Soprano Greta Bradman returns to Sydney in early June for the first of two concerts with the Choir of St James’ King Street, performing repertoire that showcases her voice at its pure and luminous best. The programme includes some of the gems from the Baroque repertoire written for choir, for soprano and for the two…
Whatever the diet of musicians in Handel’s time, his performers must certainly have had tremendous stamina. ‘Messiah’ as Handel intended, for a chamber sized ensemble is a massive test of endurance, requiring a technique that supports the power of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’, the coloratura of ‘All we like sheep’ and the hushed sostenuto of ‘Since by man came death’. After all this comes the mighty…
With this declamatory statement, librettist Charles Jennens announced his intention to persuade George Frideric Handel to collaborate with him on a text he had completed. In a letter to his friend Edward Holdsworth dated July 1741, Jennens said: ” I hope I shall persuade him (Handel) to set another Scripture Collection I have made for him &…