The Philadelphia Orchestra

Matthew Halls ConductorErin Wall SopranoSasha Cooke Mezzo-sopranoBruce Sledge TenorJoshua Hopkins BaritoneThe Philadelphia Singers ChoraleDavid Hayes Music Director

Handel MessiahPart IOvertureTenor Accompagnato: “Comfort ye my people”Tenor Air: “Ev’ry valley shall be exalted”Chorus: “And the glory of the Lord”Bass Accompagnato: “Thus saith the Lord of Hosts”Alto Air: “But who may abide the day of His coming?”Chorus: “And He shall purify”Alto Recitative: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive”Alto Air and Chorus: “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion”Bass Accompagnato: “For behold, darkness shall cover

the earth”Bass Air: “The people that walked in darkness”Chorus: “For unto us a Child is born”Pastoral SymphonySoprano Recitative: “There were shepherds abiding in the

field”Soprano Accompagnato: “And lo, the angel of the Lord

came upon them”Soprano Recitative: “And the angel said unto them”Soprano Accompagnato: “And suddenly there was with

the angel”Chorus: “Glory to God in the highest”Soprano Air: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion”Alto Recitative: “Then shall the eyes of the blind be open’d”Alto and Soprano Duet: “He shall feed His flock”Chorus: “His yoke is easy”

Intermission

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Season 2014-2015Sunday, December 21, at 2:00

Part IIChorus: “Behold the Lamb of God”Alto Air: “He was despised”Chorus: “Surely He hath borne our griefs”Chorus: “And with His stripes we are healed”Chorus: “All we like sheep have gone astray”Tenor Accompagnato: “All they that see Him, laugh Him to

scorn”Chorus: “He trusted in God”Tenor Accompagnato: “Thy rebuke hath broken His heart”Tenor Arioso: “Behold, and see if there be any sorrow”Soprano Accompagnato: “He was cut off out of the land

of the living”Soprano Air: “But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell”Chorus: “The Lord gave the word”Soprano Air: “How beautiful are the feet of Him”Bass Air: “Why do the nations so furiously rage together?”Chorus: “Let us break their bonds asunder”Tenor Recitative: “He that dwelleth in heaven”Tenor Air: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron”Chorus: “Hallelujah”Part IIISoprano Air: “I know that my Redeemer liveth”Chorus: “Since by man came death”Bass Accompagnato: “Behold, I tell you a mystery”Bass Air: “The trumpet shall sound”Jeffrey Curnow, trumpetSoprano Air: “If God be for us, who can be against us?”Chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain”Michael Stairs, organ; Davyd Booth, harpsichord; Yumi Kendall, cello; Joseph Conyers, bass

This program runs approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM. Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details.

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The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the preeminent orchestras in the world, renowned for its distinctive sound, desired for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences, and admired for a legacy of imagination and innovation on and off the concert stage. The Orchestra is transforming its rich tradition of achievement, sustaining the highest level of artistic quality, but also challenging—and exceeding—that level by creating powerful musical experiences for audiences at home and around the world.

Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s highly collaborative style, deeply-rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike since his inaugural season in 2012. Under his leadership the Orchestra returned to recording with a celebrated CD of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions on the Deutsche Grammophon label, continuing its history of recording success. The Orchestra also reaches thousands of listeners on the radio with weekly Sunday afternoon broadcasts on WRTI-FM.

Philadelphia is home, and the Orchestra nurtures an important relationship with patrons who support the main season at the Kimmel Center, and also with those who enjoy the Orchestra’s other area performances at the Mann Center, Penn’s Landing, and other cultural, civic, and learning venues. The Orchestra maintains a strong commitment to collaborations with cultural and community organizations on a regional and national level.

Through concerts, tours, residencies, presentations, and recordings, the Orchestra is a global ambassador for Philadelphia and for the United States. Having been the first American orchestra to perform in China, in 1973 at the request of President Nixon, today The Philadelphia Orchestra boasts a new partnership with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The ensemble annually performs at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center while also enjoying summer residencies in Saratoga Springs, New York, and Vail, Colorado.

The Philadelphia Orchestra has a decades-long tradition of presenting learning and community engagement opportunities for listeners of all ages. The Orchestra’s recent initiative, the Fabulous Philadelphians Offstage, Philly Style!, has taken musicians off the traditional concert stage and into the community, including highly-successful Pop-Up concerts, PlayINs, SingINs, and ConductINs. The Orchestra’s musicians, in their own dedicated roles as teachers, coaches, and mentors, serve a key role in growing young musician talent and a love of classical music, nurturing and celebrating the wealth of musicianship in the Philadelphia region. For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org.

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Jessica Griffin

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Music DirectorMusic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin continues his inspired leadership of The Philadelphia Orchestra, which began in the fall of 2012. His highly collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. The New York Times has called Nézet-Séguin “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton, “the ensemble, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.” He has taken the Orchestra to new musical heights. Highlights of his third season as music director include an Art of the Pipe Organ festival; the 40/40 Project, in which 40 great compositions that haven’t been heard on subscription concerts in at least 40 years will be performed; and Bernstein’s MASS, the pinnacle of the Orchestra’s five-season requiem cycle.

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. He has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic since 2008 and artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000. He also continues to enjoy a close relationship with the London Philharmonic, of which he was principal guest conductor. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles, and he has conducted critically acclaimed performances at many of the leading opera houses.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his leadership The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to recording with a CD on that label of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. He continues a fruitful recording relationship with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on DG, EMI Classics, and BIS Records; the London Philharmonic and Choir for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique.

A native of Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin studied at that city’s Conservatory of Music and continued lessons with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini and with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick’s honors are an appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada’s National Arts Centre Award; the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts in Quebec; and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec in Montreal and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor.

Chris Lee

ConductorBritish conductor Matthew Halls first came to prominence as a keyboard player and early music conductor, but is now better known for his dynamic and intelligent work with major symphony orchestras and opera companies, and for his probing and vibrant interpretations of music of all periods. The year 2014 marked his inaugural season as artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festival. His inaugural festival included performances of Verdi’s Requiem, Monteverdi’s Vespers, and his own reconstruction of Bach’s St. Mark Passion.

Mr. Halls makes his Philadelphia Orchestra debut with today’s performance. For his 2013 debut with the Toronto Symphony he led Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He first led the National Symphony in 2011 in performances of Handel’s Messiah; he returned to Washington this year to open the 2014-15 subscription season with a program including Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2. In North America he has conducted the Calgary Philharmonic; the Cleveland, National Arts Centre, and Los Angeles Chamber orchestras; and the Houston, Seattle, Indianapolis, and Utah symphonies. In spring 2014 he debuted with Concentus Musicus Wien, substituting on short notice for Nikolaus Harnoncourt in a performance of Haydn’s The Seasons. He has appeared with the BBC Scottish, Frankfurt Radio, Iceland, and RTE National symphonies; the Bergen Philharmonic; the Tonkünstler Orchestra; Musica Viva Moscow; the Northern Sinfonia; and the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, in both regular appearances in Austria and on tour. This season he conducts the Adelaide, Melbourne, and West Australian symphonies.

Mr. Halls’s recordings include Handel’s Parnasso in Festa, winner of the Stanley Sadie Handel Recording Prize, released by Hyperion. On Linn Records he has recorded a set of four Bach harpsichord concertos conducted from the keyboard, and Bach’s Easter and Ascension oratorios. Educated at Oxford University, where he subsequently taught for five years, Mr. Halls is passionately committed to education and teaches regularly. In summer 2015 he and the Oregon Bach Festival launch the Berwick Academy for Historically Informed Performance, a national training program for advanced students.

Eric R

ichmond

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SoloistFor soprano Erin Wall the 2014-15 season begins and ends with the role of Clémence in Kaija Saariaho’s Love from Afar, first with the Trondheim Symphony and then with the Opéra de Québec in a new Robert Lepage production. Other opera engagements include her Seattle Opera debut as Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, her Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut as Anna Sorensen in Kevin Puts’s Silent Night, and her return to the Bavarian State Opera as Donna Anna. In concert Ms. Wall sings Poulenc’s Stabat Mater with the Tonhalle Orchestra and Charles Dutoit; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Toronto and Melbourne symphonies; Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Boston and Tokyo symphonies; Fauré’s Requiem with the Calgary Philharmonic; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the London and Singapore symphonies; Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Berg’s Seven Early Songs with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; and Elgar’s The Kingdom with the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago.

Ms. Wall made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in the Glorious Sound of Christmas concerts in 2009. Other highlights of recent seasons include returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the title role in Strauss’s Arabella and Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; a return to the Vancouver Opera for Donna Anna in Don Giovanni; and appearances with the Cincinnati Opera as Anna in Silent Night. In concert she has sung Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Houston Symphony and Christoph Eschenbach; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Vienna Philharmonic; Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs with the City of Birmingham and Melbourne symphonies; and Poulenc’s Gloria with the NHK Symphony and Mr. Dutoit.

Born to American parents in Calgary, Alberta, Ms. Wall studied piano at the Vancouver Academy of Music throughout her childhood. She holds music degrees from Western Washington and Rice universities. She also attended the Aspen Music Festival and the Music Academy of the West. Ms. Wall’s future engagements include returns to the Canadian Opera Company, Santa Fe Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Kristin H

oebermann

SoloistGrammy Award-winning American mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut singing Handel’s Messiah in 2013. Other symphonic engagements of her 2014-15 season include performances of Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet with Tugan Sokhiev and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Verdi’s Requiem with Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony, Mahler’s Third Symphony with Andrew Davis and the Melbourne Symphony, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, and Mozart’s Requiem with Pinchas Zukerman and the Colorado Symphony, and with Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony. In recital she appears with pianist Julius Drake at Carnegie Hall and under the auspices of San Francisco Performances.

Ms. Cooke’s operatic engagements this season include the world premieres of Laura Kaminsky’s As One at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Joby Talbot’s Everest with the Dallas Opera directed by Leonard Foglia, as well as the role of Anna in Berlioz’s Les Troyens at San Francisco Opera under the baton of Donald Runnicles. A frequent performer of contemporary works, she performs Jake Heggie’s Camille Claudel: Into the Fire song cycle with the Berkeley Symphony and a world premiere by Pierre Jalbert with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. Chamber music performances include collaborations with I Musici de Montréal and Jean-Marie Zeitouni, and the Miró Quartet at the Kennedy Center. Additional engagements include collaborations with Jeremy Denk and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and a world premiere by Kevin Puts.

Performance highlights of the 2013-14 season included appearances with the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony, a European tour with the San Francisco Symphony, and her debut at Wigmore Hall. In 2012 she made her San Francisco Opera debut as the title role in the world premiere of Mark Adamo’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. A graduate of Rice University and the Juilliard School, Ms. Cooke also attended the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen and Marlboro music festivals, the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute, the Wolf Trap Foundation, and Central City Opera’s Young Artist Training Program.

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SoloistTenor Bruce Sledge’s recent performances include the role of Paolo Erisso in Rossini’s Maometto II with Santa Fe Opera; a return to the Metropolitan Opera for Ades’s The Tempest and in two Mozart roles—Tamino in The Magic Flute and Ferrando in Così fan tutte; Verdi’s Requiem with the Spoleto USA Festival and with the Radio Television Ireland Orchestra; Mozart’s Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony; Schubert’s Mass No. 6 with the San Diego Symphony; and Popera concerts with Opera Tampa. Recent operatic debuts include the Welsh National Opera and Minnesota Opera as Leicester in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda; Opéra de Bordeaux as Percy in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena; and Boston Lyric Opera as the Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto. He made his debut at the Met as Almaviva in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and his European debut in the title role of Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust in Palermo, Italy. Future engagements include returns to the Canadian Opera Company, the Welsh National Opera, and Santa Fe Opera.

Mr. Sledge recorded the role of the Fox in the Spanish and Catalan versions of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen for the BBC with Kent Nagano. He also joined Mr. Nagano in Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Berkeley Symphony. Other appearances include a concert version of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in Lisbon with the Gulbenkian Foundation; Brahms’s Liebeslieder Waltzes with New York City Ballet; a recital at Carnegie’s Weill Hall under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation; and recitals in Brownville, Nebraska, and Tyler, Texas.

Mr. Sledge, who is making his Philadelphia Orchestra debut, was a finalist in the 2002 World Voice Masters Competition in Monte Carlo, a finalist in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia 2000 World Opera Contest, and a national finalist in the 2000 Loren L. Zachary Vocal Competition. In 1998 he was a Western Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and was awarded first place in the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Competition. He received his master’s degree in vocal arts from the University of Southern California. Mr. Sledge was also on the NBC sitcom Scrubs and can be heard on the soundtrack of the motion picture The Sum of All Fears.

Kenneth D

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SoloistChosen by Opera News as one of 25 artists poised to break out and become a major force in the coming decade, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins is making his Philadelphia Orchestra debut with today’s performance. Other highlights of the 2014-15 season include his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Tadeusz in Weinberg’s The Passenger, conducted by Andrew Davis; the title role in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville at the Canadian Opera Company; and Count Almaviva in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in a return to the Dallas Opera and with the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon for performances under the baton of Paul McCreesh; concerts with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony as Dr. Pangloss in Bernstein’s Candide; and Lieder recital programs with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago and under the auspices of the Canadian Opera Company. In future seasons he returns to the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, Washington National Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Houston Grand Opera.

Mr. Hopkins’s operatic performances in the 2013-14 season included Puccini’s La bohème at the Canadian Opera Company (Marcello) and at the Metropolitan Opera (Schaunard). He made international debuts at Frankfurt Opera as Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and at Washington National Opera as Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and he returned to the Glyndebourne Festival Opera singing Argante in Handel’s Rinaldo. Concert performances included Fauré’s Requiem with the Kansas City Symphony and Handel’s Messiah with the San Francisco and Detroit symphonies. He also joined tenor Paul Appleby in recital under the auspices of Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center.

Mr. Hopkins gave the world premiere of Michael Tilson Thomas’s Rilke Songs at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall and joined soprano Barbara Bonney for performances of songs by three generations of Mozarts (Leopold, Wolfgang, and Franz Xaver) under the auspices of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has also collaborated with pianist Richard Goode in a program of Haydn part songs. His first recital disc was released in 2010 on the ATMA Classique label and features songs of Barber, Bowles, Glick, and Vaughan Williams.

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ChorusDescribed by Wolfgang Sawallisch as “one of the musical treasures of Philadelphia,” the Philadelphia Singers has won acclaim for artistic excellence for more than 40 years. Founded in 1972 by Curtis Institute of Music graduate Michael Korn, the professional chorus began as a 32-voice chamber ensemble, performing repertoire that ranged from Renaissance-era to contemporary works in an annual concert series. During the 1980s the group rose to prominence, presenting the Philadelphia premieres of works by Poulenc and Gershwin and world premieres of Romeo Cascarino’s William Penn and Vincent Persichetti’s Flower Songs. The chorus performs regularly with leading national and local performing arts organizations, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Curtis Institute of Music, and Pennsylvania Ballet.

In 1991 the Philadelphia Singers founded the Philadelphia Singers Chorale, a symphonic chorus composed of professional singers and talented volunteers, and the ensemble made its Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1992. The Chorale was resident chorus of the Orchestra from 2000 to 2011. Past performances with the Orchestra include Orff’s Carmina burana; Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Das klagende Lied; Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet, The Damnation of Faust, and Requiem; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9; the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s The Singing Rooms; Ravel’s complete Daphnis and Chloe; Fauré’s Requiem; and Handel’s Messiah. The Chorale returns to Verizon Hall again in the spring of 2015 for Magnus Lindberg’s Graffiti with the Orchestra.

David Hayes was appointed music director of the Philadelphia Singers in 1992. Music director of the New York Choral Society and the Mannes Orchestra of the Mannes College of Music in New York, he is also staff conductor of the Curtis Symphony and from 2000 to 2010 served as a cover conductor for The Philadelphia Orchestra. He has also served as a cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic as well as for André Previn on the Curtis Symphony’s 1999 European Tour with Anne-Sophie Mutter. Mr. Hayes studied conducting with Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School and with Otto-Werner Mueller at the Curtis Institute of Music.

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The MusicMessiah

George Frideric HandelBorn in Halle, Germany, February 23, 1685Died in London, April 14, 1759

Messiah, the most famous oratorio ever written, is quite unlike Handel’s other ones, let alone those by most earlier and later composers. A German who initially made his fame writing Italian operas for English audiences, Handel found in the 1730s that the public wanted something new and more understandable. After composing some three dozen Italian operas, works of great musical brilliance, he shifted his energies to creating what are in essence sacred operas in English.

The performance venues in which Handel’s oratorios were originally presented, the performers who participated, and the audiences that attended were pretty much the same as those previously connected with his operas. It was a natural shift for Handel, a man of the theater.

An Oratorio of a Different Kind The principal differences between Handel’s operas and oratorios are that the stories are usually religious, often biblical, and that oratorios were not staged—no sets or costumes. They both tend to open with a so-called French Overture, followed by various recitatives and arias. Castrato singers, the superstars of the day, were also shared features. One of the most vocally elaborate and dazzling moments in Messiah—the fast section of “But who may abide the day of His coming”—was revised from its original version featuring bass voice for the famous alto castrato Gaetano Guadagni and made into a real showstopper.

Most of the musical elements were interchangeable between opera and oratorio, although the role of the chorus became much more prominent in the latter, often carrying nationalistic resonances as representatives of the people. Handel the dramatic composer, therefore, is still very much in evidence in his oratorios. If his theatrical sense did not change, he nonetheless was able to adapt to new circumstances after interest in Italian opera waned and the success of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728) demonstrated public desire for simpler fare given in English.

Handel quickly enjoyed considerable success with oratorios such as Esther, Deborah, Saul, and Israel in Egypt. But by the early 1740s, he was in some financial difficulty and suffering from poor health after a stroke. At this low point

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in his career he composed what would become his most famous and beloved piece and one that is the oldest work to remain consistently in the repertory of so-called “classical music.” Unlike his own operas or Bach’s passions, Messiah never needed to be revived because it never disappeared.

The Idea of a Messiah The title of this celebrated composition gives some indication of its basic difference from most of Handel’s other sacred stories in sound: Messiah, not The Messiah. He did not write a narrative drama about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ (the latter parts the subject of musical settings of the Passion, such as those by Bach), but rather offered a mediation on the idea of a Messiah, for which reason some of the text is derived not from the New Testament but from the Old, as well as from the Psalms. Later parts of the oratorio then offer episodes dealing with Christ’s birth, sufferings, death, and resurrection.

While Handel’s oratorios usually had characters and a clear narrative, Messiah does not. Soloists are still used, but for their vocal qualities rather than to represent specific individuals. This change in approach was commented upon by Handel’s contemporaries, one of whom noted that Messiah “although called an Oratorio, yet it is not dramatic but properly a Collection of Hymns or Anthems drawn from the sacred Scriptures.”

A Legendary Work Various legends, registering differing degrees of reality, inevitably surround such a famous and long-lived composition. It is known that Handel wrote most of the work in some three weeks time, secluding himself beginning on August 22, 1741. Such speed was typical of the composer, who after finishing Messiah immediately turned to writing the oratorio Samson. Another legend attached to the work relates to his inspiration, which casts the frenzied composition as a sort of divine dictation. Handel is said to have emerged at some point (usually, it is noted, after finishing the “Hallelujah” chorus,) and proclaimed: “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God himself!”

A practical reason that Handel could compose this work and others so quickly was that he often drew upon music composed earlier. While self-borrowing was far more common in the 18th century than it became once the cult of originality emerged in the 19th, Handel took it to new extremes, not to mention borrowing a large degree from other composers as well. His practices aroused attention in his own day, even from his collaborator Charles Jennens, who deftly compiled the libretto for Messiah.

The borrowings in Messiah, which for the most part come from Handel’s own works, are fascinating as they invite us to reconsider the “inspired” relation between the words and music. The music for the joyous chorus “For unto us a Child is born,” for example, which seems so perfectly to capture the celebratory words from Isaiah, was originally written for a profane, indeed frivolous, duet for two sopranos castigating “blind Cupid” and “cruel beauty.” There are other such examples from Messiah, which in no way diminishes the glory of the music, but does help to explain how Handel could compose so rapidly.

First Hearings The first performance of Messiah took place not in London, but rather in Dublin, on April 13, 1742. Handel gave the London premiere less than a year later at Covent Garden. It was not well received, in part because of objections to presenting a sacred work in that most profane of buildings—a theater! (Handel had advertised the oratorio as a “musical entertainment.”) It was only in 1750, when Messiah began to be presented in annual performances for a London charity at the local Foundling Hospital, that the public embraced the work.

Handel performed it some three dozen times—every time, it should be noted, around Easter, not Christmas, as later became the custom. Over the years he revised Messiah to accommodate new surroundings, performing forces, and audiences. Such adaptations have continued ever since: Mozart re-orchestrated the work in 1789 to bring it up to the dimensions of a Classical period orchestra, and more “heavy metal” versions would come in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of these later arrangements helped to make the work viable for large choral festivals with many hundreds of singers, sometimes even more than a thousand.

Messiah is divided into three sections. The first is concerned with the prophesy of the coming of a Messiah and then with Christ’s Nativity. Part II deals with Christ’s suffering and death. The concluding section offers an affirmation of Christian faith and glimpses of Revelation. In the selection being performed on today’s program, Part I forms the first half of the program, Part II begins after intermission and continues until “Hallelujah,” and Part III begins with the aria “I know that my Redeemer liveth.”

—Christopher H. Gibbs

Program note © 2014. All rights reserved. Program note may not be reprinted without written permission from The Philadelphia Orchestra Association.

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Handel composed Messiah in 1741.

Eugene Ormandy conducted the first official Philadelphia Orchestra performances of Messiah, in October and November of 1958; the soloists were Leontyne Price, Martha Lipton, Davis Cunningham, William Warfield, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The series opened on Halloween (!) and was so popular the first year that an extra performance was added. (Actually the Orchestra had performed Messiah much earlier, as far back as 1902, with the now-defunct Choral Society of Philadelphia, but not on its own concert series.) Since 1961, the Orchestra has performed Messiah every year.

The Philadelphians recorded Messiah in 1958 for CBS with the above forces, except Eileen Farrell replaced Ms. Price. This recording earned the Orchestra one of its three gold records. The Orchestra also recorded excerpts from the work twice: the “Pastoral” Symphony was recorded in 1929 for RCA with Leopold Stokowski, and “For unto us a Child is born” and the “Hallelujah” Chorus were recorded in 1964 for CBS with Ormandy and the Temple University Concert Choir.

The instrumentation in this performance calls for two oboes, bassoon, two trumpets, timpani, organ, harpsichord, strings, mixed chorus, and four vocal soloists.

This performance of Messiah runs approximately two hours and 30 minutes.

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January The Philadelphia Orchestra

Eschenbach Visits with Strauss and SchumannThursday, January 8 8 PM Friday, January 9 2 PM Saturday, January 10 8 PMChristoph Eschenbach Conductor Jennifer Montone Horn

Strauss Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1 Schumann Symphony No. 2

St. Petersburg Festival 1: TchaikovskyThursday, January 15 8 PM Friday, January 16 2 PM Saturday, January 17 8 PMYannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor

Glazunov “Winter,” from The Seasons Tchaikovsky Suite Nos. 1 & 2, from The Nutcracker Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5

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Tickets & Patron ServicesThank you for joining us in Verizon Hall. We want you to enjoy each and every concert experience you share with us. We would love to hear about your experience at the Orchestra and are happy to answer any questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to contact us via phone at 215.893.1999, in person in the lobby, or by e-mail at patronserverices@philorch.org.Subscriber Services: 215.893.1955 Patron Services: 215.893.1999Fire Notice: The exit indicated by a red light nearest your seat is the shortest route to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency, please do not run. Walk to that exit.No Smoking: All public space in the Kimmel Center is smoke-free.Cameras and Recorders: The taking of photographs or the recording of Philadelphia Orchestra concerts is strictly prohibited. Phones and Paging Devices: All electronic devices—including cellular telephones, pagers, and wristwatch alarms—should be turned off while in the concert hall. Late Seating: Late seating breaks usually occur after the first piece on the program or at intermission in order to minimize disturbances to other audience members who have already begun listening to the music. If you arrive after the concert begins, you will be seated as quickly as possible by the usher staff.Accessible Seating: Accessible seating is available for every performance. Please call Patron Services at 215.893.1999 for more information. You may also purchase accessible seating online at www.philorch.org.Assistive Listening: With the deposit of a current ID, hearing enhancement devices are available at no cost from the House Management Office.

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Service and Training ManagerCatherine Pappas,

Project ManagerMichelle Parkhill,

Client Relations ManagerJayson Bucy,

Patron Services SupervisorSamantha Apgar,

Business Operations Coordinator

Elysse Madonna, Program and Web Coordinator

Tad Dynakowski, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office

Michelle Messa, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office

Patricia O’Connor, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office

Thomas Sharkey, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office

James Shelley, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office

Tara Bankard, Lead Patron Services Representative

Meg Hackney, Lead Patron Services Representative

Hannah McIntosh, Lead Patron Services Representative

Julia Schranck, Lead Patron Services Representative

Elizabeth Jackson-Murray, Priority Services Representative

Megan Brown, Patron Services Representative

Maureen Esty, Patron Services Representative

Isaiah Harris, Patron Services Representative

Brand-I Curtis McCloud, Patron Services Representative

Scott Leitch, Quality Assurance Analyst

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