Messiah

Messiah

by George Handel

December 14, 2008

Somewhere in the Salt Lake City, Utah area...

This is my first negative review, but to be honest, I didn't find much to be positive about with this particular production. Let me say this; I almost left two measures into the overture. There's not much worse than listening in the first violins play flat. Well, I guess, at least they were consistent. (Imagine me rolling my eyes at this point...)

I almost left, it was so bad. Than I thought, well I might as well stay so I can write a review about it. So, I suffered through it. Wishing I had ear plugs throughout most of it.

This production was presented by several churches in the area (due to the negativeness of this review I have opted to leave out any direct reference to the locale, the church(es), the soloists. In part, because I'll most likely join the choir and audition for a solo for the next year's production. I'll comment more on that later.).

The soloists were picked from the chorus. That has an advantage, but personally, I want to hear a soloist. I takes time for the soloists to step out of the choir sits and go to the place to sing their aria. Which only adds to the, well for lack of a better word, uncomfortableness of the event.

As with the Messiah Sing-In I participated in a couple weeks previous, this group did highlights of the complete work. Just once, I'd like to go to a presentation of Messiah and hear the complete work. With orchestra of course. And live. Sure, I can listen to the complete work on CD, but hearing it live is SO much better. I digress, back to the topic at hand.

SC, a high school student, sang "Comfort ye, my people." You know, I'm just going to leave it at that. He's a high school student. DL - "Every valley shall be exalted." In my notes I wrote, "Oh my ears!" DL was also the timpanist for the orchestra. The timpani sounded wonderful. Than the chorus sang, "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed." They lacked any and all emotion.

"Thus saith the Lord, the Lord of Hosts," in my score is listed as a baritone number. Um, RC is a tenor. He tried to sound like a baritone. I get that sometimes in these types of productions you have to have tenors sing baritone roles to fill in, as it where, for parts where you don't actually have a decent baritone. But a note to the tenor filling such a part, DON'T TRY TO SOUND LIKE A FREAKING BARITONE! Another comment about DL and RC, they both breathed at the end of EVERY MEASURE! I get that sometimes you need to breath during those long phrases in "Every valley," but not every measure.

"O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion" was sung by JA. I kinda wish she had stuck to choral singing. Another note about each of the soloists up to this point, none of them looked out of their music for more than half a second, except to look at the conductor. DN sang the recitatives (numbers 14-16) leading up to the chorus number "Glory to God" (Number 17). She did a good job at it, except the high note at the end of 16, "And suddenly there was with the angel." This good be attributed to nerves. I'm going to be nice for a moment and give her the benefit of the doubt. During "Glory to God," I received a bonus. The violins weren't playing flat. Woot Hoot! I was happy.

HM sang "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion." She has a nice sound on the sustained notes, though her voice is whiny at times. The top of her voice was nice, but the bottom seemed to "fall out" of her voice and she sounded unsupported on the lower notes. Again, could be due to nerves...(I'm trying to end my mean streak...Okay, not really.) Than the orchestra hurt me again in number 20 during "Come unto Him."

Number 23, "He was despised and rejected." Ms. TO, (this is taken directly from my notes) Wow a contralto. She wasn't flat at all. She looked up from her music. What is she doing here? The chorus number (Number 33) "Lift up your heads, O ye gates" wasn't bad at all. DW sang, "why do the nations so furiously rage together?" He has a nice bottom, the top isn't so good and the middle is kinda spread. He sings with lots of tension. (By the way, I'm talking about his voice, NOT his physical attributes.)

I was glad to see that the audience respected the tradition of standing during "Hallelujah!" I didnt' want to be the only one. That would've been awkward.

"I know that my Redeemer liveth" was sung by Ms. TR. She has a pleasant voice. Not really screechy, but a little more "airy" than I prefer. But than, I'll take airy over screechy anyday. "Dang you orchestra!"

Mr. DW, who also sang "Why do the nations so furiously rage together?" also sang "The trumpet shall sound." The same problems presented themselves with this aria as well. He was slightly under pitch on the high notes, it's probably technique issues, though I'm not qualified to say much in that regard. But reading his bio included in the program, one would think he'd have done a better job than he did. By the way, the trumpet solo, was flawless. And wouldn't you know, the violins were conspiring against me.

The final movement, number 53, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" is difficult to sing. Okay, so it's not terribly difficult until the "Amen" section. I felt sorry for the soprano, who kept getting lost and looking over to the soprano next to her trying to figure out what page they were on. I think at that point, I would've made up my own part and sang whatever note I heard in the orchestra.

As I was leaving the hall I updated my facebook status via text to say, "Joey didn't think it possible to ruin Handel's Messiah." One of my friends commented back saying, "you mean you didn't think it was possible and someone did?" "Yes," I replied. "Maybe you're just too picky." And maybe I am, but that's life. We get over it eventually.

The Forgotten Carols

The Forgotten Carols

2008 Tour - Salt Lake City, Utah at Cottonwood High School

by Michael McLean

Michael McLean - Uncle John

Kelly Shepardson - Connie Lou

Christy Summerhays- Lillian

Jordan Bluth- (several different characters)

Gili Getz- Dr. Halifax

Lynne McLean- Sarah

I first saw The Forgotten Carols in Boise, Idaho in November 2005. I loved it. It reminded em of what Christmas is about. The birth of Jesus the Christ. Love. Forgiveness. Hope. I sang with the Boise LDS Institute of Religion Choir at the time and that choir was asked to be the "backup choir" for that performance. As I said, I loved the show than. It has only gotten better since then.

This is not a complete synopsis, but here is a brief one. John is staying in a "relative's" home. The "family" hires a nurse to come and watch him while he's there. He's really old, you see. John asks her for help to put the ornaments on the Christmas tree. "It's a very big tree." She does, wishing she were somewhere...anywhere else. John explains the meaning of each ornament. As the play unfolds, we learn that John is roughly 2,000 years old. As each ornament is put on the tree, John shares a carol, a Christmas carol, that has since been forgotten. But that have great meaning.

We hear from the innkeeper who turned Joseph and Mary away. John talks of when he met George F. Handel. (Who is represented by the quill pen ornament, the pen he used to write Messiah.) A dream that he (Handel) had had. About not being able to sing in the Celestial choir at the birth of Jesus. (That song, Handel's Dream, is probably my favorite. Oh who am I kidding, I like all the songs.)

We also see Constance, Connie Lou as Uncle John calls her, as a child. (This is new. I like it, it adds some power that wasn't in the show when I first saw it. And it gives it more depth. I'm all about depth.) We see her father as a soldier in war (I believe world war 1. Though it might've been ww2...) I'm not going to go on with the story, you'll have to see it yourself. It truely is an amazing show. A DVD of the performance is available at deseretbook.com (and no, Deseret Book did not pay me to make that annouoncement for them.)

After the show was ended, Michael McLean came out to do his traditional epilogue. He sits at the piano and sings "We can be together forever someday." Than he has the audience join him. He shares some other personal stories. One of which goes like this: "You know what the best part of doing a show with your wife is? Making out backstage." (Lynne McLean is his wife.) After the final stuff was over, Michael had everyone in the audience hum, Silent Night. He asked that there be no applause as he left, because he wanted us to leave that auditorium thinking of Christ. He "directed" us as we hummed as he walked off stage. He finished, the house lights came up and people slowly began to leave. It was truly a great experience.

I have no comments about any of the cast. They were all outstanding. They were funny when they needed to be. Serious. And emotional, as the situation required. I have on the other hand seen Jordan Bluth in another peformance. He sang the role of John Taylor in Joseph Smith, the Prophet by Rob Gardner. I had the opportunity to sing in the choir when it was recorded live at Abravenel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah. Conducted by the composer. I was also in the choir when it was presented in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake in April 2008. (Which was attended by President Thomas S. Monson.) Excue me, I'm getting lost in my thoughts. I was talking about Jordan Bluth...I liked him in Joseph Smith, the Propeht as well. This is another show, that will become part of my Christmas tradition.

Messiah Sing-in

Messiah Sing-In

Timpanogos Festival Orchestra and Chorus

Lois Stout, Conductor

Friday, December 5, 2008

Alpine Tabernacle

American Fork, Utah

Mary Billeter-Young, Soprano

Laura Garff Lewis, Mezzo-Soprano

Todd Miller, Tenor

Gary Sorenson, Baritone

This is the first year I have sung with the chorus. I attended the sing-in in 2006 about a week after I moved to Utah. But I had to leave shortly after "Thus saith the Lord." An announcement was made, "anyone parked in the Checker parking lot will be towed." I was in the checker parking lot. There were no other parking spots available. The streets were full of parked cars (not the middle of the road, silly. The sides.) So I went home. Sadness! But this year, I got the necessary information, so joined the chorus. YAY!!! I had a fun experience. Of course like any other music that I'm learning, I begin to hate it. I started hating Baroque music. We had something like four rehearsals total. Thankfully we didn't have to memorize it. Phew!

I love the opening number (after the overture). "Comfort ye my people." Those are the first words in the work. I can't really explain what that means to me, but suffice it to say, that those four words speak volumes to me. I have often said on my facebook profile, that a musician's job is to inspire hope. And indeed it is. Thank you G.F. Handel.

The one thing about the set up for this sing-in is that the powers that be put Hallelujah! at the end of the program. Handel put it as the end of Part 2. The end of the work is "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." Than the final, "Amen." Usually nothing comes after "amen." That usually means it's over. Perhaps, this year, I'll figure out why they do that.

Ms. Billeter-Young. Wow, where do I begin? She has been singing the soprano role for this sing-in for...well years I'm sure. She seems like a sweet lady and perhaps she was just having a bad day. But she was flat. Alot! I know I'm flat sometimes so I don't have a lot of room to talk. But seriously!

Ms. Lewis did great. There aren't a lot of arias for the Mezzo in this work, especially since it was cut practically in half. But I enjoyed listening to her.

Mr. Miller has a nice voice that carried through hall. His voice is slightly lighter than what I'm used to listening to on recordings of Messiah, but I liked it. (And I know, you're probably asking yourself, "why do I care what Joey thinks about so and so's voice?") "Comfort ye my people," is what it's all about. If the tenor blows that aria, the first words the audience hears for the evening, than there is no hope for the rest of the performance. Well, needless to say, Mr. Miller didn't blow it. I enjoyed it. (Although he sways. I do it to. I'm trying to quit. I promise.)

Mr. Sorenson has a lot of energy. I've never known a baritone that didn't. At least none that I can think of at the moment. "The trumpet shall sound" is probably one of the most popular pieces from Messiah. And with good reason. It's energetic. It requires something more than a good range and fast breathing to do it. Mr. Sorenson did an amazing job.

Overall, this was a fun and exciting evening for me. To sing the music of the great Mr. Handel, especially Messiah, a work which was written in approximately three weeks, was a great experience for this tenor.

Plaid Tidings

Plaid Tidings

SCERA Center for the Arts - Orem, Utah

Nov 28 - Dec 23, 2008

Jinx - Shawn Mortensen

Smudge - David Smith

Frankie - Geoff Reynolds

Sparky - Conn Curran

Directed by Robinne Booth

Plaid Tidings in the sequel to Forever Plaid. Stuart Ross, the playwright, was asked to do a sequel to his hit Forever Plaid shortly after 9/11. Until than, he had avoided doing a sequel, feeling that sequels were for movies like, Rambo, Lord of the Rings, Home Alone, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter. "It was at a time when we all needed a little joy and a little cozy holiday fun to lift spirits."

The show opens with the four plaids singing Deus Ex Plaid. They remember their previous "trip" to earth (after their deaths) and are trying to figure out what they're doing back. Perplexing dilemma. They argue with each other. One of them notices all the Christmas decor. They fight and argue some more about why they're back to do a Christmas show.

They eventually acquiesce and do the Christmas show. I think the highlight of the evening is in the second act. Frankie, Jinx, Sparky, and Smudge do highlights from the Ed Sullivan Show. Jinx sings, I'll Be Home for Christmas, while the rest of them "perform" "talents" that one would see on the Ed Sullivan Show. From seals juggling, dogs jumping through hoops, balancing plates on little sticks... It's, as I mentioned earlier, the best part of the show. At least for me. The entire piece is entertaining. And at the time it was written, we (Americans) needed to be entertained. We needed to be distracted from the cares of the world.

Conn Curran was sick the night I went. In his place David Whitlock played the role of Sparky. When I saw this show in 2007 at SCERA, Mr. Whitlock was part of the cast as Sparky.

Overall, this was a great production. I have seen it twice now and will continue to see it every Christmas as long as there is still breath in my body and strength in my legs to carry me to the theatre. Christmas time for me is always hectic. I'm always going from one performance to another. And I usually end up hating the holiday season by December 15th. This year was no different. It's always nice to attend a show, that is simply fun. Helps you relax.

I'm Sorry

I apologize that it's been so long since I posted anything. My last review of Aida was done at work. Well I started to feel guilty for using company equipment (not time. I stayed after hours.) for my own personal ventures. And, since I had moved the previous month (November 2008), I had to cancel my internet service. Well, actually I was bumming off my Grandma's internet. I lived in her basement. That was nice, I didn't have to pay for it. But now I have internet at my new apartment and I'm about nine shows behind. So these next nine posts will probably not be as detailed as some of my others. But if you think about it...nine shows with an average of two and a half hours each...that comes to...wait...I don't know, like twenty hours or something. I'm a musician, not a mathematician!