Messiah

My first encounter with Handel's "Messiah"  was in college when I sang with the university choir performing at Dundee Presbyterian church.  As a new Christian it bothered me to be singing with an organ and the timpani, but I enjoyed singing the music.  It seems that each year there is always the opportunity to attend a performance of the "Messiah."  Each time I hear it, I am thinking about my experience of singing it and wishing I were on stage again.

This year we worked two performances of the "Messiah" by two different groups at the Holland.  This time I had a new experience.  The mastery of Handel in illuminating the Word captured my focus.  The message of the magnitude of the advent of the Messiah, Jesus' glory and suffering, were conveyed so perfectly by the Words of God floating on the wings of the music that my heart was stirred to appreciate and love deeply the Great God who made that sacrifice on our behalf.  The work of Handel did indeed bring glory to God.

I would love some day to hear what I hear in my head: two choirs singing together.  One choir would sing the four part choral music Handel wrote.  The other choir would sing a choral  arrangement of his orchestral music.  I imagine that it would sound like a "multitude of the       heavenly host" praising God, and I would no longer be bothered by the instrumentation.