Handel - Messiah - Northampton Cathedral
21 December 2018, 19:00Northampton Cathedral was the venue for my only complete Messiah performance this December. I played with the choir and orchestra of Fiori Musicali with their Director Penelope Rapson.
Some years ago Handel’s Messiah seemed to be, almost exclusively, the only piece that I was asked to perform at this time of year. At the moment it seems to be slightly less common for me to have a solely Messiah-filled December. Last year saw a mixture of music by Bach, Handel, Lully, Telemann and others and this year has also been rather varied.
Handel’s Messiah seems to be no less popular with audiences, and it certainly is an enjoyable Christmas tradition. This performance on Friday 21st December 2018 was played to a full audience at Northampton Cathedral. There were wonderful movements from the soloists: Katy Hill (soprano), Robert Cross (countertenor), Edmund Hastings (tenor) and James Birchall (Bass). I really enjoyed performing The Trumpet Shall Sound with the latter. The continuo players did an excellent job throughout: Poppy Walshaw (cello), Carina Cosgrave (bass), Sally Holman (bassoon) and Penelope Rapson (harpsichord).
The third part included some of the often-cut movements (Then shall be brought to pass, O death where is thy sting?, But thanks be to God, and, If God be for us), which allows a luxurious amount of time to recover after The Trumpet Shall Sound before Worthy is the Lamb.
This performance marked a chequered flag for me at the end of a busy and very fulfilling season of concerts, featuring music mostly by Bach and Handel. Since returning from a five-week tour of Southeast Asia with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, December has included appearances in Nottingham, London, Glyndebourne, Versailles, San Sebastián, Luxembourg and Hampton Court Palace. It has been a very enjoyable year and I look forward to a final performance with Chronicles on the Isle of Man on 28th December. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
Some years ago Handel’s Messiah seemed to be, almost exclusively, the only piece that I was asked to perform at this time of year. At the moment it seems to be slightly less common for me to have a solely Messiah-filled December. Last year saw a mixture of music by Bach, Handel, Lully, Telemann and others and this year has also been rather varied.
Handel’s Messiah seems to be no less popular with audiences, and it certainly is an enjoyable Christmas tradition. This performance on Friday 21st December 2018 was played to a full audience at Northampton Cathedral. There were wonderful movements from the soloists: Katy Hill (soprano), Robert Cross (countertenor), Edmund Hastings (tenor) and James Birchall (Bass). I really enjoyed performing The Trumpet Shall Sound with the latter. The continuo players did an excellent job throughout: Poppy Walshaw (cello), Carina Cosgrave (bass), Sally Holman (bassoon) and Penelope Rapson (harpsichord).
The third part included some of the often-cut movements (Then shall be brought to pass, O death where is thy sting?, But thanks be to God, and, If God be for us), which allows a luxurious amount of time to recover after The Trumpet Shall Sound before Worthy is the Lamb.
This performance marked a chequered flag for me at the end of a busy and very fulfilling season of concerts, featuring music mostly by Bach and Handel. Since returning from a five-week tour of Southeast Asia with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, December has included appearances in Nottingham, London, Glyndebourne, Versailles, San Sebastián, Luxembourg and Hampton Court Palace. It has been a very enjoyable year and I look forward to a final performance with Chronicles on the Isle of Man on 28th December. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
Russell Gilmour
writing on music, photography, engraving, travel and life as a freelance professional musician.
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Bach
Baroque
Baroque Style
BBC Proms
Beethoven
Berlioz
Biber
Brandenburg
Brandenburg Baroque Soloists
Brass Instrument Making
Broadcast
Chronicles
Classical
Concert
Cornetto
Education Outreach
English Slide Trumpet
Engraving
Festival
France
Germany
Gorczycki
Guts and Glory
Göttingen Handel Festival
Handel
Haydn
Historic Royal Palaces
Horn
Instrument
Instrument Making
Interview
Isle of Man
Keyed Trumpet
Kuhnau
Le Concert Lorrain
Lecture
Leipzig
Les Talens Lyriques
London
Masterclass
Modern Trumpet
Monteverdi
Mozart
Museum
Music
Natural Trumpet
Natural Trumpet Courses
OAE
OAEducation
Opera
Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
Oxford
Period Costume
Photography
Poland
Purcell
Radio Broadcast
Recording
Renaisannce
Review
Royal Academy of Music
Royal Society of Musicians
Schelle
Schütz
Shakespeare
Solomon's Knot
Spain
Spiritato!
St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Switzerland
Taverner Consort
Teaching
Telemann
The English Concert
The Netherlands
The Section
Tour
Touring
Toyota Classics Tour 2018
Travel
Trumpet
Trumpet and Organ
Venice
Ventless
Vivaldi
Vox Luminis
Wedding
Wigmore Hall
Workshop
Wrocław Baroque Orchestra
York
Zelenka
Zugtrompete