Volume 29 Issue 3 | December 2023 & January 2024

Sing Along Messiah,
Tafelmusik
Trevor Pinnock tells the story of an English aristocrat in attendance at a
performance complimenting Handel on the “entertainment.” “I should
be sorry if I only entertained them,” Handel replied.
David Perlman can be reached at publisher@thewholenote.com.
NINETEEN MESSIAHS (see the listings for details)
Dec 02 | 1:30 and 4:00pm: Pax Christi Chorale. Children’s Messiah. A 60-minute, family
friendly, casual concert. Pax Christi Chorale; Pax Christi Chorale Soloists; Student
Orchestra; Elaine Choi, conductor. Pay what you can.
Dec 03 | 3:30: The Edison Singers. Abridged performance. 90 mins. Soloists & full
orchestra; The Edison Singers; Noel Edison, conductor. $50; $30(st/18 and under).
Dec 08 | 7:30: Elmer Iseler Singers. Messiah by G. F. Handel. Elmer Iseler Singers;
VIVA Chamber Singers; Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto; Linda Tsatsanis, soprano;
Hillary Tufford, mezzo; Michael Colvin, tenor; Jorell Williams, baritone; $55; $50(sr);
$35(under 30).
sorely missed, incarnation in this part of the world: the oratoriodriven
needs of Kitchener-Waterloo’s Grand Philharmonic Choir led
directly to the formation of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and
the symbiosis between the two led in turn to the building of Kitchener’s
Centre in the Square – one of the region’s best big concert halls.)
Change: another of the Messiah’s enduring fascination has to do
with the extent to which the more the work stays the same, the more
it is capable of change. At the level of the big symphonic-scale productions,
a lot of the buzz, and the one-upmanship, revolves around who is
conducting the work in any given year. But, even more so, around who
the four soloists in a given year are going to be. “Did you see KW-S has
Ben and Suzie and Daniel and Teddy this year?!” That kind of thing.
At a less frivolous level, though, part of the work’s enduring appeal
has to do not with changes of artistic personnel but with the capacity
of the work itself to morph and change. It somehow renders itself
performable on every imaginable scale, adjustable to a whole spectrum
of motivations for presenting it, from high art to the visceral need
of communities, including communities of faith, to come together and
immerse in joyful noise during the winter’s darkest days.
The brief list of what’s on offer this year gives a taste of this diversity,
but before getting there, one last thought. Handel, unlike Bach, was
a musical entrepreneur, with showmanship built into him the way a
shark has cartilage instead of bone. Very early audiences in England
actually never forgave him for making a public spectacle of what, in
all decency, should have been private devotion. But thinking of his
Messiah as purely theatrical misses the point. Harpsichordist/conductor
Dec 09 | 7:30: Kingston Choral Society. Sing Along Messiah. Sit among the KCS choristers
by section, or with friends and family. Bring your score and join in the fun, or just
come & enjoy the wonderful music. Brian Jackson, guest conductor. $30(adults/sr);
$20(st); Free(16 and under).
Dec 14, 15, 16 | 7:30: Tafelmusik. Handel: Messiah. Rachel Redmond, soprano; Cameron
Shahbazi, countertenor; James Reese; tenor; Enrico Lagasca, bass-baritone; Tafelmusik
Chamber Choir; Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Ivars Taurins, director. From $50.
Dec 15 | 7:30: St. James Cathedral. Messiah by G. F. Handel. St. James Cathedral Choir;
Chapel Choir of Trinity College, U of T, orchestra and soloists. During the performance
artists from OCAD will paint canvases based upon the themes of the libretto. $25
Dec 16 | 7:30, Dec 17 | 3:00: Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Handel’s Messiah. Bach
Elgar Choir. $20-$45.
Dec 17 | 2:00: Tafelmusik. Sing-Along Messiah. From $59. General admission. Seating by
vocal section.
Dec 17 | 3:00, Dec 18, 19, 20, 21, 23 | 8:00: Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Messiah.
Lauren Snouffer, soprano; Krisztina Szabó, mezzo; Colin Ainsworth, tenor; Joshua
Hopkins, baritone; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir; Dame Jane Glover, conductor. From $41.
Dec 18 | 7:00: Peterborough Singers. Handel’s Messiah. Lesley Bouza, soprano; Lillian
Brooks, mezzo; Joshua Wales, tenor; Graham Roginson, bass; Ian Sadler, organ; Paul
Otway, trumpet; Douglas Sutherland, trumpet. $40; $10(st).
Dec 22 | 7:30: Guelph Chamber Choir. Handel’s Messiah. Ineza Mugisha, soprano;
Jennifer Enns Modolo, alto; Owen McCausland, tenor, Stephen Hegedus, bass; with
period instruments. $45; $40(sr); $10(ages 16-30); $5(ages 15 and under).
ESTONIAN
PHILHARMONIC
CHAMBER
CHOIR
Don’t miss your chance to
experience this deeply fulfilling
international collaboration!
Conductor
Tõnu Kaljuste
REPERTOIRE
Arvo Pärt
Palestrina
Omar Daniel
Antarktos Monodies
(2023)
Antarktos Monodies
commission funded by
ST. PAUL’S
BASILICA
FEB 3, 2024
7:30pm
SOUNDSTREAMS.CA
The Michael and Sonja Koerner
Charitable Foundation
The Mary-Margaret Webb
Foundation
The JB Doherty
Family Foundation
The Anne-Marie H.
Applin Foundation
thewholenote.com December 2023 & January 2024 | 19