HANDEL’S MESSIAH
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.—from the libretto of The Messiah
We settled into a pew, and breathed the spicy sweetness of fir wreathes and someone’s bluebell perfume. The cathedral was filled with warm light and the comfortable hum of friends greeting one another and thumbing through concert programs.
We sat quietly, whispering admiration of the mosaics and paintings that adorn the sanctuary and the apse, and of the great organ pips gleaming behind the lattice-work.
It was a fitting setting for this performance of The Messiah: the first I’ve attended. I am used to hearing a recording of the ‘highlights’ from Handel’s magnificent oratorio while I clean the house and lend my own unmelodious voice. Tonight, I was going to hear it all sung by Seraphic Fire, a choral chamber group I love to hear on the radio.
Seraphic Fire was accompanied that night by the Sebastians; it was a collaboration I’d enjoyed at the Vivaldi concert the month previous. {And although from our seat we could see few of the musicians, it was satisfying to know that somewhere behind all those heads was a violist who can barely sit down in the excitement of his music, or a cellist whose swaying is almost lyrical as his notes.}
Tenor Steven Soph opened the oratorio with the familiar and tender ‘Comfort ye, my people...’ followed by his jubilant pronouncement: ‘Every valley shall be exalted, and ev’ry mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight and the rough places plain.’
All singers rose then, and their song was like light burst on a dark land: ‘And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed!’
‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts,’ sang bass Charles Evans, ‘Yet once a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land... The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple.’
Mezzo-soprano Lexa Ferrill came with a warning: ‘For who may abide the day of his coming... for he is like a refiner’s fire.’ The chorus responded: ‘And he shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.’
Alto Virginia Warnken brought the good tidings with joyful solemnity: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son... Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’
When the choir rose to sing ‘For unto us a child is born,’ I was hard pressed not to sing along. I contented myself with a little discreet bouncing and soundless humming: ‘His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!’ It gives me shivers every time.
The next songs were new to me: the voice of soprano Jessica Petrus rang clear through the nave with ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion’ and ‘His yoke is easy’; tenor Patrick Muehleise followed with ‘He was cut off’ ‘But thou didst not leave his soul’; and all rose to sing triumphantly of Christ’s resurrection: ‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in.’
The chorus continued with a charge to preach the gospel: ‘The Lord gave the word; great was the company of preachers.’
All the congregation rose for the opening notes of the Hallelujah chorus {except for the very eager young man who had already leapt from the pew at the closing notes of ‘How beautiful are the feet’}. The shivers came again with the triumphant song: ‘He shall reign forever and ever—King of kings and Lord of lords!’
Soprano Margaret Rood came forward, and her voice was bright and sure: ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth... in my flesh shall I see God.’ She joined all the others to sing the reason for this faith: ‘In Christ shall all be made alive!’
The others rustled back to their seats, and bass Daniel Moore came forward to sing ‘Behold, I tell you a mystery’: ‘We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.’
‘The trumpet shall sound!’ Moore began. Paul Florek and Andreas Stoltfus were impressive on said instrument; Papa was still talking about it, when we left.
The singers rose one last time: ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing...’
The resounding ‘Amen’ echoed through the nave with a beautiful assurance that blessed all of my holiday season.
{If you’d like to see another performance of The Messiah, this is a beautiful production.}
• Trinity Cathedral •
January 2, 2015