Handel in Dublin

Recreated concert programme of 9 April 1742 conducted by George Frideric Handel
Handel: Messiah; Organ concerto Op.4 No.3 in G minor; Organ concerto Op.4 No.5 in F

Performers Lisa Milne (soprano); Robin Blaze (countertenor); Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo soprano); Paul Agnew (tenor); Neal Davies (bass); Silas Standage (organ); Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor); BT Scottish Ensemble, Clio Gould (director); Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus, Ben Parry (chorus master)
Venue Usher Hall
Address Lothian Road, Edinburgh
Reviewer Iain Gilmour

This near-faultless reproduction of the Dublin premiere of Handel’s Messiah really needs no review. The response of the Festival audience to the crisp playing coaxed,cajoled and drawn out of the SCO by the 75-year-old “Wizard of Oz” was verdict enough.

Mackerras, of course, has a particularly close relationship with the orchestra – he is Conductor Laureate – and the players seem well-attuned to his style. Even more adept at responding to his direction was the SCO Chorus.

They were in fine and full voice, producing volume enough to fill the hall without assaulting the eardrums. And it wasn’t just custom that brought the whole of the Usher Hall to its feet with the Hallelujah Chorus.

The Messiah is in many ways a curiosity, with the principal singers only performing as soloists and all the ensemble work falling to the chorus. The outcome is a stunning musical experience.

Nearly everyone has a particular favourite for most of the solos (I have never recovered from hearing as a schoolboy a not-yet famous Kathleen Ferrier with a local church choir). But Paul Agnew, Robin Blaze, Neal Davies, Lisa Milne, and Catherine Wyn-Rogers produced some brilliant singing of a noteworthy clarity.

The only criticism of the evening was its length, shorter in the event than forecast in the programme but still a long haul.

The inclusion of two Handel organ concertos in an attempt to recreate the Dublin premiere of 1742 was a distraction. The introduction of a modern electronic box of tricks to act as the chamber organ from which Hande lconducted the premiere caused many regulars in the audience to gaze wistfully at the great organ filling the wall silently behind the platform.

Finally, whoever produces the Festival programmes ought, at least, to get the composer’s name right. It’s not GEORGE FREDERIC, but GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL.

© Iain Gilmour August 2001