Even after a record-breaking 242 performances given by the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Melbourne’s appetite for Handel’s Messiah appears to be undiminished. People flocked to the Melbourne Town Hall to participate – quite literally – in what has become a ritual for the Festive Season, one made even more celebratory because of recent pandemic restrictions.
Animation and attention to detail were distinctive features of this performance. The forward momentum established in the opening Sinfony never flagged. The RMP Choir sang with scores neatly closed by their sides for several key choruses, alert to the subtleties of dynamics and tempo in Wailes’ direction. And there were plenty of those to keep the audience absorbed as the work assumed an unexpected freshness. For this performance, Wailes used the 1998 edition prepared by the English musicologist and harpsichordist Clifford Bartlett. It includes all the available versions of the arias and recitatives used by Handel, and Wailes chose some material that would have been less familiar to listeners.
As with all large local choirs, sopranos and altos substantially outnumbered tenors and basses, but the men fought valiantly to make their mark, generally singing with clarity and vigour. The sopranos were splendidly luminous on the upper notes and the altos gave commendable weight to their part. This was an experienced choir, trained with painstaking care to form a disciplined ensemble.
A relatively small 34-strong orchestra played in various combinations, ranging from a light continuo accompaniment to a mighty tutti outpouring. The strings, led by Ben Spiers, were able to follow the fastest of Wailes tempi with good clarity and the woodwinds excelled whenever featured. Andrew Bainbridge’s imaginative selections of registrations for the organs were major contributors to the range of orchestral colour.
One of the many drawcards of an RMP Messiah is the mighty Town Hall organ, used to thrilling effect several times during this performance, most notably for the “Hallelujah” chorus, which comes at the end of Part the Second. Upon conductor Andrew Wailes’ invitation, the audience rose as one for the occasion. The combined effort of trumpets, timpani, the mighty organ and a choir in full voice was simply thrilling and brought such an enthusiastic response from the audience that Wailes felt compelled to remind members of the audience who didn’t have a program that this was not the end of the performance. As it happened, this famous chorus did mark the end of the performance; the final “Amen” chorus was greeted by such a prolonged standing ovation, with cheers and whistles usually heard at sporting events, that Wailes decided to reward the acclaim with an “Hallelujah” encore. Soloists and audience were invited to join in what was obviously a spur of the moment decision as a couple of the soloists had to retrieve their scores. It was a brilliant ending to an immensely satisfying performance.
Appearing to enjoy the occasion nearly as much as the audience, baritone David Greco beamed through the “Amen” and whole-heartedly embraced the opportunity to participate in the encore. Of the many highlights of the evening, it was his first entry that really sent listeners’ pulses racing. “Thus says the Lord” was declaimed with great dramatic impact, reminding us of the operatic dimensions of Handel’s oratorios – mainly composed when theatrical works in Italian became financially unviable. Greco’s breathtaking bravura in florid numbers such as “Why do the Nations so furiously rage together” was tremendously exciting, with Wailes whipping along the tempo whilst ensuring that he, Greco and the orchestra were at one. Astounding agility and breath control coupled with a voice of warmth and beauty made for electrifying listening. The excitement culminated in “The trumpet shall sound” with a stirring trumpet obbligato played by Christopher Grace. Greco’s long crescendos on “raised” and his colouring of the words such as “mystery” were among the many expressive details at his command. He was totally engaged in the narrative drama of Handel’s masterpiece – and not only when he was singing. Appropriate ornamentation was a feature of the musicality of all four soloists, especially in the da capo arias, with Greco’s being the most ambitious.
Soprano Anna Voshege sang with light airy tone, the coloratura passages of “Rejoice” fluidly executed and high notes nicely covered. Radiating a rare generosity of spirit, Fiona Campbell was a joy to hear as alto soloist. The glowing warmth of her personality was reflected in her voice. Her sensitive musicality and ability to connect directly with an audience as she sang some of the work’s most beloved arias with flowing depth of tone was extremely touching. The alto/tenor duet with Nicholas Jones was a delight – graceful, pointed and beautifully blended with two fine voices complementing each other.
The audience left the RMP’s 243rd iteration of Handel’s Messiah feeling uplifted and reassured that the essence of Christmas was to be found in the wonders of music – especially when impromptu audience participation was invited.
Photo credit: Paul Dodd
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Heather Leviston reviewed the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra’s performance of Handel’s “Messiah” given at the Melbourne Town Hall on December 4, 2022.
