12/01/2006

Central United Methodist Church hosts 'Messiah' on Sunday

TRAVERSE CITY - The annual Traverse City performance of Handel's beloved oratorio, "Messiah,” is Sunday at Central United Methodist Church.

Central has hosted the "Messiah Sing” for 28 years. Anyone wishing to sing with the chorus should arrive for the lone rehearsal by 2:45 p.m, with the performance getting under way at 4 p.m.

"All are welcome, regardless of prior experience,” said Byron Hanson, conductor of the academy band at Interlochen Center for the Arts, who will wield the baton for the Messiah sing for the 14th consecutive year.

The late Kenneth Jewell and Robert Murphy, former faculty members at Interlochen and leaders of Central UMC's music ministry, established the Messiah Sing so amateurs and professionals alike could perform the challenging work without auditions or multiple rehearsals.

It has become a Christmas season tradition for local residents who return again and again to sing — or simply listen to — such prized classics as the "Hallelujah” chorus, led by four professional soloists and a live orchestra.

But the idea wasn't unique. Messiah sing-alongs are an American tradition dating back more than a century. Messiah is also a staple for community and school choruses and church choirs.

Michael Linton, theory and composition professor at Middle Tennessee State University, describes Messiah as "a singularly eloquent vehicle for self-reflection” for American Christians.

"Its biblical texts are equally accessible to Episcopalians and National Baptists, Methodists and Pentecostals, and until fairly recently, could be said to be known by heart by almost all,” Linton writes in the journal First Things.

The oratorio, which Handel composed in 24 days in 1741, is divided into three parts. The first deals with prophecies and the birth of Christ; the second, with his passion and death; the third, his resurrection and the eventual return.

Aside from the venerable "Hallelujah,” the Traverse City sing features seven other choruses: "And the Glory of the Lord;” "O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion;” "For Unto Us a Child is Born;” "Glory to God;” "Since by Man Came Death;” "Behold the Lamb of God;” and "Worthy is the Lamb.”

The soloists include newcomer Amy Wallace-Styles, mezzo-soprano; Lynne Church, soprano; Christopher Swanson, tenor; and Jeffrey Norris, bass-baritone.

Singers can borrow scores from the church. There is no admission charge, but a freewill offering is taken to defray expenses.

For more information, call 946-5191. This year's program is dedicated to Mary Jewell, wife of co-founder Kenneth Jewell.