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Volume 12, Issue 49 ~ December 2 - December 8, 2004
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Attending an annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah is akin to returning to the ocean after a long winter away. Like a first glimpse of expansive sea, sky and sand, hearing the strains of this seasonal music is a kind of homecoming, an exquisite echo of years past floating upon a song of promise. George Frideric Handel wrote the Messiah in just 24 days, but his three-part masterpiece, with Biblical passages as part of the music, has endured 262 years. First performed in 1742, the oratorio is now performed world-wide. Its three sections speak of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection; at Christmas, it’s Christ’s birth that is typically sung. In Annapolis, two Messiahs are traditional: one, in two forms, by the Annapolis Chorale and Orchestra; the other by the U.S. Naval Academy. Annapolis Chorale’s Messiah At St. Anne’s Episcopal Church on Church Circle every December, the 31-year-old Annapolis Chorale and Orchestra present two versions of this holiday tradition. The first is the Chorale’s Messiah by Candlelight, which continues beyond the Christmas section but does not encompass the whole oratorio. That 90-minute concert is illuminated by candlelight. The second, the Messiah for Families, sings only of the birth of Christ. Following that hour-long performance, families sing carols along with the full chorus and orchestra. Beyond the Messiah, the Chorale’s repertoire achieves both depth and breadth, including Schubert, Strauss, Broadway hits, Puccini and Pops. The Chorale performs seven major concerts a year; they’ve had two concert dates at Carnegie Hall. “This Chorale’s a very special chorus; they’re attracting notice,” says Chorale director J. Ernest Green, who is also music director of the Falls Church Orchestra, cover conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., and a guest conductor of orchestras across the globe. As artistic director of the Chorale, Green conducts a full 180-member chorus plus the chamber chorus and the chamber orchestra. “We have over 250 people coming in for rehearsals every single week,” says Green, who also selects the programs and oversees the concert series. That breaks down to about seven main subscription-series concerts plus some dozen outreach concerts across the region in lcoations as diverse as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and soup kitchens. He and the Chorale’s 32-piece chamber orchestra are the group’s professional musicians; the other 180 singers are volunteers. Like Green, who hails from Severna Park, most of the singers and musicians live in Anne Arundel County, though a few come from as far as the Eastern Shore. “I’ve only been with the chorus seven years, but some have been with it over 20 years,” says singer Katherine Hilton. “They wouldn’t think of leaving this choir. They absolutely love the experience of singing with the chorus. And for a singer, doing the Messiah is as fun as it gets.” A few chorus members have also been members of the Naval Academy chorus and performed the Messiah there before joining the Annapolis Chorale’s 60 to 70 Messiah singers. “We do the Messiah differently,” Green says. “Over at the Academy, they have a gargantuan chorus and everything is big; it’s a big place. At St. Anne’s, we try to match its power and majesty, but make it more intimate to fit the church. And we do it with close to the amount of singers used when Handel wrote it.” Packing Christmas concerts is an achievement of talent buoyed by practice. Practice means that twice a week, Chorale members rush home from work, grab a bite to eat and traipse back out for rehearsal. On a rehearsal night as their big night draws near, members wearing heavy winter coats drag into St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, the centerpiece of Church Circle in Annapolis. “I didn’t think I’d be the roady for this group,” laughs Katherine Hilton as she hauls loads of sound equipment into the church. Her husband, Seth, checks out the lighting. Meanwhile, director Green analyzes the music with a couple of singers. “It’s a sense of mystery, until the B flat,” he says. “That’s the epiphany.” When the orchestra is in place and the chorus, clad in sweaters and jeans, on stage, all weariness disappears, so eager are they for their voices to join forces and get Handel’s 18th century masterpiece right. “One, two, three; bomp, bomp, bomp,” says Green, baton in hand, his whole body bouncing up and down on the podium. Each member holds a song book, but their voices run up and down the scales. “Who are we missing, a soprano?” Green queries, steering their high-caliber voices in the melody’s channel. They regroup and try again. “It’s a downbeat — keep it smooth,” he reminds. “Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,” he says as one set ends. They begin again, and the violins spiral down in a whirlpool of sound that will pull the audience in — until, with a few quick movements of bows on strings, they are released, as the soloist begins. At the podium, Green reaches out with his arms, then gathers in the swell of voices until they soften into a quiet eddy that basks beneath the soloist’s voice. When he releases them, they flow back into a pounding ocean of song, notes bounding forward toward the audience on the shore. The storm of sound continues as instruments and voices dance to Handel’s mastery and the conductor’s baton. Voices fly to glittering, crashing crests that soften into captivating ripples of notes that trickle out to touch you. Your epiphany comes when you realize how much you’ve missed this music. By the end of the concert, it’s difficult to pull up anchor. Like a first-felt sea breeze, hearing the Chorale’s beautiful Messiah is one of life’s moments of Ahhh. Chorale’s Messiah by Candlelight, 8pm Fri. Dec. 17; and Messiah for Families, 3pm Sun. Dec. 19. Both performances include guest soloists Amy Cofield, soprano, Susan Flemming, mezzo-soprano, Bijay Ghosh, tenor and Larry Small, baritone; both shows conclude with caroling. Following the family program, the audience joins the full chorus and orchestra for sing-along caroling. Both @ St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, Church Circle, Annapolis. $28 w/age discounts: 410-263-1906; www.annapolischorale.org.  Messiah at The Naval AcademyHandel’s Messiah is elevated to lofty heights in the Naval Academy’s domed chapel. This is the 58th year for this Academy tradition, which brings 200 singers, an organist and an orchestra together under one roof to make powerful music. “There’s great tidal waves of sound,” says conductor John Barry Talley. “The musical forces can shake the building; quite literally, you can feel the building move.” Some 150 singers from the Academy’s men’s and women’s glee clubs, 50 singers from Hood College of Frederick and 28 Annapolis Symphony members do the shaking. “It’s baroque,” says Annapolis Symphony Orchestra executive director Lee Streby. “We’ll have strings, an oboe, a few other woodwinds and a few horns.” Ensembles wouldn’t have included trombones or clarinets back in Handel’s era, Streby adds. Talley unites the four music groups underneath the dome. The groups have rehearsed separately since August. “What a kick! Even though it’s the same piece year after year, the energy is extraordinary,” Talley said. “It’s a living, moving thing — sheer energy.” Though these groups gather before Talley’s direction year after year, they rehearse together just one evening before the first concert. It helps that many of the singers and performers return to the chapel already intimate with the music. “The only tricky thing for us is how the soloists will handle the parts that are improvised: there’s a good deal of variation in this period,” says Talley of the 18th century oratorio, which includes solos with improvised elements at specific parts. Each soloist brings a unique flair to the song, making each year of the Academy tradition a bit different. “So I have to anticipate what the singer’s going to do,” Talley says. Singing with Hood College has been a tradition since the beginning, when then all-women’s Hood College and the all-men’s Naval Academy combined for the 90-minute Messiah concert. About 90 Midshipmen also head to Frederick each year, where the two colleges perform Messiah the weekend before Thanksgiving. The soloists include tenor Greg Kunde and bass Dean Peterson, both returning to sing with the Naval Academy’s Messiah. The women soloists are mezzo-soprano Jane Gilbert and soprano Korliss Uecker. All soloists who sing the Messiah have played major roles at the Washington Metropolitan Opera in the last few years. “These are some of the best soloists in the world,” Talley said. “Getting such talent is possible through a major endowment to support fine arts, which the late Miriam Bryant underwrote.” Also bringing the Messiah to life is chapel organist Monte Maxwell. The piece is pure joy, Talley says. “The music creates a real emotional and artistic high of the best kind.” 8pm Sat. Dec. 11 and 2pm Sun. Dec. 12. Shuttle runs from Navy Stadium parking one hour before each concert. @ Main Chapel at United States Naval Academy, Annapolis. $25-$15; rsvp early; this is a sell-out: 410-293-8497; www.tickets.com Concerts Candlelight at the State House Music blends with candlelight, high ceilings and history to make rich holiday ambiance at the 29th annual State House by Candlelight celebration the first Friday and Saturday of December. Friday night, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele makes opening remarks, followed with music by Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra, Larksong a cappella group, Annapolis Chorale and the Arundel Aire Chorus. Saturday’s festivities include opening remarks by Gov. Robert Ehrlich, followed with music by Catonsville High School Steel Band, the All Children’s Chorus of Annapolis, Maryland State Boys Choir and Rockbridge High School Academy Choir. Liz Barrett directs the All-Children’s Chorus of Annapolis, who are the annual Candlelight State House singers. “When anything’s special, kids shine,” Barrett says. “It’s our favorite concert. The State House is a magical place. It’s sacred and holy no matter what your religion.”  The All-Children’s Chorus sings to many of the holidays of this season. Their State House repetoire includes music for everyone, not just carols: “Joyful Israeli Canon,” “Jeruselum of Gold,” and Hungarian “Hazi Aldas,” which means blessing for the house. They’ll also perform their annual “Under the Holly Bough,” which is a piece about putting aside hurts and starting anew.“It’s really a piece about hope,” said Barrett. “Selection is so important. I like to choose music that has to do with peace and love among neighbors.” Concert goers will surely feel close to their neighbors while under the State House’s dome: “The area seats about 400 people, and it’s always packed,” Barrett says. Audiences come back year after year to start out their Yuletide. “I think people like to come out for the kickoff for the holiday season,” says Sue Pitkin of the State House Visitors Center. “We usually have the same performers each year, although we always try to look for children’s groups.” Adding to the mood, you’ll find a 25-foot Fraiser fir from Western Maryland decked out with ornaments made by kids throughout the state. Costumed celebrators mingle, delivering candy canes. Dec. 3 & 4, 7-9pm @ Maryland State House, Annapolis. Photo ID required. Free: 410-974-3400. Annapolis Chorale’s Celebration of Christmas Before Annapolis Chorale heralds the Messiah, they deliver a holiday concert of more modern merriment. A full chorus approaching 180 adult singers, 50 or 60 young singers from the Annapolis Youth Chorus plus a 32-piece orchestra make the Celebration of Christmas the biggest holiday concert in the area, says director J. Ernest Green. Joining these hundreds of choral members is soloist Amy Cofield, a soprano who’s sung with the Chorale before. “A professional soloist from New York, she’s a favorite of both our audiences and ours,” says Green. Both Celebration performances include readings by actor John Astin — who you’ll recognize from The Addams Family TV show — of a series of poetic holiday selections, including “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Each year, new elements and old traditions focus on fun. “It’s really exciting. Everyone is there to have a great time and that comes through loud and clear,” Green says. “We try to make sure we err on the side of keeping this enjoyable.” Even if you’ve seen the Celebration before, you’re in for surprises this year. But you’ll still hear old favorites from past years. “The basic format stays the same,” Green says. “Some pieces we keep each year like the sing-alongs. And it wouldn’t be a pops concert without Leroy Anderson’s ‘Sleigh Ride.’” Traditional also is the Chorale’s “Sing We Now of Christmas.” At just two and a half minutes long, it’s a song that was missed by singers and audiences one year when the Chorale didn’t perform it. “Someone said to me that this has become the feel-good event in Annapolis each year,” Green said. “That’s the best compliment we could get.” Preview performance 7:30pm Thur. Dec. 9; already sold out for 8pm Fri. Dec. 10, @ Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St., Annapolis. $28 w/age discounts; RSVP: 410-263-1906. Annapolis Youth Chorus Before their appearance with the Chorale in the Celebration of Christmas, the Annapolis Youth Chorus’s nearly 60 youths put on a show of their own at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church. “It’s right in the middle of Annapolis, and the acoustics in the church are fantastic,” says director Laurie Hays. “It’s home for us.” All the youth joining voices in the four-year-old youth chorus hail from Anne Arundel County. “The music will span lots of eras,” says Katherine Hilton. At this festive concert, you’ll hear the all-German “The Snow Carol”; and “Sing Noel,” a song based on a chant sequence. Other songs include “Something Told the Wild Geese,” “All the World is Winter,” and pieces by Vivaldi and Benjamin Britten. Joining the Youth Chorus this year is singer/songwriter Mack Bailey, a local musician who plays with the band Hard Travelers. “He’s been on the music scene for years and done a lot of solo work,” Hilton says. He’ll be performing two songs he composed, “A Boy’s Christmas” and “Starlight.” “We’ve worked really, really hard,” Hays says. This concert is just us.” 7:30pm Sat. Dec. 4; $10: 410-263-1906; www.annapolischorale.org. Symphony Concerts
Getting to the U.S. Naval Academy |
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© COPYRIGHT 2004 by New Bay Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. |
The Music of Christmas
Annapolis Symphony Plays Holiday Pops: Bright, Shining Boston Brass!
Naval Academy’s Women’s Glee Club
Christmas/ Solstice Concert by Ensemble Galilei’s