Early Music Vancouver (EMV) invites White Rock and Vancouver audiences to experience the energy and drama of its first-ever production of Handel’s Messiah, November 30, 2017 at 7:30pm at the White Rock Baptist Church, and December 1 & 2, 2017 at 7:30pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Music director and harpsichordist Alexander Weimann will lead the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, the Vancouver Cantata Singers, and four internationally acclaimed vocalists in performances that will bring new life to this holiday classic.
Handel’s Messiah is one of the most iconic pieces of the classical repertoire and has an unbroken performance tradition dating back to its debut performance in 1742. In the words of Sir Thomas Beecham, over the next two hundred years, the choruses in particular became the British “national medium of musical utterance”. As the popularity of this work grew, so too did the scope of the performing forces. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of the action.
EMV’s presentation of Messiah will demonstrate how the experience can change dramatically for the audience when period instruments are used and the sheer number of musicians is reduced. EMV’s Messiah will feature a baroque chamber orchestra of 20 period instrumentalists, as well as a chorus of only 30 singers that is by nature, more nimble and flexible than a large symphony chorus.
Messiah had an immediate and powerful effect on Handel’s audience and came along just in time to bring life to his flagging career in London. While he had achieved fame for his brilliant Italian operas (eg. Rinaldo and Julius Caesar), the English public had grown weary of this style and were ready for a form that was both more accessible to English audiences and able to be sung plausibly by the more affordable local English singers. Handel composed Messiah in 1741 in less than a month. Within two months, the work had already been performed very successfully at a hall in Dublin built to hold 600 people. The opening night was sold out.
EMV’s production of Messiah will feature four international soloists that all have extensive experience performing Handel with some of the most respected baroque specialists in the world. This dream team of vocal soloists will partner with Vancouver’s very own Juno-nominated Pacific Baroque Ochestra (PBO), and the Vancouver Cantata Singers for what promises to be a revelatory take on Handel’s best-known work.
Early Music Vancouver presents Handel’s Messiah
Dates & Locations: November 30, 2017 at 7:30pm
(Pre-Concert Talk at 6:45pm with Matthew White, Alexander Weimann and the soloists)
White Rock Baptist Church
1657 140 St., Surrey, BC V4A 4H1
December 1 & December 2, 2017 at 7:30pm
(Pre-Concert Talk at 6:45pm with Matthew White, Alexander Weimann and the soloists)
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton St., Vancouver, BC V6B 2P1
Ticket Prices: From $18
Box Office: earlymusic.bc.ca or 604-822-2697