Handel’s Messiah
Leon Botstein conducts The Orchestra Now (TŌN), vocal soloists from the Bard Conservatory Graduate Vocal Arts Program, and the Bard Festival Chorale and Bard College Chamber Singers, directed by James Bagwell, in a performance of Handel‘s Messiah, livestreamed from the Fisher Center at Bard on December 12, 2021.
George Frideric Handel
Born: 2/23/1685 in Halle, Brandenburg-Prussia (now Germany)
Died: 4/14/1759 at age 74 in London
Written: 1741, at age 56
Premiered: 4/13/1742 in Dublin, Ireland
Read the full concert program.
Read concert notes by TŌN bassoonist Philip McNaughton.
1:03 Introductory remarks by TŌN oboist Shawn Hutchison
Part I
5:06 Symphony in E minor
9:12 Comfort ye my people; Zihao Liu, tenor
12:24 Ev’ry valley shall be exalted; Zihao Liu, tenor
15:59 And the glory of the Lord
18:52 Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Jonathan Lawlor, baritone
20:31 But who may abide the day of His coming; Jonathan Lawlor, baritone
24:49 And He shall purify the sons of Levi/Behold, a virgin shall conceive; Sarah Rauch, mezzo-soprano
28:00 O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion; Sarah Rauch, mezzo-soprano
33:06 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth; Michael A. M. Aoun, bass-baritone
35:05 The people that walked in darkness; Michael A. M. Aoun, bass-baritone
37:58 For unto us a Child is born
42:06 Pifa in C major
44:50 There were shepherds abiding in the field/And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them/And the angel said unto them; Maria Giovanetti, soprano
46:22 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude; Maria Giovanetti, soprano
46:43 Glory to God in the highest
49:00 Rejoice greatly; Maria Giovanetti, soprano/Then shall the eyes of the blind be open’d; Montana Smith, soprano
54:15 He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; Francesca Lionetta, soprano; Montana Smith, soprano
58:46 His yoke is easy, His burden is light
Part II
1:03:48 Behold the Lamb of God
1:06:52 He was despised and rejected; Melanie Dubil, mezzo-soprano
1:12:51 Surely, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows
1:15:01 And with His stripes we are healed
1:16:50 All we like sheep
1:21:37 All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn; Zihao Liu, tenor
1:22:29 He trusted in God that He would deliver Him
1:25:08 Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; Francesca Lionetta, soprano
1:26:23 Behold, and see if there be any sorrow; Francesca Lionetta, soprano
1:27:15 He was cut off out of the land of the living; Sadie Spivey, soprano
1:27:37 But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; Sadie Spivey, soprano
1:30:00 Lift up your heads, O ye gates/Unto which of the angels said He at any time; Zihao Liu, tenor
1:34:00 Let all the angels of God worship Him
1:35:42 Thou art gone up on high; Montana Smith, soprano
1:39:33 The Lord gave the word; great was the company of the preachers
1:40:46 How beautiful are the feet of them; Sadie Spivey, soprano
1:43:01 Their sound is gone out into all the lands
1:45:09 Why do the nations so furiously rage together; Michael A. M. Aoun, bass-baritone
1:47:48 Let us break their bonds asunder/He that dwelleth in heaven; Zihao Liu, tenor
1:50:17 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Zihao Liu, tenor
1:52:46 Hallelujah
Part III
1:56:38 I know that my Redeemer liveth; Katherine Lerner Lee, soprano
2:02:35 Since by man came death
2:04:53 Behold, I tell you a mystery; Jonathan Lawlor, baritone
2:05:31 The trumpet shall sound; Jonathan Lawlor, baritone/Then shall be brought to pass the saying; Micah Gleason, mezzo-soprano
2:15:29 O death, where is thy sting?; Micah Gleason, mezzo-soprano; Zihao Liu, tenor
2:17:18 But thanks be to God
2:19:46 If God be for us; Kirby Burgess, soprano
2:25:31 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain