Heavenly Chorus : Sing-alongs, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, have transformed Handel’s oratorio into ‘Messiah’ for the masses

On the title page of the libretto published for the premiere performance of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” in 1742 are two words in Latin in block letters: “MAJORA CANAMUS.”

They mean: “Let us sing of greater matters.”

That was the lofty aim at Hollywood Presbyterian one recent Friday night as the church and its choir presented a sing-along performance of Handel’s mighty oratorio concerning the birth and death of the namesake of Christianity.

“Messiah” sing-alongs are a golden opportunity for those singers who always wanted to participate in a “Majora Canamus” kind of event but whose singing voices are perhaps better suited for more mundane works. “All the shower singers come out for this,” Fred Bock, the director of music at Hollywood Presbyterian, said with a laugh.

Indeed, “Messiah” sing-alongs have become increasingly popular in recent years. The Los Angeles Master Chorale had two sing-along performances at the 3,000-seat Dorothy Chandler Pavilion last week to accommodate the singers, both professional and amateur, who wanted to participate. The performances marked the 10th anniversary of the Master Chorale’s sing-along.

Today the 140-voice Valley Master Chorale, which was founded in 1975, will host its first sing-along “Messiah.” John Alexander, chairman of choral activities at Cal State Northridge and the conductor of the Pacific Chorale of Orange County, will conduct and host the event. Soloists are soprano Robin Parkin, mezzo-soprano Debbie Cree, tenor William Smith and bass Ray McLeod.

The performance is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Burroughs High School Auditorium in Burbank.

The popularity of such events does not guarantee success, either musically or at the box office. A few days before the performance at Hollywood Presbyterian, Bock was concerned with both.

“We ran into a few problems in promoting this concert,” said Bock, 50, an affable man who has been director of music at the church for nine years. The church’s weekly newspaper ad did not mention the sing-along, he said. And then there was the matter of the church marquee, which is situated near the Gower Street on-ramp to the Hollywood Freeway.

“It has a nice corner spot and so, of course, I wanted this concert to be prominently mentioned up there,” he said, seated in the Tarzana office of his music publishing company that primarily handles church music. On a file cabinet nearby were two of Bock’s favorite albums of eccentric performances of Christian music. One is by Tammy Faye Bakker and the other by Jimmy Durante. Bock can do a dead-on imitation of Durante singing, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.”

“I called over to the church to make sure the marquee had been taken care of and the woman who answered said there had been a problem,” he said. “I was all ready to get upset and start laying down the law, but she explained that it wasn’t that anyone had forgotten to put us up there.

“The problem with ‘Messiah Sing-Along,’ she said, was that there were too many ‘S’s.”

Bock laughed heartily.

“Normally it wouldn’t have been a problem but the sermon that week at the church was ‘Possessing Your Possessions,’ and they had to get that up there, too. Finally they solved the whole thing by cutting some 8s in half.”

One problem that could not be solved so easily was the Roger Wagner factor. The church pulled off a coup last year by getting Wagner, the popular founder of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and leader of that group until his acrimonious retirement in 1985, to do its first “Messiah” sing-along. With Wagner on the podium the sing-along in Hollywood Presbyterian’s 1,700-seat sanctuary was a sellout.

“Roger is a great draw,” Bock said. “He is a wonderful, serious musician who has a lot of show business in him, too. He plays well to the audience.”

Wagner had agreed to return to the church this year for the event, but he was asked by the Music Center to come home to the Los Angeles Master Chorale this year and conduct its “Messiah” sing-along. His sing-along concert contract with the Master Chorale stipulated that he do no other Christmas concerts in the Los Angeles area this season.

Wagner took the Master Chorale offer and Bock bears him no grudge. “They can offer him a lot more money than we can,” Bock said, “but more importantly than that, we all felt it was important that Roger was being asked to return to the Music Center. It was the right thing for him to do.”

The importance of Wagner as a draw was immediately apparent last Saturday at Hollywood Presbyterian. Only about half the seats were filled when Bock, his 68-member Cathedral Choir and a 27-piece hired orchestra took their places in the front of the sanctuary. Bock faced the situation with the audience head on.

“I’m not Roger Wagner,” were his opening words to the crowd, and the line got a laugh.

Other than a few other jovial comments, Bock took a straight-forward approach to the event. There was no pleading or pep talk to urge the audience to participate. And he did not take a “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra” approach to explain in detail how the sing-along aspects of the evening worked.

He simply warmed up the audience with “Angels We Have Heard on High,” explained that they could join in on the six choruses that were in the section of “Messiah” being performed that evening and then he turned to the orchestra to conduct the overture.

Some first-timers were a bit confused. “I’m not sure what we are supposed to do,” said Edith C. Lee, 86, with a giggle. But she said she was happy just to be in the sanctuary she had seen so many times on television (a weekly program, “Let God Love You,” is broadcast from the church).

Another first-timer was also confused, but excited about participating. “I invested in the book,” said June Ashikawa, holding aloft the 252-page score to the “Messiah” that was on sale in the lobby for $7. “I think that after tonight, maybe this will become a tradition for me. The music is so beautiful.

“My friends would not come. They said I was crazy to go out in all that traffic. But I would not have missed it.”

Ashikawa, who lives in Pasadena, had an additional incentive. Her daughter was a violinist in the orchestra.

Jerry Dale, 30, a first-timer who sat with friends in the front of the auditorium, had a more pragmatic reason. “I’ve been looking for something to do to get me into the holidays,” he said. “The weather has been so hot with the Santa Anas blowing that it’s not so easy out here.”

When the performance got to the first chorus, “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed . . .,” Bock turned around to the audience to conduct them as well as the choir and orchestra. Although the choir and orchestra were amplified, filling the church with electronically boosted sound, it was apparent that not much of the sound was provided by the audience.

At the end of the chorus Bock gave the audience a reassuring smile and an “A-OK” sign, but a couple choruses later he took steps to correct the situation.

Before starting in on “For unto us a child is born . . .,” Bock told stories about other conductors he had seen do this passage and how he felt it should be sung. He had the audience stand to do it.

The participatory spirit began to build with many more audience members joining in the singing. By the time he got to “His yoke is easy . . .,” the last chorus in the Christmas portion of “Messiah,” at least half of the audience was singing away, even though it is one of the more difficult choruses in the oratorio.

After that Bock turned around again to conduct the “Hallelujah!” chorus, the most popular and recognizable portion of Handel’s “Messiah.” It belongs in the portion of the work usually sung for Easter, but he knew that people expect it to be part of the Christmas proceedings.

“It’s the big crowd pleaser,” he had explained in his office a few days earlier. “Sometimes people ask if they can sing it twice.”

At the end of the performance, there was a lot of good natured talk in the crowd about who sang and who didn’t. The phrase “Now, it’s Christmas,” could be heard several times.

Dale was laughing as he left the church. “Great fun,” he said with gusto. “Of course, we spent much of the time making jokes and gossiping about the choir members.”

Jeffrey Cordone, who had been sitting near the front and could be seen singing out right from the first chorus, said modestly, “Oh, I tried my best.” His wife, Taryl, smiled at him. “He sounded beautiful,” she said with conviction.

Ashikawa, who sang during all the chorus but in a barely audible voice, was as excited at the end as she was at the beginning. “I feel bad that my friends stayed at home. I will be back next year,” she said before seeking out her daughter who was looking for her from the stage.

Back in the choir room, Bock was beaming as he accepted congratulations from well-wishers. He acknowledged that audience members were having trouble joining at first, and he knew that when they did, it was often at personally selected pitches. But no matter.

“That is not what this kind of thing is about,” Bock said. “If it’s true that God looks upon the heart, then he’s probably not going to judge us on our musical style or whether or not we were in tune, tonight.

“It’s an opportunity for everyone to join in the spirit of the season. If you’re not in tune with the music, at least your heart will be in tune.”

The Valley Master Chorale’s sing-along Messiah is at 3 p.m. today at the Burroughs High School Auditorium, 1920 Clark Ave., Burbank. Tickets are $10 with discounts for season ticket - holders and seniors. For information, call (818) 789-1335.

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