Tafelmusik Makes The Season Bright With Beloved Baroque Masterpiece, Handel's Messiah

After a two-year hiatus, Handel's Messiah is back! Nothing conjures the festive season like Tafelmusik's presentation of this baroque masterpiece. Performances take place on December 16 and 17 at 7:30 pm at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre. A stellar cast of soloists includes Karina Gauvin, soprano; Christopher Lowrey, countertenor (Tafelmusik debut); Valerio Contaldo, tenor (Tafelmusik debut); and Brett Polegato, baritone. A cherished Toronto holiday tradition since 1981, Tafelmusik's

Messiah is conducted by Ivars Taurins. For tickets and information, visit tafelmusik.org.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder indeed, and we can promise you that we'll pour our hearts and souls into every note of this much-awaited return," says choir director Ivars Taurins. "Handel's Messiah transcends cultural, geographic, and religious boundaries with its message of charity, peace, and goodwill and features some of the most uplifting and magnificent music ever composed. We can't wait to gather together to rekindle this annual holiday tradition-one that has been deeply missed over the past two years."

What Makes Tafelmusik's Messiah Different?

• Intimate scale, historically informed performance, emotional depth
  Tafelmusik's Messiah is presented in the style and spirit of Handel's own productions. Performed by the orchestra on period instruments and sung by a choir of 23 professional singers specializing in 17th- and 18th-century music, Tafelmusik's Messiah "radiates brilliance and energy, along with an emotional depth that fully enhances the work's expression" (AllMusic).
  
• Ivars Taurins, Canada's "Prince of Messiah" (Toronto Star)
  No other Canadian conductor has led as many consecutive performances of Messiah as Ivars Taurins, who has conducted Handel's masterpiece annually for 39 years with Tafelmusik and other orchestras and choirs across the country. As Canada's go-to expert on all things Messiah, Taurins was invited to explore Handel's oratorio with writer and broadcaster Robert Harris in Messiah Revealed, a fascinating radio documentary for CBC's Ideas.
  

Why does Handel's 18th-century oratorio still resonate so powerfully today?

• Written in just 24 days by a German composer in England, Handel's Messiah has the power to deeply move people of different backgrounds, faiths, and cultures. A quick YouTube search turns up a wide range of renditions of the Hallelujah chorus, from an Inuit community in Alaska to a congregation in Kuwait.
  
• "Now more than ever, Handel's Messiah offers solace, an oasis away from the stress of our daily lives. The universality of this work lies in its message of 'peace on earth, good will towards men,' and in its themes of enlightenment and understanding, hope and faith, humanity and good will, sacrifice and charity - these are important values that we esteem and strive for, even in our secular world," says Taurins.
  

How far has Tafelmusik's Messiah travelled?

• To the moon and back! Well, almost. Over the course of two missions, astronauts aboard the International Space Station enjoyed listening to Tafelmusik's recording of Messiah.
  
• Closer to home, Tafelmusik's Messiah has been heard around the world thanks to a live recording of the complete oratorio made in Koerner Hall and released on the Tafelmusik Media label in 2012, followed by a Best of Messiah album in 2014.
  
• A live-performance film of Sing-Along Messiah was released commercially on the Tafelmusik Media label in 2012 and was broadcast regularly on the Bravo!, CTV, and WNED television networks.

Handel Messiah

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