Yesterday began with barnyard animals – and it ended with the greatest masterwork in the history of choral music, George Frederick Handel’s Messiah. And anyone who gets to taste both of those experiences within the space of a single day is blessed indeed.
This was the fourth annual Messiah Sing Along at First United Methodist Church in Kenosha- and in the last few weeks I was wondering if this year’s event might seem a tad anti-climactic after last year’s performance, in which I was joined on the podium by none other than Weston Noble. That created an extra special energy in the room and I seriously doubted if this year could possibly measure up. But lo and behold, this year’s crowd was even bigger – and even without a special guest like Mr. Noble on hand, it was clear that the real star was still present . . . and by that I most emphatically mean Mr. Handel.
Of everything I do all year long, this is the gig that is probably the most exciting and most terrifying for me. I am not an orchestral conductor by any stretch of the imagination. I know that you play a violin with a bow, and I’m pretty sure that the cellos are bigger than the violins, and I’m fairly certain that to play an oboe you actually blow into it- but beyond that the world of instrumental music is the artistic equivalent of advanced trigonometry for me- meaning that I have only the vaguest notion of what’s going on! So for me to conduct a chamber orchestra, even for a work I know as thoroughly as Messiah, is at once both thrilling and humbling. Fortunately, David Schripsema is always careful to hire as accomplished and patient a group as possible and although I’m sure they play much of this performance through gritted teeth, wishing they were playing for someone who truly knows what they’re doing, they pretty much manage to keep any such frustration under wraps and appear to be having the time of their lives playing this beloved score.
The rest of the performance is in the hands of our fine soloists – Sarah Gorke, Rita Torcaso, Libby Weisinger, Trevor Parker, and Elliot Nott- and of course in the hands of the assembled audience/chorus. I’m quite sure that this was the finest chorus we’ve had yet – and for the first time, there were actually chorus members singing up in the back balcony, which lent a sort of stereophonic splendor to the proceedings! We were also happy to have on hand a number of high school students from Indian Trails H.S. who were fresh off of a performance of their own of Messiah, so they knew this score quite well and seeing some especially young faces in the chorus was gratifying indeed. I was also really touched to see some Holy Communion folks there- including my wife and Kate Barrow. After a full morning with the Sunday School program, nobody on the planet was more deserving of a hot bath with a good book than those two women – but here they were, singing Messiah and appearing to have a ball. And it was also great to have some of my Musici Amici (Musical Friends) on hand as well to sing a three-song prelude and to sing one of the choruses as well as a special feature.
The mishaps around this performance were few – and most were only detectable to the phD’s in the room . . . although the biggest one would have been apparent even to the biggest musical blockhead. I actually conducted the arias from the keyboard, much as Handel himself might have – except that this particular keyboard was the kind that you plug in – – – and then set to whatever sound you want. . . Hawaiian Guitar, Pan Flute, Circus Calliope, etc. In this case, of course, it’s set on Harpsichord. As I finished up one aria, I reached over to turn the volume down- and accidentally brushed the ON/STAND BY button – which immediately shut the whole thing off. And when I quickly turned it on again, it didn’t come on again as Harpsichord – but rather as Swing Organ ! (The mishap occurred during “Rejoice Greatly” when there’s a lot going on already, so once I had turned the keyboard way down, I don’t think most people even noticed exactly what went wrong.) So in the silence after “Rejoice,” I motioned for Libby to remain seated while I worked on the keyboard to bring the sound of the harpsichord back. And after about ten seconds and four false starts, I found it – and we were back in business. And I was so relieved that I turned to the audience and basically said, “I’m sorry about that – but I couldn’t stand the thought of playing the rest of Handel’s Messiah on the Moog Synthesizer!” And that got a nervous laugh although I suspect that a lot of people there didn’t even know what I was talking about. And from there on, I was much much much more careful around that particular switch!
The other bad thing that happened was that at 4:55, with the orchestra rehearsal to only last until 5, the two trumpet players had not yet appeared – which meant that I had to go ahead and rehearse “The Trumpet Shall Sound” without them- which is a little bit like playing tennis without the ball. Lou Covelli, the oboe player, agreed to play as much of the trumpet part as he could- but that’s like a little like a ballet dancer playing linebacker. It’s better than nothing, but far from ideal. Fortunately, about 2/3’s of the way through the aria, the trumpets finally walked through the door, having suffered through horrendous traffic on their way from Chicago. It was just good to have them there in plenty of time for the performance itself, not only for The Trumpet Shall Sound but for the thundering choruses as well!
One other thing perhaps counts as a mishap of sorts, although not really. For the first time in any of these Messiah performances, people actually clapped between movements. . . which caught all of us very much off guard. (Because it had never been a problem, there was nothing in the printed program about refraining from applause until the end – nor was any announcement made to that effect.) I just couldn’t bring myself to say anything to the audience- it just seemed like it would have been too crabby. But next time we will say or write something which discourages that. (Two women came up to me afterwards to say how outraged they were by that applause- and they seemed genuinely appalled that I didn’t say something during the performance. My feeling is that there are more important things in the world about which to be appalled- but I join them in hoping that our next Messiah performances and any that follow thereafter will be applause-free.)
But heck, if you’re going to have a problem, Excessive Applause is a pretty nice one to have!
pictured above: The Hallelujah Chorus, which ended this performance – with me up on the podium and the soloists helping to lead the audience. Easily visible front and center- Rita Torcaso and Trevor Parker.