Handel A recital of solos and duets by Handel for Soprano and Counter Tenor
Mary Bevan Soprano
James Hall Counter Tenor

“The music of Handel and the eternal story of Messiah never fails to move me. Whether you are a believer or not, Handel’s dramatic ‘wunsch’ is so compelling, you can’t help but be moved by the quality of arias and choruses. He was a master of contrast and it’s this contrast that sets up a fierce theatrical tension in Messiah. For our performance, we have assembled a wonderful team of soloists whose poetic power and vocal brilliance will present the arias with grace and virtuosity, alongside our small but crack orchestra of the finest Baroque musicians London can offer. The quartet of soloists will also sing along side our expert choir, so that we can hear a personal interpretation of the solo choral lines often full of coloratura. This will save the power of the tutti choir for specific moments, accentuating their dramatic rasion d’etre. This conceit is rooted in the late 17th century performance practice of church music in Germany, something that Handel would certainly have grown up with (look at the works of Schutz and Buxtehude, for example). I hope that with all the varying performance traditions that exist across the world, LNM’s reading of Messiah really gets to the emotional heart of this most loved oratorio – alternating personal and public expression, all serving Handel’s dramatic genius.” David Bates