Hallelujah! Handel’s Messiah makes the season even brighter

It just wouldn’t be the holiday season without Tafelmusik’s Messiah! Performed in the style and spirit of Handel’s own productions, Tafelmusik’s Messiah “radiates brilliance and energy, along with an emotional depth that fully enhances the work’s expression” (AllMusic). Messiah’s core message of good will, hope, and humanity resounds as eloquently today as its premiere in 1742.

Adding sheen to our annual ritual is a glittering cast of soloists, including soprano Myriam Leblanc, “perhaps the most beautiful voice to come out of Quebec in the past 10 years” (Samedi et rien d’autre); mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó, the “master of nuance and expressivity” (Toronto Star); tenor Jacob Perry, who “delivers the kind of deeply felt solo that gives audiences goosebumps” (Stir.ca); and bass-baritone Philippe Sly, noted for his “expansive tonal grace, interpretive thoughtfulness or communicative fervour.” (SFGate)

Ivars Taurins directs the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir in their trademark performances of this enduring and uplifting work in the splendid acoustics of Koerner Hall.