they are in the same key. Finally, #44 Hallelujah Chorus was an open sing to conclude the service- about 60 people came up to sing with the choir and two trmpets. And, to top it off, the preacher used the Hallelujah Chorus as a sermon illustration today.
Eastertide....

Saturday, April 11, 2009

seven: Maundy Thursday, #23-25, 27-32

...with a reprise of a few of those choruses from Part Two. FP Choir; Kathy Davis, soprano; Joanna Hawkins Nannestad, alto; Karen Tucker, piano/organ.

Our church does not normally worship on Good Friday, so Maundy Thursday becomes an interesting hybrid service: footwashing, communion, tenebrae with readings from the elders gahered at the table. Nearly all of Part Two provided the commentary- really, the inexorable march toward Calvary throughout the depiction of Holy Week. The choir distinguished itself with an excellent reading of #28 "He Trusted in God." More on that later. As mentioned previously, we are blessed with a soprano soloists who can really sing Handel and Haydn, and she did very well with #27 and 29-32. That last one (Air: But Thou Didst Not Leave His Soul in Hell) seemed to complete the set of short solo soprano (really tenor) movements. The uplifting tone may have seemed a bit out of place in Tenebrae, but I was glad for its presence in an otherwise exceedingly dark service. Our alto provided a tremendous reading of "He was Despised." It was the musical and spiritual highlight of the evening for me- although I may be biased. It was also an education for some: the da capo aria that almost never ends. The following choral piece was titled "Tis Finished"- which was probably what the congregation was thinking anyway!

#28 provided an excellent moment of discovery for the singers. The words (He Trusted in God that he would deliver him; let him deliver him if he delight in him) are rather vague when standing alone. This choir, concerned with the black notes scurrying across the page, had not taken time to imagine meaning or context. When pressed, they weren't sure of what they were singing. Rather than talking about it, we simply started with the soprano recitative (#27: All They That See Him Laugh Him to Scorn.) The tone of scorn and taunting dawned on their faces almost simultaneously. I love when that happens!

Easter happens any moment now....

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

six: Lent IV, #24 and 25

Precluding an all-Handel-all-the-time Lent, two Sundays were turned over to his colleagues JS Bach and Thomas Tallis. By the Fourth Sunday of Lent, however, we return to the pilgrimage. We sang #24 "Surely He Has Borne Our Griefs" and #25 "And With His Stripes We Are Healed." I had considered holding "Stripes" until later this year, worried the choir may be overburdened. However, they pleasantly surprised me by demonstrating that this fugue is rather straightforward. Troubles were typical- a tendency to rush the tempo and also to sing every note the same. I believe "plodding" was a word used by one of the altos. However, by the time worship arrived, it had become a thing of beauty.
The final cadence of "Stripes", of course, provides a dominant to the next movement (#26 "All We Like Sheep.") The choir was in NO WAY prepared to sing "Sheep," but its absence felt conspicuous. Are there any other moments of Messiah when three choruses proceed consecutively?

Monday, March 2, 2009

five: Lent I, #22

First Sunday of Lent = first chorus of part Two. "Behold the Lamb of God" was a stirring start to the Lenten Season as well as pointing us toward the Table on this Communion Sunday. The choir sang in an appropriately dramatic fashion-really, Handel makes it impossible to do otherwise- and the pickup notes were (mostly) of the correct duration.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Part the Second: Lent is nigh

We had a month away from Handel as we tackled Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors." With that performance concluded, and Lent a few weeks away, we opened our scores to Part Two tonight.

Some members of the choir expressed surprise that there was anything between Christmas and the Hallelujah Chorus. I really thought I was in for it.However, tonight's rehearsal turned out pretty well! We started with #22 "Behold the Lamb of God." After one false start, and a little demonstration of the slow tempo and the difference between eight note pickups and sixteenth notes, they dove right in and did well. So well that I moved on to #24 "Surely He Has Borne Our Grief." Again, it took them a moment to acclimate to the rapid dotted figures within the slow tempo. A few measures in, however, they gained confidence.

Something I have been thinking about lately (and I said this to the choir at the end of rehearsal...) : Most of these adult singers did not know these choruses. Having lived on Earth for a number of years, they probably heard them a few times, but they do not know them nearly as well as the Christmas choruses. Regardless, these musicians plunged ahead, made mistakes, corrected them on thefly, and obtained a somewhat musical result. My high schoolers, on the other hand, are so terrified of failing that they often bail out- or fail to try to begin with. The students seem to need this womb of security around them all the time, whereas the adults know that trying and failing leads to learning. The high schoolers can be exhausting in this regard- so much energy goes into encouraging them to to take a risk and try even if they are going to make mistakes. It is refreshing that the adult singers will meet me halfway.