Handel's Messiah performed by The Worcester Chorus, Christopher Shepard, Artistic Director

Overview

The best-known of all the choral masterworks, Handel's Messiah has been a staple of the Worceste Chorus' repertoire from the very first concert 150 years ago.  For more than a century, the annual Christmastide performance of Messiah has been one of Worcester's most cherished traditions.  For many in Central Massachusetts this performance has become a mutli-generational holiday gathering and tradition.

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Program

Sinfonia (Overture)

Recitative - Tenor Isaiah xl, 1-3...Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God; speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Air - Tenor Isaiah xl, 4...Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.

Chorus Isaiah xl, 5... And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Recitative - Bass Haggai ii, 6-7; Malachi iii, 1... Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Yet once, a little while and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come. The Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Air - Alto Malachi iii, 2...But who may abide the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire.

Chorus Malachi iii, 3...And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Recitative - Alto Isaiah vii, 14; Matthew i, 23...Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel, God With Us. 

Air - Alto and Chorus Isaiah xl, 9; lx, 1...O thou that tellest good tiding to Zion, get thee up into the high moun- tain: O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

Recitative - Bass Isaiah ix, 2-3...For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 

Air - Bass Isaiah ix, 2...The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: and they that dwell, in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Chorus Isaiah ix, 6 ...For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. 

Pifa [Pastoral Symphony]

Recitative - Soprano Luke ii, 8, 9... There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.

Recitative - Soprano Luke ii, 10-11... And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Recitative - Soprano Luke ii, 13...And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying:

Chorus Luke ii, 14...Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, goodwill toward men.

Air - Soprano Zechariah ix, 9-10...Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto thee!

Recitative - Alto Isaiah xxxv, 5-6... Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.

Air –Soprano - Alto Isaiah xl, 11...He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: and He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Chorus Matthew xi, 30...His yoke is easy and His burthen is light.

Part Two

Chorus John i, 29... Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.

Air - Alto Isaiah liii, 3;1,6... He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; He hid not His face from shame and spitting.

Chorus Isaiah, liii, 4-5... Surely He hath born our griefs, and carried our sorrows; he was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement our peace was upon Him.

Chorus Isaiah liii, 5... And with His stripes we are healed.

Recitative - Tenor Psalm xxii, 7... All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn, they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying:

Chorus Psalm xxii, 8...He trusted in God that He would deliver Him; let Him deliver Him, if He de light in Him.

Recitative - Tenor Psalm lxix, 21...Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man; neither found He any to comfort Him.

Air - Tenor Psalm xvi, 10...But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; nor didst Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.

Chorus Psalm xxiv, 7-10…Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.

Recitative - Tenor Hebrews i, 5...Unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?

Chorus Hebrews i, 6...Let all the angels of God worship him.

Air - Alto Psalm lxviii, 18...Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captive, and received gifts for men: yea, even for thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them.

Chorus Psalm lxvii, 11...The Lord gave the word; great was the company of the preachers.

Air - Soprano Romans X, 25...How beautiful are the are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.

Air - Bass Psalm ii, 1-2...Why do the nations so furiously rage together? And why do the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed.

Recitative - Tenor Psalm ii, 4...He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall have them in derision.

Air - Tenor Psalm ii, 9...Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Chorus Rev. xix, 6; xi, 15; xix, 16...Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Hallelujah!

 Part Three

 Air - Soprano Job xix, 25-26; Cor. xv, 20...I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first-fruits of them that sleep.

Chorus 1 Cor. xv, 21-22...Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Recitative - Bass 1 Cor. xv, 51-52...Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

Air - Bass 1 Cor. xv, 52-54...The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Chorus Rev. v, 12-13...Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Artists

The Worcester Chorus, under the sponsorship of Music Worcester Inc., has the unique distinction of being one of the most outstanding ongoing choral groups in the United States having been founded in 1858 for the purpose of performing in the first annual Worcester Music Festival held in the newly built Mechanics Hall.

During its rich history, the Chorus has performed with a variety symphony orchestras, including appearances with the Prague Symphony in Carnegie Hall (1985), the Hartford Symphony (1994) and, most recently (2006), a performance of the Verdi Requiem with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

The Chorus has toured internationally as well, including:Mexico and the Oaxaca Spring Festival (1983), The British Isles and the Strathclyde Festival (1986), Switzerland, Italy and Yugoslavia (1990), Austria for the Salzburg Music Festival (1994), St. Petersburg and Pushkin, and Scandinavia (1998).

The Chorus traditionally performs four concerts each year as part of the Worcester Music Festival, including Messiah in December. Repertoire includes the greatest choral masterpieces, as well as works by contemporary composers and arrangements of American folk songs and classics from the musical theater.

The Worcester Chorus includes both amateur and professional musicians with the primary mission to foster the choral arts and enhance the cultural life of Worcester and the surrounding area. We endeavor to provide the highest level of musicianship and artistry, resulting in an enriching and emotional experience for both the audience and singers.

Christopher Shepard, Artistic Director. Founding conductor of the Sydneian Bach Choir and Orchestra from 2001 to 2008, Chris Shepard was the music director of BACH 2010, a project to perform all of Bach’s choral cantatas. Under his direction the ensemble performed over seventy-five cantatas, as well as the two Passions, B Minor Mass, and Christmas Oratorio. A Sydney reviewer wrote of the cantata series that “these well-attended events, using a fine choir and perceptive soloists, are high points in our musical terrain.” Resident in Sydney for over a decade, Chris also served as Director of Music at Sydney Grammar School, one of Australia’s most prominent high schools.

Before moving to Sydney, Chris led the choral program at the Taft School in Connecticut, where his Collegium Musicum appeared at the 1994 ACDA Eastern Division convention. While teaching at Taft, he conducted many choirs and orchestras in Connecticut, including the Greater Middletown Chorale and Waterbury Chorale. The Litchfield County Children’s Choir, which he founded in 1990, continues to thrive after nearly two decades. Since 2004, Chris has served as Music Director of the Hotchkiss Summer Portals Chamber Music Program, an intensive chamber music program for advanced young players and singers from around the world. He conducts the chamber orchestra and choir, serving on the faculty alongside such guest ensembles as the Tokyo String Quartet, the Shanghai Quartet and the Philadelphia Singers. In February 2009, Chris was guest conductor at Emmanuel Church in Boston, a church renowned for its three-decade Bach cantata project.

Apart from his work with the music of J.S. Bach, Chris has conducted a number of major choral-orchestral works, including Brahms’ German Requiem, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Orff’s Carmina Burana, the Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, Britten’s Saint Nicolas, Mozart’s Requiem and C Minor Mass, Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, the Fauré Requiem, and Monteverdi’s Vespers. With SBS-TV, one of Australia’s two national public television networks, Chris presented two documentaries, on Berstein’s Chichester Psalms and From Mozart to Morrison with eminent Australian jazz musician James Morrison. He has commissioned new works from many composers, including Gwyneth Walker, Erik Nielsen, Amy Bernon, Richard Charlton, Anna Jacobs and Daniel Rojas.

A committed educator for more than two decades, he taught the conducting course in the New South Wales Kodály Institute for more than a decade, and presented workshops and lectures for a number of key music organizations in Australia. He has also given presentations for the American Choral Directors’ Association and has conducted

Jayne West, soprano, has performed with many of the country's leading orchestras and chamber groups, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke, Handel & Haydn Society and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under notable conductors Seiji Ozawa, Bernard Haitink, Trevor Pinnock, Neeme Järvi, Roberto Abbado, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Christopher Hogwood, Jane Glover, Grant Llewellyn and Keith Lockhart. She has sung at the Edinburgh Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Grant Park Series, Saito Kinen Festival, and with the Brussels National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, The New Israeli Opera Tel Aviv, and Boston Lyric Opera.

Recent concerts include Aaron Jay Kernis’ Simple Songs and Mahler Symphony #4 with the Mobile Symphony, Bach Mass in B Minor with Emmanuel Music, Belinda and 1st Witch in Dido and Aeneas with the Mark Morris Dance Group, Mark Morris, conductor, Haydn Creation with the Candlelight Singers in Newburport, MA, “Opera and Broadway Favorites” at Great Waters Music Festival in Wolfeboro, NH, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with Wellesley Symphony, Bach Cantata BWV 21 at Brandeis University, and Fauré Requiem with the Neponset Choral Society, and various recitals with Ensemble Très, pianist Robert Merfeld and pianist Virginia Eskin.

 Ms. West has recorded for Hyperion, Decca/Argo, MusicMasters, CRI, Koch, Telarc, London Records and Newport Classics. She performs in duet with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson on the recent release of “Lorraine at Emmanuel” CD on Avie Records. She is on the faculty at Longy School of Music.

 Dimitrie Lazich, bass-baritone, is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. He has performed leading roles in Carmen, Die Zauberflote, Le Nozze di Figaro, The Rake's Progress, La Boheme, Die Fledermaus, among many others.

Mr. Lazich has also performed leading roles with the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh as Maximilion in Candide, Louis in their production of Bolcolm's A View from the Bridge, and Marco in their production of Gianni Schicchi. With the Opera Company of Philadelphia, he has performed Marullo in Rigoletto, Wagner in Faust and Lakai in Ariadne auf Naxos. He has also sung as the Erste Soldat with Cleveland Opera in Salome, and La Traviata with De Nederlandse Reisopera.

Mr. Lazich made his professional European debut with the Staatsoper Stuttgart singing in their production of Dr. Faustus. He has also performed as part of The Music Academy of the West where he performed Beaupertuis in Il cappello di paglia di Firenze, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, Sid in Albert Herring as well as Don Alvaro in Il Viaggio a Reims where he worked closely with Ms. Marilyn Horne and the late Randal Behr.

Dimitrie Lazich made his UK debut with Dorset Opera singing Zurga in their production of Les pêcheurs de perles and most recently Escamillo in Carmen with the Longborough Festival Opera.

No stranger to the concert stage, he has performed solos in Faure’s Requiem, Durefle’s Requiem, Carmina Burana and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with different groups in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. He will be returning to Worcester to sing with The Worcester Chorus and Festival Orchestra, after singing a successful St. Matthew’s Passion, to sing The Messiah this winter.

Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano, is an acclaimed soloist and recitalist whose singing has been praised for her "exquisite vocal color," "musical sensitivity," (Worcester Telegram) and "eloquent phrasing." (The Boston Globe). Her repertoire encompasses an astonishing range from 12th-century monody through Renaissance songs, Baroque cantatas and oratorios, 18th - 21st-century art songs and operas, and premieres of new works. Recent appearances include the premiere of a new John Harbison work, The Seven Ages, with the New York New Music Ensemble at Merkin Concert Hall this past April. She will also perform the work in San Francisco with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and in Boston and London with Boston Musica Viva. Ms. Dellal made her Kennedy Center debut this past season under Julian Wachner in the B-minor Mass, and her Lincoln Center debut under renowned conductor William Christie in Messiah. She has performed under other acclaimed conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Christopher Hogwood, Paul McCreesh, Bernard Labadie and Roger Norrington. Other ensembles which have presented Ms. Dellal include the Tokyo Oratorio Society, the Lydian String Quartet, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Boston Baroque, the Boston Early Music Festival, Aston Magna, the Dallas Bach Society, The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the National Chamber Orchestra, the Evansville Philharmonic, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Dellal has received critical acclaim for performances of Brahms' Alto Rhapsody, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and the C-minor Mass, and Bach's B-minor Mass, St. Matthew and St. John Passions. Her operatic roles include Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Sesto in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, Dorabella in Mozart's Così Fan Tutte, Bradamante in Alcina, Erika in Barber’s Vanessa, Lucretia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Paulina in Harbison's Winter's Tale. She has been a featured artist with the The Red House Opera Group, Prism Opera Company, Opera Aperta, Ocean State Lyric Opera, the New Boston Theatre Project, and the Opera Company of Boston, and has appeared in concert in major cities in Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan.

Known for her work with Renaissance and Baroque chamber music, Ms. Dellal has appeared multiple times with the Boston Early Music Festival, is a frequent guest artist with Ensemble Chaconne, the Musicians of the Old Post Road and is a current member of the Blue Heron Renaissance Choir. As a member and Acting Director of Sequentia's women's ensemble Vox Feminae, Ms. Dellal has made numerous recordings of the music of Hildegard von Bingen, and has toured the U.S., Europe, and Australia. A passionate advocate for contemporary music, she is a regular guest with the Boston ensembles Dinosaur Annex, and Boston Musica Viva, and has also appeared with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Lumen Ensemble and Collage, performing works by contemporary composers such as Martin Boykan, Martin Brody, Edward Cohen, John Harbison, Ruth Lomon, Shulamit Ran, Judith Shatin, Fabio Vacchi, Judith Weir, Scott Wheeler, and others. She has been a regular soloist in the renowned Bach Cantata series presented by Emmanuel Music for twenty-five years, having performed almost all 200 of Bach's sacred cantatas. She has recorded for Arabesque Records, Artona, BMG, CRI, Dorian, Meridian, and KOCH International.

Ryan Turner, tenor, has performed to critical acclaim in oratorio, opera, and recital throughout the U.S. and Europe. The Boston Globe wrote “Turner has a pleasing tenor, and he can spin off coloratura with wonderful fluidity.” Recent seasons have featured appearances with the Handel & Haydn Society, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Seattle Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Boston Baroque, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Landmarks Orchestra, Baltimore Choral Arts, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Opera Aperta, Ensemble Abendmusik, Boston Camerata, Boston Cecilia, Coro Allegro, Masterworks Chorale, Boston Secession, and the Handel Society of Dartmouth College. He has worked with conductors Christopher Hogwood, Jane Glover, Grant Llewellyn, Paul McCreesh, Rinaldo Allessandrini, Bruno Weil, Andrew Megill, Benjamin Zander, Jeannette Sorrell, John Harbison and John Finney. Since 1998, he has been a soloist in Emmanuel Music’s famed Bach Cantata series under the direction of the late Craig Smith, John Harbison and Michael Beattie. Festival appearances include six seasons at the Carmel Bach Festival, Tanglewood, Holland Festival Oude Muzieke, and the Boston Early Music Festival. Additionally, Ryan has collaborated on stage with director/choreographer Chen Shi-Zheng and choreographer Tero Saarinen.

The art of song recital is of special importance to the young tenor. His wide repertoire in art song ranges from early English lute song to Schumann, Vaughan Williams, Poulenc and Ned Rorem. He has performed song recitals at Dartmouth College as part of the Berlioz Festival, Boston College, Phillips Exeter Academy, and as part of the Schubert Sereies at Emmanuel Music.

 Mr. Turner’s discography includes Bach BWV 76 with Emmanuel Music for KOCH, the role of Metagenes in Kapsberger’s Apotheosis with Ensemble Abendmusik for DORIAN and works by Praetorius with Apollo’s Fire for KOCH.

 Highlights of the 2008-2009 season include Bach BWV 21 with Emmanuel Music, the role of Solomon in the Charpentier opera Judicium Salomonis with Ensemble Abendmusik, Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge at Phillips Exeter Academy, A Clear Midnight, a new work by John Harbison at MIT and performances of Borrowed Light with Boston Camerata and Tero Saarinen Company in Israel and Portugal.

 In addition to his work as a singer, Ryan is an active conductor and teacher. He is Director of Choral Activities at Phillips Exeter Academy and Music Director of the Concord Chorale & Chamber Orchestra (NH). He has held voice and conducting faculty positions at Boston College, URI, Plymouth State University, UMass Boston, and the New England Conservatory. Recent guest conducting engagements include Emmanuel Music, Granite State Symphony, Boston Conservatory, Boston College, Plymouth State University, and St. Anselm’s College.