CONCERT #1

[darcydodo]

UC Berkeley's University Chorus
performs

HANDEL'S MESSIAH

Saturday 24 April, 7:30pm
First Congregational Church (@ Dana & Channing), Berkeley

Only $3 for students! But get them early, as they may well sell out.

Comments

[calbruin.livejournal.com]

Ah, Damn! I shall miss it. Living in Los Angeles have it dis-advantages, but then it also has its advantages e.g. Festival of Books (http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks).

By visiting http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/bruincam/default.htm, you can see a bit of the festival yourself from afar.

[sampiano.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately can't be there due to the other side of the world thing. But enjoy it. The Messiah is a phenomenal work. Are you doing the whole of it?

[darcydodo]

All of it except for four choruses (and presumably the attached solos); I don't know if they got cut because we ran out of time to rehearse or if they were never going to be there in the first place. I mildly suspect the former, but it's possible that it was going to be too long to perform otherwise. And all the ones we're skipping are from the third movement, so given that we rehearsed them in no (to my mind) logical order, that does seem to indicate a bit of forethought.

[darcydodo]

BTW, I lied; all the choruses we're skipping are from the second part. :)

[mariannesque.livejournal.com]

The Messiah's amazing. :) I once played the Hallelujah Chorus in a string ensemble (second violin, if you care at all :p), and it sounded so great with the choir surrounding us. It was certainly not a usual position to be listening to it from. :)

[darcydodo]

Yeah, I didn't like Beethoven's 9th until I actually sang in it, and then I thought it was pretty brilliant. Though I still don't like listening to it, as I think from the outside it's pretty much one big mush.

The Messiah's lovely from any angle, though, just a bit lovlier from some. ;)

[jetspeaks.livejournal.com]

Depends on who's singing it - and who's in the orchestra...

I sang The Messiah with a community choir comprised mostly of Mormons. Which the choir was pretty good for a community, non-auditioned choir, the orchestra was not great, and the first violins should have been shot (they were replaced, as a section, by the second night). Some of the soloists had me thinking I should have auditioned for a solo (think warbly altos with too much vibrato...).

It was fun, though. Mormons are much nicer when they're not on your doorstep. :)

[darcydodo]

In this case, it will be excellent in all respects, choir and orchestra and soloists. You should come.

[sampiano.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've played the entire Messiah (give or take a few choruses) from spots in first violin, second violin, viola - and once (whole of part the first, but a lot of cuts in the other two parts) playing the piano accompaniment part because there was no orchestra. I've never sung it yet though...