I am writing to you from the relative warmth of Hoddinott Hall, and we are at present halfway through rehearsals for Friday evening's performance of Handel's Messiah with François-Xavier Roth.
Handel's Messiah is a perennial Christmas favourite. Messiah Season (as Yuletide is informally known in the musical community), like much to do with Christmas, seems to start earlier and earlier every year. "How many Messiah's have you done this season?" is an oft asked question, the replies of the battle-weary being given with feigned indifference, thinly masking a slight pride, and, dare I say it, a hint of competitiveness.
Indeed, all of us have Messiah horror stories to tell, my personal Messiah low point being during my college days. The lure of not very much money had taken me to a venue that shall remain nameless in order to protect everyone's anonymity.
Sadly, the cathedral's heating system had malfunctioned that morning, and the plethora of heating devices begged, borrowed, but probably not stolen, and balanced precariously on all sorts of unlikely surfaces, only just meant that working in the eventually achieved temperature did not contravene our human rights.
Into the mix was then thrown a director who was convinced he had some kind of spiritual connection to Handel (he'd obviously been at the Christmas sherry), and insisted on playing an 'authentic' version of Messiah neither heard before, nor since. Factor in a half hour long interval, and the resulting affair was an excruciatingly long performance during which I'm pretty sure half the audience, not to mention the band, must have been flirting with hypothermia.
Then the merry bunch of us who had travelled from college missed the last train to Manchester as the performance had overrun by so long. Leeds train station at midnight in midwinter is neither a hospitable, nor festive, spot.
Therefore, it was with great joy, that I saw Messiah come up on our schedule, for in truth, it is a wonderful work. Noting that François would be in charge assured me that this was my opportunity to exorcise all the Ghosts of Messiahs Past!
In oratorio, it sometimes feels that the instrumental lines are secondary in importance to the chorus and soloists. I'm very much enjoying how François encourages the orchestra to have a greater awareness of the text in order to give a more involved, active, and sympathetic foundation upon which to build the vocal lines.
A brief survey of the chorus makes it clear that they too are very much enjoying Francois' approach. He places great emphasis on clear diction, and on the story telling role that the chorus must fulfil.
If all you know of Messiah is the Hallelujah Chorus or the chorus about the sheep, join us, in person, or on air, on Friday night, because there's a lot more to it than that. It truly is a masterwork, vocally and instrumentally. No Christmas season is complete without a performance of Handel's most well-known oratorio, and in François’ hands, this is one Messiah performance that I know I will be very special.
For more information about the BBC National Orchestra of Wales' forthcoming concerts, visit www.bbc.co.uk/now.
