'Messiah’ by Handel

Press, 10 December 1984, Page 4

'Messiah’ by Handel

“Messiah," by Handel. Presented by the Christchurch Harmonic Society with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Childs, at the Christchurch Town Hall. Saturday, December 8, at 8 p.m. Reviewed by John Farnsworth. We are now a long way past the sing-along “Messiahs” of earlier years and as Saturday’s performance showed, this annual event has settled for a largely traditional approach. In this case, that meant dispensing with, for example, alternative orchestrations (such as Mozart s) and relying on a core string orchestra with harpsichord and organ continue to underpin the massed voices of the choir. The result, was to produce a committed and/

well considered reading of the oratorio. The choir was in excellent form and consistently produced singing of a high order. It was responsive and well balanced, and, apart from an occasional tremor, sang with sufficient assurance to overwhelm even the most difficult fugal passages. Likewise, the orchestra produced a tightly disciplined accompaniment which thoroughly complemented the singing of the soloists and choir. In fact, in these circumstances, the soloists seemed a little overshadowed. Most of them, for example, seemed troubled by some, admittedly, awkward passagework. Wendy Turnbull, in the soprano role, appeared the most consistent, although her early

rapid running passages, sounded insecure. However, she showed a considerable sense of command in her final “If God be for us.” Rosemary Turnbull’s contralto, on the other hand, sounded a little soft and restrained, while Edward Driscoll seemed to fade after a confident beginning with “Ev’ry Valley shall be exalted.” Charles Naylor showed good vocal control in “Why do the nations” but sometimes tended to substitute a dramatic mien for vocal depth. Taken in all, however, this was a polished and impressive performance which earned warm applause from a big audience. On this hearing, at least, “Messiah” looks set to remain a Christchurch tradi-