By Nancy Plum
New Jersey Symphony closed out the first half of its 2024-25 Princeton series the week before Christmas with an enduring holiday favorite. George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah is always a crowd-pleaser at this time of year, and the Symphony’s performance this season was an especially unique musical experience. Preparing a work of this scope every year under a different conductor keeps the Symphony players on their toes, with each director reimagining the music to their own taste and scholarly background. Guest conductor Jeannette Sorrell, who led a Friday night presentation in Richardson Auditorium (the concert was repeated the following night) brought Baroque-era expertise, creative musical thinking and her own harpsichord skills to lead the Symphony musicians, four vocal soloists and chorus in a version which captured the audience’s attention.
With close to 50 choruses, arias, and duets and a complete run time of three hours, Messiah has long been subject to excised numbers and abbreviated adaptations for the sake of audience appeal. Handel’s timeless work is a musical arc over three parts, telling the Christmas story and the narrative of the crucifixion and resurrection, together with affirmation of redemption. When conductors adjust the score, the arc and Handel’s overall message cannot help but be affected. Sorrell made most cuts in the second and third parts, while retaining arias which encapsulated the liturgical texts and showcasing popular choruses. more
My preferred Santa of the moment is the one trudging up the Union Square subway stairs on the cover of the December 16 New Yorker, a heavy red bag slung over his shoulder, one hand on the railing, snow falling. I like the noirish urban darkness of Eric Drooker’s image, the way the Con Ed building is framed, the fading portrait of a beloved city against a blank sky. I also like the touch of mortal menace. Will Santa make it to his next stop before he’s mugged or run down by a drunken driver?