Hamlet by Grand Phiharmonic Choir
Review by Anar m., Youth Reviewer
Although my family isn’t particularly religious, it’s become a tradition for us to go see Handel’s “Messiah” at around Christmas time every year, usually with the Grand Philharmonic Choir. Hearing it, again and again, every year is enjoyable — I think I learn more about the music each time.
This year, I noticed the way the music echoes the meaning of the words: when the soprano sings “shout”, the instrumental accompaniment sounds like a shout; in the Hallelujah chorus, the words “ever and ever” are repeated by different parts of the chorus, making it seem like the words themselves go on forever. While the chorus sings “Glory to God in the highest”, the music crescendos and rises in pitch; at the next line “and peace on earth”, the dynamics become quieter and the notes go down an octave, signaling the descent in the lyrics from heaven to earth. Noticing connections like these between the lyrics and the music is fun.
I also liked this year’s production in particular, for a few reasons. Handel’s original work (composed, impressively, in 24 days) is long, so essentially all modern productions play abridged versions in which a few verses are cut out. This year’s production was a different abridged version that I’d heard before, meaning that several verses performed were new to me. The other thing I liked was that the programs handed out included not only the text for each verse but also which part of the bible it came from. I think it’s interesting how Handel placed verses from all over the Old and New Testaments next to each other, showing us the thematic connections between them.
Find “Messiah” at the Kitchener Public Library!