For our spring concert the Stoughton Festival Choir has chosen to do portions of Handel’s oratorio masterpiece “Messiah”. Rehearsals begin on Sunday, February 24 at 4:00 PM, at Christ Lutheran Church in Stoughton.
While in America, “Messiah” is often performed during the Christmas season, originally Handel’s oratorios were performed in the spring, especially during Lent when Operas were banned from being staged and the theaters sat empty. So Handel wrote oratorios, basically operas on biblical themes without costumes or staging, and presented them during that time. We’ll perform 11 choruses, some familiar, “And The Glory of The Lord”, “O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings”, “Lift Up Your Heads”, “Hallelujah”, some less performed, “The Lord Gave The Word”, “Their Sound Has Gone Out”, “But Thanks Be To God”, and some that a somewhat familiar, “Behold The Lamb of God”, “All We Like Sheep” “Since By Man Came Death” and “Worthy is The Lamb/Amen”
John Beutel will conduct the performance that will be at 4:00 pm, Sunday, April 21 at Christ Lutheran Church in Stoughton and we will be accompanied by an orchestra of 25 players. We will add a few solos so that the total performance time will be less than an hour and a half. We will have chairs for all the choir members to rest in during the solos, etc.
We have copies of the choral scores available. If you have your own, please feel free to bring it and use it. We are using the G. Schirmer edition, but I have found that most of the editions are quite similar, so bring whatever edition you have and we’ll try to make it work.
There is a registration fee of $10.00 per person. Please pass the word and bring any friends who might enjoy singing this great choral masterpiece. All are welcome.
Stoughton Festival Choir 