Prom 65: Choral Day (III) - Handel / Mozart: Messiah, ASMF, J. Butt

[bluestateprommer]

Saturday 7 September 2024
19:00
Royal Albert Hall

George Frideric Handel (arr. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart): Messiah (sung in English)

Nardus Williams, soprano
Helen Charlston, mezzo-soprano
Benjamin Hulett, tenor
Ashley Riches, bass

Fourth Choir (Proms debut ensemble)
Jason Max Ferdinand Singers
London Youth Choirs (LYC) Chamber Choir (Proms debut ensemble)
Bath Minerva Choir (Proms debut ensemble)
Philharmonia Chorus
Voices of the River’s Edge

Academy of St Martin in the Fields
John Butt, conductor

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/exnqwh

https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-24/prom-65/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022ld5

[oddoneout]

A lot of singers and from a wide range of backgrounds - quite a challenge for whoever is in charge of them for the concert?

[Historian]

A lot of singers and from a wide range of backgrounds - quite a challenge for whoever is in charge of them for the concert?

I believe that the Philharmonia Chorus will sing all the choruses being performed on the night, with the other choirs joining for certain sections, if that makes sense. Gavin Carr directs the Bath Minerva Choir as well as the Philharmonia (which should make things easier) and I imagine he will be liaising closely between John Butt and the other choirmasters.

[Darkbloom]

I'm going to this one. Oddly, I've never heard Messiah live so this season I've been ticking off some of the old chestnuts (like Carmen) that I'd somehow managed to avoid over the years.

I know there's a lot of negativity about the Proms on here, but - as we're nearing the end of the season - I must say I've found a lot to enjoy over the past 7 weeks.

[jonfan]

I'm going to this one. Oddly, I've never heard Messiah live so this season I've been ticking off some of the old chestnuts (like Carmen) that I'd somehow managed to avoid over the years.

I know there's a lot of negativity about the Proms on here, but - as we're nearing the end of the season - I must say I've found a lot to enjoy over the past 7 weeks.

This won’t be a Messiah as Handel would recognise but you’ll enjoy it with Mozart’s often witty, but always respectful, embellishments. ‘The Trumpet shall sound’ will be a horn instead!
I agree about the enjoyment of this season, especially the symphonies, which interested me most.

Great hour from the Sixteen (26 today!). Amazing how many of these early 20th century pieces were prom’s premieres.

[Darkbloom]

This won’t be a Messiah as Handel would recognise but you’ll enjoy it with Mozart’s often witty, but always respectful, embellishments. ‘The Trumpet shall sound’ will be a horn instead!
I agree about the enjoyment of this season, especially the symphonies, which interested me most.

Great hour from the Sixteen (26 today!). Amazing how many of these early 20th century pieces were prom’s premieres.

Yes, I'm looking forward to the Mozart version as we usually get the slimmed down one. I don't care for tubby Bach but adding a few calories to Handel doesn't usually do much harm, and I suspect he'd probably approve anyway.

[edashtav]

I'm going to this one. Oddly, I've never heard Messiah live so this season I've been ticking off some of the old chestnuts (like Carmen) that I'd somehow managed to avoid over the years.

I know there's a lot of negativity about the Proms on here, but - as we're nearing the end of the season - I must say I've found a lot to enjoy over the past 7 weeks.

I agree with you, Darkbloom: this has been a Prom season packed with goodies.

[Darkbloom]

Sitting in the RAH and we're being rehearsed for the Hallelujah Chorus. Lots of audience participation in this one.

[Pulcinella]

Sitting in the RAH and we're being rehearsed for the Hallelujah Chorus. Lots of audience participation in this one.

How to stand up and sit down?

[oddoneout]

Sitting in the RAH and we're being rehearsed for the Hallelujah Chorus. Lots of audience participation in this one.

The rehearsal paid off, the result was splendid, and I found it very moving for some reason.
I wasn't convinced about Mozart's additions, but I was very impressed with the choral forces. Not only were very disparate singing styles melded into a whole, but there was no sense of it being a large choir; the precision, agility and articulation would have done credit to a much smaller group, but for 250 were a real achievement.

[edashtav]

The rehearsal paid off, the result was splendid, and I found it very moving for some reason.
I wasn't convinced about Mozart's additions, but I was very impressed with the choral forces. Not only were very disparate singing styles melded into a whole, but there was no sense of it being a large choir; the precision, agility and articulation would have done credit to a much smaller group, but for 250 were a real achievement.

I listened on R.3 and enjoyed this Handel Mozart Festival performance. I agree with you,ooo, about the agility, precision and attack of the mixed choruses. Their contributions were thrilling.

[Darkbloom]

I was surprised at the number of empty seats last night. I thought it would be sold out. I enjoyed the performance without ever being bowled over by it. I thought the tenor was the best of the soloists although they all seemed to struggle with the ornamentation. At its best Messiah really carries you off somewhere else, and I thought last night kept its feet firmly planted on the ground. The choirs were excellent (John Butt said it was 400 strong) and the Hallelujah chorus (which I had my doubts about) was a genuinely thrilling communal moment that ought to become a tradition. The Amens at the end (which the audience was also invited to participate in) didn't quite work as well, though.

The Mozart additions were interesting to hear but didn't add very much for me. For modern audiences who have adjusted to baroque music practices now, it seemed like an unnecessary bit of hand-holding. But festivals like this are all about trying unusual things so I don't have a problem with the occasional airing.

[jonfan]

The choruses are thrillingly sung but there’s a Mozart touch of colour I couldn’t hear. When Huddersfield CS recorded this version in 1988 with Mackerass and the RPO the alto, tenor and bass lines were doubled by the equivalent trombones, as was the custom at the time. Very challenging for the players, especially the almost continuous choral section at the start of part two, so much so that the alto trombone had a bumper.
A pity they weren’t used last night.

[PhilipT]

The choirs were excellent (John Butt said it was 400 strong) and the Hallelujah chorus (which I had my doubts about) was a genuinely thrilling communal moment that ought to become a tradition. The Amens at the end (which the audience was also invited to participate in) didn't quite work as well, though.

I write as someone who was in the front row of the Arena and can barely read the treble clef. I participated in the Hallelujah chorus, but the final Amen was well beyond me, despite the prior rehearsal, and I was careful to keep quiet for that. It was a thrilling experience, and John Butt is to be commended for his courage in having us participate. I hope he finds another source of fines to offset his drinking expenses.

[duncan]

I write as someone who was in the front row of the Arena and can barely read the treble clef. I participated in the Hallelujah chorus, but the final Amen was well beyond me, despite the prior rehearsal, and I was careful to keep quiet for that. It was a thrilling experience, and John Butt is to be commended for his courage in having us participate.

It sounds a bit like Butt and the Dunedin consort's Bach St John's Passion in 2017 when the audience were rehearsed in the chorales beforehand then joined in with the performance (very impressively in tune I thought at the time) as Bach would have expected:

"As we all sang a rousing 'Now Thank We All Our God' at the end of our two and a half hour collective experience, this heathen recognised those German Protestant were on to something".