West Village Chorale's 2022 "Messiah" Sing

About the "Messiah" Sing:

Our annual audience sing of this holiday classic—where you, the audience, are the choir—is a four-decade tradition and one of the most popular Sings in the city! As with past years, we'll provide the score, a pianist, and a conductor--our own Artistic Director, Colin Britt--so come join us and lend your voice on some of the work's most popular choruses!

About our COVID Protocols:

We are requiring that every audience member/participant to remain masked while indoors. Please visit our website for the most recent information as the situation evolves.

Did you know...Some fun facts about George Frideric Handel and his Messiah

Handel's Messiah may be the most frequently performed masterpiece in the classical literature. Legend has it that the oratorio has been performed, somewhere, every year since its April 13, 1742, premiere at the Great Music Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin.

A Germanic Saxon, Handel studied in Rome and had his greatest successes in England. His birth year—1685—is shared by Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti. Yet his tombstone in Westminster Abbey says 1684! He spoke German better than English, but then that was also true of the reigning British kings of his time, who were also Saxons.

For the "His Yoke Is Easy" tune, Handel borrowed from his own Italian cantata, "Quel Fior che All'Alba Ride," or" That Flower That Laughs at the Dawn." So try to smile through all the "heh-heh-heh" melismas!

Disappointing his father, a barber-surgeon, Handel dropped out of law school after one year to take a job as a harpsichordist and violinist for the Hamburg Opera.

Messiah, or "The Anointed One" in Hebrew, draws much of its inspiration from the Old Testament, like most of Handel's 20-plus oratorios. It is the only Handel oratorio with material drawn from the New Testament, other than two early works, La Ressurezione and Johannespassion.

We hope you will join us on December 4th to learn more!