Handel’s Messiah is a perpetual audience favorite. No holiday season is complete without the unforgettable melodies, dramatic text and impassioned vocal writing — including the Hallelujah Chorus.
This year we are doing something a bit different. We will feature our Symphony Chorale with orchestra, performing only the greatest choruses from the Messiah.
Handel’s librettist, Charles Jennens, chose sections of both the Old and New Testament for the lyrics of this work. George Frederic Handel, though not a native English speaker, makes the words of the King James Bible come alive with his brilliant musical settings.
Mozart also loved and conducted the Messiah. He added more instruments for greater symphonic depth. In the same spirit, I have created parts for a pair of flutes to give more orchestral colors, and trombones to reinforce the lower voices of the chorale, a common practice that goes back to the early Renaissance. We will also add a pair of clarinets and horns to perform the parts that Mozart wrote in Vienna almost 50 years after Handel’s original orchestration.
No holiday season is complete without music from The Nutcracker. Instead of the
traditional concert overture, we begin with the suite of famous melodies that Tchaikovsky arranged for the orchestra to perform and popularize this work when not in the pit accompanying a great ballet company. You will undoubtedly recognize the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy, The Trepak or Russian Dance, The Dance of the Reed Flutes, the Waltz of the Flowers, etc. This will be an introduction to the great Gloria by Francis Poulenc.
As we end this year, I would like to thank everyone who has helped make the Bremerton WestSound Symphony and Chorale a thriving and vibrant part of the Kitsap Arts Community. Happy Holidays from the Podium!
The Gloria will be conducted by Chorale Director LeeAnne Campos, and so, I turn the remainder of this column over to her.
Thank you, Alan! Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963) was a French composer whose beautifully eccentric music defies boredom. Poulenc was known for his good humor and wittiness; his early secular compositions reflect those qualities. This abruptly changed in 1936 when he lost a beloved friend in a tragic car accident. He returned to his Catholic roots and produced some of the most spiritually profound works written in mid-20th century French music. This transformation led to the Gloria, written in 1959 and premiered in Boston in 1961. Gratefully, Poulenc never lost his sense of wonder and playfulness; this is evident in the Gloria.
The Gloria has six movements. The first begins in grand style, proclaiming “Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.” It’s chantlike yet rhythmic. The second movement is somewhat controversial, not in meaning but in its melodic impudence regarding the text. The offbeat rhythms are tricky to navigate but entertaining for both the audience and musicians. Mvt. 3 introduces our soprano soloist, the wonderfully talented Allison Pohl. Mvt. 4 is joyful as the Chorale and orchestra proclaim the name of Jesus Christ. Ms. Pohl returns in Mvt. 5 with its haunting melody and tonalities; it’s breathtaking. Poulenc finishes his Gloria with the triumphant entrance of the choir asking for God’s mercy and ends with the soprano offering a solemn Amen.
The Holiday Happenings concert will take place on Sunday, December 15, 3:00PM at The Bremerton Performing Arts Center, 1500 13th Street in Bremerton. Doors open at 2:00PM. WestSound Youth Jazz Band will entertain in the lobby with holiday favorites at 2:15PM and again at intermission. CJ Evergreens will offer concessions for purchase.
Concert tickets are $18-32 adults, $10 for young adults ages 19-29, and $5 for youth 18 and under. Purchase Here or visit the venue one hour in advance of the concert.