Heidi Nye
Culture Writer
The Long Beach Camerata Singers’ Dec. 20 performance of Handel’s Messiah began with a question posed by conductor Robert Istad: Why, after nearly 300 years since its debut, is Messiah so popular today? Perhaps even more so than it was in its day. Istad offered no answers, so his query lingered in the minds of audience members.
The Long Beach City College Auditorium was filled to at least 75-percent capacity, a good showing for a Saturday afternoon during the last throes of the Christmas-shopping frenzy. Obviously, the Camerata Singers and its accompanying orchestra know how to bring out Messiah aficionados.
The entire oratorio was superbly executed by singers and musicians alike. The four soloists— soprano Kerrie Caldwell, mezzo-soprano I-Chin Betty Lee, tenor Daniel Babcock and bass James Martin Schaefer— were equally proficient, though Lee deserves special kudos. Not for her performance, which was lovely, but for her engagement when she was not performing. She listened intently, obviously enjoying every note played and sung that afternoon. She held her head high, her eyes bright with joy, beaming her appreciation for her fellows and for Handel’s genius.
During intermission conversations in the ladies room and through eavesdropping on post-concert commentaries, this reviewer collected answers to the conductor’s opening question. From this small sampling— a fraction of the attendees at this one concert among who knows how many thousands across the world during this holiday season— some general impressions emerged:
• It’s a lovely holiday tradition. Something that families or couples do year after year. A bonding experience.
• It’s “too repetitious.”
• It should end with the Hallelujah! Chorus.
• The Hallelujah! Chorus is worth the price of admission.
Comment #1 speaks to wider themes of participation in something bigger than oneself, family togetherness, and an emotional and spiritual chain of connection back to the masterwork’s premier in 1742 Dublin. None but Ebenezer Scrooge could argue with such sincere emotions.
Comment #2 is more of a commentary on the world we currently inhabit rather than Handel’s Messiah. The year 2014 is far more fast-paced and far less patient than the 18th Century ever was. There certainly is something to be said for the anticipation of a spectacular event, be it Christmas itself or the singing of the Hallelujah! Chorus. Perhaps Handel built such anticipation into the work by repeating the words of every composition that precedes it. In this way, he mimics the audience’s emotional state in much the same way that a novelist lengthens the sentences during a gentle, sensual love scene and trims them during a chase.
Comment #3 is one this reviewer has long struggled with. Why did such a master as Handel not realize that the Hallelujah! Chorus was the high point? Certainly Part 3, which follows the famous chorus, could be moved before it. After all, you wouldn’t want to miss “I Know that my Redeemer Liveth” and the trumpet solo. These are uplifting pieces in their own right and were beautifully executed by the Camerata Singers. It’s just that what follows “Hallelujah!” is decidedly anticlimactic, at least to a modern ear.
Comment #4 outshines the others. One can’t help but muse, What if all of life were this euphoric? Doubtless, we’d keel over from exhaustion— but, oh, wouldn’t it be worth it!
The Long Beach Camerata Singers will next perform Sunday, April 12, at 4:30pm in the Long Beach City College Auditorium, 4901 Carson St., with Bach’s Magnificant as part of the Long Beach Bach Festival. Their 2014-15 season will end on Saturday, June 13, with a benefit concert of Broadway favorites. For information and tickets, visit longbeachcameratasingers.org or call (562) 373-5654.
