We can do without the Christmas shop windows for a while yet, but the festive season feels very close to us here at Solomon. A month is not a long time in the world of concert administration, and we’re hard at work making our final preparations for “a chamber Messiah - reduced to the max” at St John's Smith Square on Saturday 10th December. Tickets go on sale at SJSS box office from November 1st – click HERE to go directly to their website. Alternatively, give them a call on
020 7222 1061. Student tickets are priced at just £10.
Officially, of course, there is no “chamber” Messiah. The idea to perform the piece with just eight singers (all budding young soloists) taking choruses and arias, and with a reduced band (shorn of its woodwinds) of 14 players and without conductor is ours. We’ve been inspired by a number of prominent reduced-forces interpretations of Baroque masterworks which we’ve encountered: Paul McCreesh’s St Matthew Passion with the Gabrieli Consort, John Butt’s Messiah with Dunedin Consort – and in Julian’s case, by the recent experience of performing Bach’s Mass in B Minor one-to-a-part with Sigiswald Kuijken and the European Baroque Academy. What attracts us to these interpretations is their clarity – of the individual parts which emerge distinctly, and of the combinations of the individual parts, which are so much more accurate and clear. It’s not just a mechanical thing; we also think that the reduced forces bring about a performance which is much more personal and communicative. Splendour isn’t compromised either – the majesty of Handel’s vision is maintained in full force, but in sharp, intimate focus.
We’re extremely excited about how our chamber Messiah is going to sound - we hope that many of you are too and will join us at St John’s Smith Square on December 10th to hear and see it.
020 7222 1061. Student tickets are priced at just £10.
Officially, of course, there is no “chamber” Messiah. The idea to perform the piece with just eight singers (all budding young soloists) taking choruses and arias, and with a reduced band (shorn of its woodwinds) of 14 players and without conductor is ours. We’ve been inspired by a number of prominent reduced-forces interpretations of Baroque masterworks which we’ve encountered: Paul McCreesh’s St Matthew Passion with the Gabrieli Consort, John Butt’s Messiah with Dunedin Consort – and in Julian’s case, by the recent experience of performing Bach’s Mass in B Minor one-to-a-part with Sigiswald Kuijken and the European Baroque Academy. What attracts us to these interpretations is their clarity – of the individual parts which emerge distinctly, and of the combinations of the individual parts, which are so much more accurate and clear. It’s not just a mechanical thing; we also think that the reduced forces bring about a performance which is much more personal and communicative. Splendour isn’t compromised either – the majesty of Handel’s vision is maintained in full force, but in sharp, intimate focus.
We’re extremely excited about how our chamber Messiah is going to sound - we hope that many of you are too and will join us at St John’s Smith Square on December 10th to hear and see it.
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