Freshness, vitality and wonderful sound from St Pauls’ Messiah

St Paul’s Cathedral | Handel’s Messiah

September 6, 2024, St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne Vic

For lots of the boys and girls of the combined choir and no doubt for some in the packed out pews of St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne – including my Dad and my step-mum, Gina – last night’s Messiah was their first. And what a glorious introduction to this seminal work written in 1741 by George Frederick Handel and premiered in Dublin on 13 April 1742. 

The performance was also the final act of the reopening of the Cathedral according to the brief introduction by Andreas Loewe, the Dean of Melbourne, with the original performance planned for 2020 but delayed due to a certain pandemic. 

The freshness, vitality and wonderful sound elicited from the mixed choirs of all ages was an incredible testament to Director of the Music of the Cathedral, Philip Nicholls. There is distinction in the program, so the choir is made up of adults and children of all genders (a shout out to Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School and Trinity Anglican Grammar School for their role supporting the choir). 

Genesis Baroque provided the special period instrument sound, Gut strings, the soft warm sound of oboes and bassoons, twinkling harpsichord continuo (ably played by Donald Nicolson) and the exhilarating sound of the natural trumpet that really could raise the dead in the high-wire obbligato of the bass aria, The Trumpet Shall Sound (thanks to Joel Brennan who risked all in those tricky passages).

There’s nothing that hasn’t already been written about the music; Handel’s genius shines through and I could listen to it all day, everyday, especially with this bunch of soloists, choristers and instrumentalists.  

The quartet of singers handpicked for their qualities and deep connection to the Cathedral felt perfectly at home with the virtuosic demands of the score. Tenor Timothy Reynolds grabbed us from his first note, leading us the hope and then despair in his arias in Parts One and Two, the prophecy and passion of Christ. 

Jenny George was particularly effective in the woeful aria for alto voice, ‘He was despised and rejected,’ which seemed to sit snuggly in her rage allowing a full and rich expression of the text. 

And soprano Stella Horvath, a graduate of St Paul’s Choir, lifted us to the rafters with her ornamentation, lifting us and words out of the text like ‘shout’ and ‘rise’ into the highest registers. Horvath has a beautiful instrument and I look forward to hearing more of her in future events. 

This word painting in the score, for which Messiah is lauded, was delivered in troves by bass Christian Smith, whose towering musical presence seemed to shake the Cathedral to its foundations. A total slay Mr Smith, as his young mathematics students at Melbourne Girls Grammar might say.  

There is so much work and beauty in the choruses, I could list them all and the music would leap in your memory. Stand out moments for me included the phrases ‘peace on earth, good will toward men,’ in the Glory to God; ‘he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows’; and, the crescendo in ‘He trusted in God.’ And the young choristers especially seemed to relish both the sound and the challenge these passages provided them. 

Well done to Director of Music, Canon and conductor Philip Nicholls for getting the blend of young voices with mature singers just right. Last night was an absolute joy of sacred music making.

To repeat Heather, Canon and Precentor of the Cathedral, who was seated behind me and my Dad, who was as breathless as we all were after the Hallelujah Chorus: “do it again, please.”

Note: We have it on good authority that there will be a repeat performance, in May 2025! 

Photo Credit: Ming Zhou