Messiah and/or Bach's Christmas Oratorio...abridged?

[ardcarp]

If you wanted to give a shortened version of Messiah, lasting under an hour, what would you include (or if you prefer, what would you leave out?) Assume usual orchestral forces, including trumpet and timps. The aim is to give a version that would appeal to 'everyman' (and 'everywoman' of course) so should include some well-loved numbers. But maybe do without one soloist, to save some cash. The idea would be to have a few carols in the 2nd half of the concert.

Having had a think about that, could you do the same for the Christmas Oratorio? More of a tall order, methinks.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

If you wanted to give a shortened version of Messiah, lasting under an hour, what would you include (or if you prefer, what would you leave out?) Assume usual orchestral forces, including trumpet and timps. The aim is to give a version that would appeal to 'everyman' (and 'everywoman' of course) so should include some well-loved numbers. But maybe do without one soloist, to save some cash. The idea would be to have a few carols in the 2nd half of the concert.

Having had a think about that, could you do the same for the Christmas Oratorio? More of a tall order, methinks.

The simplest way would be to omit Part II, which would fail by cutting out the Hallelujah Chorus, but this could be moved to substitute for Worthy is the Lamb/Amen. The traditional cuts would be observed in Part III and the middle section of The Trumpet Shall Sound would be cut.
Cuts in Part I? That’s trickier, but as the most important alto solo has been lost by the cutting of Part II, perhaps the alto bits in Part I could be sacrificed too.

[Keraulophone]

If you wanted to give a shortened version of ... the Christmas Oratorio? More of a tall order, methinks.

It would have to be a proper mish-mash! It's a piece that rarely seems to receive a complete performance. Maybe Sir Thomas had a point when he exclaimed: 'Too much counterpoint, and what is worse, Protestant counterpoint!' For example, Trinity College Choir are doing Parts 1,2,3 and 6 at St John's, Smith Square on 22 Dec, and New College Choir are only singing the first three parts on 20 Dec in their chapel.
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[ostuni]

Well, the Christmas Oratorio was never designed to have a ‘complete performance' in one concert: 6 separate cantatas for 6 different Sundays over the Christmas period. Parts 1,2,4,6 is a common programme for modern concert use (and that's what I'll be playing in Gloucester Cathedral tomorrow night). Once every two years, Hereford Cathedral Choir perform all six parts in one evening in January; again, I'll be playing in that cathedral in January 2022 - though, as a flautist, I get to go home at the half-way point…