UPCOMING CONCERTS

PROGRAM G.F. Handel: MESSIAH ARTISTS Elsa Benoit, soprano Cecelia Hall, alto Robin Tritschler, tenor Dominic Barberi, bass Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir Mogens Dahl, conductor ABOUT THE PROGRAM Again this year, Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir offers exquisite performances of Handel's seemingly indestructible classic "Messiah" in collaboration with the excellent English Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and international soloists. For a number of years, Mogens Dahl and the Chamber Choir have been a process in which those involved have gradually approached the core of the work, as best as this is now possible. The choice of the top orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, was obvious, as this English orchestra has had a particular curiosity to approach music in other and more open ways since its inception in 1986. Hence the name, which the orchestra has taken because they share the Enlightenment's constant urge to investigate and discover. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment plays instruments that match the period in which the works played were written, which is an important way to approach a more authentic expression. This is matched by the Chamber Choir, which sings with a much smaller ensemble than is often seen – according to sources, there were 32 singers in the choir for the first performance in Dublin in April 1742. Even during Handel's lifetime, the work was performed in different versions, which were conditioned by the circumstances and experiences with the first performances. It is therefore almost impossible to know what the "authentic" performance of "Messiah" has been. You have to let the music speak – and that is what the Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment do. Here it feels as if we are getting really close to an authentic "Messiah".

PROGRAM G.F. Handel: MESSIAH ARTISTS Elsa Benoit, soprano Cecelia Hall, alto Robin Tritschler, tenor Dominic Barberi, bass Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir Mogens Dahl, conductor ABOUT THE PROGRAM Again this year, Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir offers exquisite performances of Handel's seemingly indestructible classic "Messiah" in collaboration with the excellent English Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and international soloists. For a number of years, Mogens Dahl and the Chamber Choir have been a process in which those involved have gradually approached the core of the work, as best as this is now possible. The choice of the top orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, was obvious, as this English orchestra has had a particular curiosity to approach music in other and more open ways since its inception in 1986. Hence the name, which the orchestra has taken because they share the Enlightenment's constant urge to investigate and discover. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment plays instruments that match the period in which the works played were written, which is an important way to approach a more authentic expression. This is matched by the Chamber Choir, which sings with a much smaller ensemble than is often seen – according to sources, there were 32 singers in the choir for the first performance in Dublin in April 1742. Even during Handel's lifetime, the work was performed in different versions, which were conditioned by the circumstances and experiences with the first performances. It is therefore almost impossible to know what the "authentic" performance of "Messiah" has been. You have to let the music speak – and that is what the Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment do. Here it feels as if we are getting really close to an authentic "Messiah".