It’s the Season for Handel’s ‘Messiah’--Again

To no one’s surprise, Handel’s “Messiah” will dominate local music programming this holiday season.

The imposing oratorio originally had nothing to do with celebrating Christmas. Handel composed it to be performed during Lent, the six-week liturgical season prior to Easter. Only in the 20th Century has the work become a favorite of the Christmas season.

“The depth of inspiration of Handel’s oratorio makes it easy for people to relate to this 18th-Century work, even if they don’t know very much about Baroque style,” said Martin Wright, minister of music at the La Jolla Presbyterian Church and San Diego Opera’s chorus master. “It surprises me that people like even the ornate coloratura arias, which you would think might easily put them off. But they catch on to the bounce and flow of Handel’s eloquent writing.”

No fewer than seven performances of the evergreen oratorio are scheduled across the county, from Solana Beach to El Cajon to downtown San Diego. Only the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Master Chorale’s performances of “Messiah” (Dec. 17-18) will come close to presenting the complete 2 1/2-hour oratorio. But for those who are content to hear the first portion of the work, which some call the Christmas “Messiah,” with the “Hallelujah” chorus tacked on as an upbeat finale, there are several options.

Among the precious few performers who chose to venture into more challenging repertory are the vocal ensemble Las Voces’ program of contemporary Latin American music at the University of San Diego (Dec. 18) and W. H. Auden’s “For the Time Being, A Christmas Oratorio” at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral (Dec. 18).

For the Las Voces program, Venezuelan conductor Xiomara DiMaio has selected “Canticos de Navidad” and “Villancico” by Juan Orrego-Salas as well as portions of Enrique Ubieta’s “Misa Cubana.” At the Episcopal Cathedral, Old Globe’s Richard Easton will read Auden’s narrative poem “For the Time Being, a Christmas Oratorio,” with carols by San Diego’s Early Music Ensemble.

Two seasonal works by the contemporary Argentine composer Ariel Ramirez, the “Misa Criolla” and the cantata “Nuestra Navidad,” will be performed Friday, Saturday and Sunday by the San Diego Choral Artists under director Ronald Gillis.

Festive settings of the Magnificat, a traditional liturgical text associated with Christmas and the Advent season that precedes it, are also popular this year.

Sunday, the choir of San Diego’s First United Methodist Church will perform contemporary British composer John Rutter’s “Magnificat” with Johann Pachelbel’s “Magnificat” at the Mission Valley church. Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Magnificat” will be performed at the First Unitarian Church.

Under the direction of Carl Hermanns, the secular side of Christmas will be highlighted at the San Diego Symphony’s WinterPops concerts at Copley Symphony Hall (Dec. 18-20). The orchestra will play excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker,” Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on “Greensleeves,” and LeRoy Anderson’s “A Christmas Festival.” Steven Brezzo will narrate Clement Moore’s “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Organist Dennis James will lead the audience in a carol sing-a-long.

Civic organist Robert Plimpton will lead caroling at the Spreckels Organ pavilion in Balboa Park (Dec. 20) after an organ recital assisted by bass Michael Morgan.