Handel’s Messiah Review

Kevin Jackson

Handel’s Messiah is a staple of western choral music. It is deservedly well known and even the least musically inclined can hum a few bars from the Hallelujah Chorus.

This makes putting a performance on more challenging than it might be for a less well-known piece; the chances are that the audience will have a memory against which to compare it. Blenheim Choral, performers from Marlborough Civic Orchestra and Marlborough District Brass Band and the Soloists from Voices New Zealand can be confident that their production stands comparison with the best.

George Frideric Handel’s great friend, Charles Jennings, had the whole of the Bible to choose from when he wrote the narrative text and he chose well. Together they created a guided reflection on the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

To do Handel’s oratorio justice, each of those individual reflections need to be delivered with a passion and in a way that honours the story as a whole. Musical Director Robert Tucker, ably supported by the organist Jonathon Berkham, brought this off with both technical precision and swagger. Robert’s conducting summoned exceptional performance in every gesture with the style and panache of a sorcerer casting spells.

And the Hallelujah Chorus? The performances produced a glorious wave of sound which literally moved the audience. Some standing, some singing, some praising God, but all impressed.