Weihnachtskonzert Händel: der Messias

In the organizer's words:

Christmas concert Concert Choir of the Concert Society, vocal soloists and orchestra of instrumental soloists

George Frideric Handel. Messiah ( shortened version)

Soloists (N.N.) , Choir of the Schwerte Concert Society

Orchestra consisting of instrumental soloists from the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra etc.

Conductor: Maik Morgner

In contrast to Bach's Christmas Oratorio, which focuses exclusively on the Christmas story, the "Messiah" in its three parts spans the entire Christian history of salvation - from the Old Testament prophecies about Christ's birth and life to his death on the cross and his return and glorification. Handel himself always performed "Messiah" (the title of the English original) during Lent and Easter. But even during Handel's lifetime, it became customary in Dublin - the place of the premiere - to perform the work during Advent. This tradition soon spread, particularly in English-speaking countries, where the Messiah is now a regular Christmas oratorio.

While the complete Messiah is a work that takes more than an evening to perform, lasting almost 3 hours, we want to limit ourselves to a somewhat shortened version at the end of our festive year, in which the Christmas parts of the oratorio will be performed alongside the particularly popular movements. We hope to be able to offer our audience something like the "best of the best" numbers of the Messiah.

Handel wrote the music for Messiah, including the orchestration, at his typical tempo in just 24 days - the premiere in Dublin on April 13, 1742 was enthusiastically received by the audience. Since then, Messiah has been one of the most popular sacred works, not only in England but throughout the western world. The Messiah was not premiered in Germany until 1772 in Hamburg with the German version of the text by Christoph Daniel Ebeling - only 13 years after Handel's death and 30 years after its English premiere.

From reports by contemporaries close to Handel, we know that Handel created the work in a state of boundless elation. "I believed to see the heavens open and the Creator of all things Himself", he is said to have exclaimed when he had completed the second part of the oratorio with the most famous movement - the Hallelujah.

The concert is sponsored by the Foundation for the Promotion of Choral Music, Schwerte

Price information:

Use VVK, few tickets at the Box Office