The Messiah

    I went to see the Portland Baroque Orchestra perform Handel's Messiah with Cappella Romana. What a concert! The performance was at First Baptist Church in Portland Oregon.
    This is a remarkable building. It is not like most Baptist Churches. It would strike one as more in line with the Methodists or Presbyterians, but yet here it stands a beautiful room with incredible accoustics and fairly good sight lines. We were sitting in the very back row of the balcony and I could see just about everything without difficulty. However some of my party who were shorter and who were enamored with the tenor, Julian Podger would stand to get a better look at him through their orchestra glasses. His interpretation of the music was perhaps the most dramatic and engaging of all the performers.
    Meanwhile I was simply enraptured by an angel who miraculously came from heaven to sing soprano. Ann-Carolyn Bird was both adorable to behold with a softly sweet and beautiful voice that made the whole night for me. At another time I'm sure I would have pushed my way through the crowd to introduce myself. But it was not the time nor the place.
    The baritone, Charles Robert Stevens had a great and powerful voice that I could listen to much more. I looked for a page for him and none was to be found.
    The only drawback, and this is on me and no one else, is that instead of having an alto sing the alto part. They had a counter tenor -- a very good one at that -- by the name of David Walker. For those of you that don't know, a counter tenor gave me flash backs to the old days of constadi's. Walker has an amazing voice, but I was embarrased for him to be able to sing nearly as high as the angelic, Bird. I missed most of his lyrics during part one because my mouth was hanging open in amazement. I could almost feel pain in my mid section and it was hard to get over. But that was what I had. During part two I settled in and simply didn't look and that seemed to help a bit. I know that musical artists will see me as a Philistine for saying those things, and I guess I kind of am, but that was how I responded at least.
    The choir and the orchestra truly are something to behold and experience. No lyric was lost and only the winds at times would get a little lost in the fray, but that is how it is for these age appropriate instruments.
    It has been a long time since I have sat through the entire Messiah. The last time was sixteen years ago in Ann Arbor. It will not be that long before I go again. Recently I have been looking at and thinking through Scriptural inspiration, and the whole idea of hearing God's voice. Well,I heard it Saturday night. And at the final incredible "Amen" it was all I could do from shouting "So be it!" For what a fitting ending to such incredible truth presented so magestically.