INTERVIEW: Now it’s your turn to sing Handel’s ‘Messiah’ with National Chorale
This week, the National Chorale, under the artistic direction of Everett McCorvey, will present the 50th anniversary of its “sing-in” version of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. The milestone performance will take place Friday, Dec. 15 at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Audience members can expect to sing the world-famous choruses in the two-and-a-half-hour piece, which has become a holiday staple for the National Chorale and many other orchestras and choirs across the world.
Among the soloists will be Joanna Mongiardo, Michael Nansel, Holly Sorensen and John Wesley Wright. There will be 17 conductors — yes, 17! — helping with the various movements. As far as the chorus, well, that’s the audience. There will be thousands of voices reaching to the ceiling of David Geffen Hall, and that’s what makes the National Chorale’s version quite unique.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with McCorvey about the special Dec. 15 performance. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What do find special about Handel’s Messiah?
What makes this concert so special is partly due to where we perform it. David Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher Hall) is the ‘Gold Standard’ for performance venues in the world. With a capacity for almost 3,000 audience members, the ability to come together in a venue like that and have the audience serve as the choir and sing Handel’s Messiah is quite an experience that is not to be missed!
What makes it so popular?
First, Handel’s Messiah is without a doubt the most popular choral piece in the world. The ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ is on everyone’s top 10 list of most well-known choral pieces. Handel’s Messiah is sung in almost every city in America during the Christmas season, and to bring it to New York and sing in David Geffen Hall is an unforgettable experience!
How do you choose your 17 conductors for the sing-in?
I try to engage conductors who are well known in the field and who already conduct large choruses. One of our conductors for instance, Jason Tramm, conducts a chorus in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, of 1,000 singers! These are very prominent conductors in the field, and we want them, their choirs and all of their fans to come to New York and participate in this wonderful event.
For the soloists, is it a particularly difficult piece to sing?
All of the soloists have difficult arias to sing. That’s one of the reasons that we hire professional soloists for the concert. They also have major résumés, and so the audiences will hear some of the world’s best known singers who have major professional credits from all over the world.
I’ve been in audiences where people sit during the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ and other audiences where they stand. From an expert, what should we do?
You should definitely STAND! The story goes back to the very beginnings of the Messiah performances where in a very early performance of the piece, King George II stood when the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ was performed during the London premiere of the work in 1743. Protocol at the time what that if the King stood, then everybody stood! That tradition continues today in honor of King George II.
Of course, since the audience is singing the entire work, they should be prepared to stand and sing for each of the 17 choruses. Also another point to remember is to bring a Messiah score! Or order one online and or download one from the web. I found a cool place to download a Messiah Chorus score from an IMSLP site: http://ks.
That way you are totally prepared for the event!
What are the acoustics like at David Geffen Hall for a chorus of 3,000?
Simply amazing!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The National Chorale will present George Frideric Handel’s Messiah Friday, Dec. 15 at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
