What is the common thread that links the biblical books of Isaiah, Haggai, Malachi, Matthew, Luke, Zechariah and Revelation? They all contain texts that George Frideric Handel set to music for his oratorio "Messiah.”
Canterbury Choral Society music director Randi von Ellefson (center)
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More than 2½ centuries have passed since Handel’s oratorio was given its Dublin premiere, and the work remains as popular as ever. Canterbury Choral Society will perform the Christmas portion of "Messiah” on its "Canterbury Christmas” program.
Joining the singers will be the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, four vocal soloists and organist Timothy Olsen.
"People may not be familiar with George Frideric Handel, but they will have heard the ‘Hallelujah Chorus,’” Canterbury Artistic Director Randi Von Ellefson said. "One year when I was teaching in Chicago, I counted 17 different ‘Messiahs.’ I think some of its popularity is due to the fact that it was written in English. Of course, it’s also really great music.”
The 120-voice choir also will perform an arrangement of "Jingle Bells” as well as four traditional carols from Gustav Holst’s "Christmas Day.” To lend the program an element of humor, Ellefson has programmed Craig Courtney’s "A Musicological Journey Through the Twelve Days of Christmas.”
Courtney composed the work in 1990 for the Columbus (Ohio) Symphony Chorus. As he began to explore different ideas, he decided to set each of the 12 days in a different musical style. The result is a chronological sampling of musical periods that begins with sixth-century Gregorian chant and ends with turn-of-the-20th century America. In between come visits to France, Italy, Germany, Austria and Russia.
"I first did this piece when I was teaching in Spokane,” Ellefson said. "If you’re musically intelligent, you get the humor right away. People tend to laugh all the way through the piece because it’s so much fun.”
Canterbury will premiere "To a Child Crying,” an a cappella work composed by Bruce Young, a 35-year Canterbury member. The text, which tells of the wise men’s visit, is by Francisco Guerrera, a Renaissance-era composer.
"I was taken with the line that opens and closes the piece,” Young said. "It starts with ‘To a child crying in the cold come three kings.’ I thought I’d see what I could do with that text. It’s actually being performed twice on the same day. Beverly McLarry is also performing it with her choral group in Norman.”
Ellefson will close the concert with an audience sing-along of five familiar carols arranged by Stefan Kozinski. Composed in the late 1980s, this "Christmas Melange” was written for Ellefson and the Spokane (Wash.) Symphony Chorus. Kozinski was resident conductor of the Spokane Symphony at the time.
"This is my fifth ‘Canterbury Christmas’ concert but the first with the full philharmonic,” Ellefson said. "We’ve featured brass and percussion ensembles as well as various bell choirs in years past. But there’s nothing that quite measures up to the sound and timbre of a chorus and symphony orchestra performing together. It should really put people in the holiday spirit.”
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