Singing the "Messiah" in Marlborough College Chapel.

At Saturday afternoon´s rehearsal.

Our performance of this great work by GF Händel was wonderful, a magnificent sound filled the airy space of the college chapel.  The photo right, shows the heavenly blue ceiling above the high altar.  We had a hard day of singing, a two hour rehearsal in the afternoon, followed by another two hours of singing in the performance itself.  In the afternoon we tried to conserve our voices, but alas, it is not easy to sing the "Messiah" half heartedly.   The performance began at 7.30pm and finished at 9.45pm by which time, many of us had sore, croaky throats.  The four soloists were excellent, particularly the tenor, who moved into the audience to sing  his message to them.  The young soprano had the voice of a bell,  and the bass was full of sound a fury.  I have sung this work so many times, and each time I  notice something new about the music, some nuance in the phrasing or words that I had not seen or thought about before.  The whole occasion was a great success, and now we must all wait until next October before we find out what music we will sing at Easter 2013.

The view from the sopranos of the altos sitting opposite, with the harpiscordist preparing his music.  In the aisle the orchestra is tuning up.

Just after the interval, Simon our conductor prepares for the second half, and the tenor and bass soloists take their seats.