By
Bryce Christensen
For the seventy-fifth time in the
history of Cedar City, holiday-season listeners thrilled to the majestic
harmonies of Handel’s Messiah as
rendered by local musicians. Performed at the Heritage Center on December 13th
and 14th, this year’s production once again stirred feelings of
worshipful adoration of the Lord whose birth we celebrate, feelings sometimes
suffocated by the frenetic commercialism that now dominates so much of
Christmas observance. And once again,
local music-lovers had reason for deep gratitude for the talents of those who
have made The Messiah such a rich local
tradition (a tradition shared with local residents at no cost this year thanks to
the beneficence of the State Bank of Southern Utah and the Leavitt Group).
The talents on display in this two-night
concert were the instrumental gifts of the Orchestra of Southern Utah (OSU)
felicitously fused with the vocal endowments of the Southern Utah Chorale
(SUC). No doubt it initially occasioned
some disappointment when concert-goers first realized that OSU director Xun
Sun—who has inspired audiences with his passionate conducting of this concert
over the last decade—would not be on the conductor’s platform. But from the first down-beat of her baton,
SUC director Jackie Riddle-Jackson proved herself a fully capable replacement, leading
the combined singers and instrumentalists with a fervor that drew forth an outpouring
of sublime sound. Sweeping away the
stale, the old, and the dreary, the wonderful sublimity of this concert
refreshed the heart with the timeless truth of sacred writ, set to heavenly
music, so renewing the miracle that is Christmas.
Both in the collective strength of
the chorale and in the individual soloists, the vocalists under
Riddle-Jackson’s baton moved and delighted the assembled listeners. The twelve soloists all delivered masterful interpretations
of their numbers, deserving of favorable mention:
As the evening’s first soloist
(and, appropriately, the great-grandson of the man who directed Cedar City’s
first-ever Messiah), tenor Tyler
Melling delivered “Comfort Ye My People” with poignant feeling, redolent with
divine compassion.
Tenor Taylor Rowley perfectly
modulated the mood into transcendent expectation in “Every Valley Shall Be
Exalted.”
Baritone Glen Reber impressively conveyed
the profound gravitas demanded by “Thus Saith the Lord” and “But Who May Abide
the Day of His Coming.”
Seamlessly transitioning from the
celestial hope of “Behold! A Virgin Shall Conceive” to the exultant joy of “O
Thou That Tellest,” alto Taliah Byers strikingly captured the mood of both
numbers.
Plumbing somber depths before ascending
to redemptive heights, baritone Alex Byers carried the audience with him with
remarkable self-assurance. This same
aplomb characterized his later number, “Behold I Tell You a Mystery,” his
depth-sounding voice taut with astonishment at the Savior’s power over the
grave. And in “The Trumpet Shall Sound,”
Byers’ bold assurance marvelously complemented the piercing trumpet solo by
instrumentalist Adam Lambert.
Soprano Leslie Perkins sang of the
angels with the voice of an angel in “There Were Shepherds Abiding in the
Field,” “And the Angel Said Unto Them,” and “And Suddenly There Was With the
Angel,” her rendition of these three numbers radiant with empyreal luminosity.
Likewise incandescent was soprano
Terri Metcalf-Peterson’s performance of “Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of
Zion!”-- alive with the divine ecstasy of the sacred text.
Alto Taryn Thomas delivered “Then
Shall the Eyes of the Blind Be Opened” in compelling tones of expectant
wonderment, smoothly segueing into the stirring gratitude of “He Shall Feed His
Flock Like a Shepherd.”
Soprano Brandi Hall interpreted
“Come Unto Me” with a soul-melting pathos not soon to be forgotten.
Her voice soaring to celestial
spheres, soprano Corlissa Jensen sang “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth” in tones
of exalted conviction.
Last of the soloists, soprano
Shannon Birch infused “If God Be for Us” with a sense of awe and amazement at
God’s redemptive power.
Though all were superb, four of the
ten chorus numbers merit particular mention.
“And the Glory of the Lord”—the first of the night’s choral
numbers—absolutely transported listeners in its joyous rapture. “Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs” plunged the
audience into rare depths of harrowing emotion.
The sheer propulsive energy of “Since By Man Came Death” was
overpowering. And “Worthy Is the Lamb
That Was Slain” palpitated with worshipful elation.
Listeners surely noticed the
persistence of the sharp gender imbalance in the overall chorale and in the
soloists, an imbalance likely reflecting the relative paucity of available male
vocal talent. But the male singers
Riddle-Jackson has recruited still carried their musical roles with praiseworthy
artistry and power.
Serving as accompaniment for the
vocalists most of the evening, the orchestra shone in its own right in the
opening “Overture” and late in the “Pastoral Symphony.” Matching the vocalists in their mastery of
the music, the orchestra burnished their already high reputation for
professional performance. Given the 18th-century
origin of the night’s program, the inclusion of a harpsichord (with Christian
Bohnenstengel at the keyboard) was a laudable addition. Teresa Redd added tonal depth with the organ
part. And it was a highly fitting remembrance of the silent night on which the
Savior was born to have the orchestra play the “Pastoral Symphony” in nearly
complete darkness.
Though the vocalists were the
marquee artists on this night, when the entire orchestra—strings, winds,
percussion, and brass—swelled to triple forte in “For Unto Us a Child Is Born”
and in the “Hallelujah Chorus,” the torrent was irresistible.
Appropriately, most of the numbers
featured in this performance were familiar.
But most listeners appreciated the inclusion of “For Behold, Darkness
Shall Cover the Earth,” “The People That Walked in Darkness,” and “The Lord
Gave the World”--parts of Handel’s sprawling masterpiece that are often
omitted.
In his welcoming remarks, OSU
President Harold Shirley promised an evening that would reach the “sensitive
parts of our souls.” For an hour and a
half, the distractions of tinsel, toys, and candy disappeared as director,
orchestra, and chorale indeed revived the sensitive parts of the soul with a
blessed reminder of the real reason for the season.
