As we have previously mentioned, the full Händel's Messiah was written not for Christmas, but as an Easter piece. Among readers, I wonder how many people have seen the entire piece live? Having attended a 2006 South Carolina Philharmonic production of the wondrous work with Hill, Hanna, Cuttino, and Rattray, I cannot say enough about the full piece, and not the excerpts-only (Part I only, for the most part, at most church and choral productions, is a Christmas setting, but it's Part II and III that are Easter settings) and when processed hot dogs, cotton candy, MSG, and breaded fried foods is the way of most "church" music today, it makes you yearn for the whole foods of grass-fed beef, grilled Alaskan salmon, free-range chicken, organic vegetables, and the freshness of a farmer's market or the wonders of a Whole Foods Market that you will find in the true church works.
Part III starts with the soprano's aria "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth". The one time I heard this piece live was the 2006 Philharmonic production, with the Mississippi Squirrel singing this solo (ever wonder why I dropped to the main tier instead of my Grand Tier seats for that? It is, after all, one who made me a classical singer and admire the genre, and made the classical turn of my late 20's) I had to ask why we weren't singing this material in churches today. Why did I waste so much time? Would this have been drilled more if I had stayed in The City, making it a younger me who would have sing more in his youth? And why are churches thinking jiggling to certain hip-hop artists has more value than this?
This production provided today is from Outside the Beltway, December 2007, with Julie Thomas singing the selection. The Christ Is Risen! ◙
