Although it has been sung and played in many styles and with a greatly varying number of singers and instrumentalists for more than 250 years, Messiah remains a cornerstone of the choral/orchestral repertoire throughout the world.  In spite of its familiarity, it continues to be a work in which every listener and performer can find something new and fresh.

Handel composed the entire work in only 24 days for its premiere in Dublin in September of 1741.  The local Faulkiner's Dublin Journal reported that the performance gave "unusual satisfaction to all present; and was allowed by the greatest Judges to be the finest Composition of Musick that was ever heard" – a judgment with which many 21st-century conert-goers will agree.  Virtuoso solo arias alternate with extraordinary choruses; some very well known and others almost unknown to the general public.  Underlying it all is a marvelous Baroque "festival" orchestra of strings, oboes, bassoon, trumpets, timpani and organ continuo, which come into their own during the two completely instrumental sections of the work – the Overture and Pifa, or "Pastoral Symphony". The libretto, written by Charles Jennens, uses biblical quotations primarily from the books of Isaiah, Psalms, Malachi, Luke and First Corinthians. Jennens added a Biblical text to the program as a preface to the work: "And without Controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness: God was manifested in the Flesh, justified by the Spirit, seen of Angels, preached among Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. In whom are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge". The Preface captures the unique essence of Handel's great work.

Messiah is in a unique category among Handel's works.  It tells the story of human redemption from an artistic standpoint, raising the work above religious dogma and making it accessible to people of all faiths.

Messiah has endured many transformations and performance styles since its 18th-century premiere.  The first to make changes in performance practice was Handel himself, who added, subtracted and changed solo arias to match the solo singers available for each performance.  These changes are annotated in Handel's own hand, and are thought to have helped him create a continuing interest in revivals of his work.

It was not until 1750 that performances of Messiah became an annual feature of the London musical scene, with the forces – vocal and instrumental – employed growing from the late eighteenth century into the twentieth century, and leading to the truly gargantuan proportions of still-remembered Messiahs in England and the United States. 

The last half of the twentieth century saw a return to smaller choral and orchestral forces for Messiah, in an attempt to recreate, as faithfully as possible in modern halls and with modern instruments, the feeling of performance of this Baroque masterpiece.  Holiday season performances of the work have become an annual part of the National Chorale's Avery Fisher Hall season.  Tonight's concert incorporates accepted Baroque performance practice – including instrumental sound and the ornamentation of vocal and instrumental lines – adapted to a modern concert hall.

Despite its venerable age and frequent performances, Messiah remains a favorite with audiences and an eagerly-sought performing experience for professional musicians everywhere.  Both performers and audiences might agree with Faulkiner's 18th-century reviewer that, in Messiah, "the Sublime, the Grand and the Tender, adapted to the most elevated, majestick and moving Words, conspire to transport the ravished Heart and Ear".

MEET THE SOLOISTS

JEE HYUM LIM, returning to the National Chorale, has appeared in concert and opera throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. • US performances include New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Spoleto Festival USA, and the opera companies of Seattle, Boston, Austin, Atlanta, Chautaqua, Kansas City, Minnesota, Virginia, and Opéra Français NY among many others. • She has appeared in London’s Royal Albert Hall, in Zagreb, Croatia, with Dublin’s Lyric Opera, and in Seoul, South Korea

JENNIFER RODERER, alto, who debuts with the Chorale, has sung with New York City Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. • She has appeared in concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sarasota Opera, Virginia Opera, New York City Ballet, American Symphony Orchestra and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

MATT MORGAN, tenor, returning to the Chorale’s series after performing in Orff’s Carmina Burana, has sung with New York City Opera in Haroun and the Sea, Platée, Capriccio, and 11 viaggio a Reims, Fort Worth Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, National Opera Company, North Star Opera, Portland Opera, Pensacola Opera, Nevada Opera, Skylight Opera, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Bard Music Festival.

DERRICK PARKER, bass, debuting with the Chorale, has sung with the National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony. • He has also sung with Houston Grand Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Fort Worth Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Orlando Opera, the Scottish Opera, Cape Town Opera and Wolf Trap Opera.

MEET THE CONDUCTOR

MARTIN JOSMAN, Music Director of The National Chorale, is one of the nation's leading vocal conductors. He has conducted more than 1,500 concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, throughout the New York area and across the United States. He regularly conducts an extensive repertory of choral/orchestral masterworks, as well as opera and operetta. He has presented United States premieres of rediscovered Baroque, Classical and Romantic era masterpieces, and a wide range of contemporary music, including premieres of works commissioned by the Chorale for its Lincoln Center series.

In addition to leading 40 seasons of concerts and Messiah Sing-Ins at Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall, Mr. Josman has conducted concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall, the Seattle Opera House, the Philadelphia Academy of Music, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Boettcher Hall in Denver, St. Louis' Powell Hall, Symphony Hall in Phoenix, the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, Symphony Hall in Tulsa, the Chautauqua Amphitheatre and the Saratoga Performing Arts Festival.

Maestro Josman has toured the United States with the National Chorale, and conducted the company in 19 summer seasons of Festival of American Music Theatre concerts at Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park. The Chorale season also has included Concerts for Young People, programs of historic American music, and vocal-instrumental chamber music series. He was music director and conductor for the ABC Television 90-minute tribute to President John F. Kennedy, and for the PBS-Channel 13 special, "Bach and His Sons: the Overwhelming Legacy", broadcast on more than 250 TV stations across the United States. Mr. Josman has also served as amember of the Choral Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts.