The BBC Proms ‘Choral Day’ culminates with one of music’s everlasting masterpieces, Handel’s Messiah. The choral movements are where this work’s most exciting, most joyous and most explosive music is to be found. ‘I did think I did see all Heaven before me,’ wrote the composer as he finished this musical reflection on faith, one that still brings audiences to their feet nearly three centuries after it was written. Heard here in Mozart’s thrilling arrangement, Messiah is delivered by massed choirs and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under early music specialist John Butt.
PROGRAMME
Handel Messiah (arr. Mozart) sung in English
PERFORMERS
John Butt conductor
Nardus Williams soprano
Helen Charlston mezzo-soprano
Benjamin Hulett tenor
Ashley Riches bass
Fourth Choir
Jason Max Ferdinand Singers
LYC Chamber Choir
Bath Minerva Choir
Philharmonia Chorus
Voices of the Rivers Edge