Live music review of Handel's Messiah at St George's in Bristol

Posted on: 2017-12-17

Our rating:

Divine, transcendent, riveting and utterly monumental, it was a victorious, rousing early Christmas present from start to finish. Magnificent.


Back for another year and as welcome and comforting as a warm, cosy pair of slippers - or perhaps more appropriately considering the season, a delicious mug of mulled cider - the Bristol Ensemble joined forces with the Choir or Royal Holloway for an, as always, sumptuous rendition of Handel's Messiah at St George's on Wednesday 13th December 2017.

Choir of Royal Holloway

There's always an expectant, enthusiastic buzz amongst the crowd as they settle in to their seats, and this evening of stunning music-making was no exception. Like sprouts, turkey and tinsel, this rendition of Handel's unequivocal masterpiece is as much as part of the venue's celebrated Christmas calendar - perhaps its triumphant highlight - and such incredible musicianship is precisely the reason the city's music-loving masses keep returning for this festive treat. 

Boasting incredible acoustics, St George's is also the ideal venue to stage and perform the Baroque composer's monolithic titan of a work. Composed by Handel in 1741 in a mere 24 days, it uses extracts from the authorised version of the Bible and Book of Common Prayer, with a libretto by Charles Jennings. Comprising a three-part structure - expectation of Christ's arrival; sacrifice, suffering and resurrection; redemption and immortality - its initial Dublin premiere in 1742 was tepid to say the least.

Time, retrospect and appreciation are, of course, marvellous things, and this magnum opus and colossus of a work has since been recognised as the phenomenal, genius piece of musical art is truly is, such to the extent it's now one of the most regularly performed choral pieces on the modern concert hall repertoire. 

Deviating from the usual staid performances of the work, choir members separated from the on-stage group to position themselves around the venue close to the audience, thus rendering a more immersive, surround-sound atmosphere and timbre to proceedings. Mellifluous, ethereal and haunting, soloists shone betwixt the faultless instrumentalists, creating sonic invocations of often such extraordinary beauty it was enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Ensemble and choir combined to dizzying, mesmerizing effect, injecting the work with a raw, rich musical freshness that carried you away with its relentless ebb and flow and enchanting, sublime numinosity. 

Keeping things controlled and effortlessly proficient throughout were conductor Rupert Gough and leader Roger Huckle, weaving a superlative musical tapestry for the entire, epic 2 hours and 15 minutes, hitting each mark and note through every intricate nuance of rhythm, dynamics and tempo. And the triumphant Hallelujah Chorus did, of course, prompt everyone attentively to their feet, in-keeping with a tradition first established by King George II. 

From heroic to melancholy, introspective to exuberant, brooding to joyous, blistering to tender, this gargantuan composition wrings every drop of human emotion out of it (and the listener), on a musical journey in the faultless hands of consummate instrumentalists and singers. Divine, transcendent, riveting and utterly monumental, it was a victorious, rousing early Christmas present from start to finish. Magnificent. 

The Bristol Ensemble



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