Handel’s Messiah Sing A Luminous Labor of Love

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

In many places around the country it has become a commonplace holiday tradition to present a ‘community sing’ production of Messiah, the beloved oratorio by George Frederic Handel. It has also been our observation that these traditional community events will usually fall easily into one of two categories.

The first category involves the hiring of a small core of professional musicians to handle all the heavy lifting in the piece, leaving only the more manageable passages for the unrehearsed and amateur public. Of course this scenario requires a healthy budget to pay an orchestra and the soloists. This expense is recovered by an admission charge for the audience/chorus attending the event. Performance standards are relatively high in this category and the audience can usually expect a fine performance. But it is hardly a ‘community sing’ as the audience’s actual vocal involvement is limited to only a few of the more familiar and rousing choruses.

The second category usually carries the benefit of being free of admission. But, since there is no budget for paid musicians, all the talent is voluntary. Thus the whole thing often turns into a kind of pickup street game where anyone who will, is allowed to walk on with little or no rehearsal, and brazenly attempt to stumble through a performance of this rather challenging score. This, of course, offers much more extensive involvement for the volunteer amateur. But the downside is, members of the listening and/or casually singing public usually get what they pay for in performance quality.

Perhaps it is a testament to the deep pool of musical talent resident here in the Moapa Valley that the Messiah Sing, performed on Sunday, December 18 at the Old Logandale School, fell into neither one of these two categories.

Instead, this performance could be classified in a much rarer category, indeed involving a group of very devoted and talented amateurs; some even equipped with professional-level skill sets and training; coming together to perform a musical work merely for the fervent love of the music and the faith in its message. It was that very musical surprise that those of us in the audience at the Messiah Sing enjoyed that night. And because of this great generosity of local talent we were allowed to enjoy it entirely free of admission.

The lightning rod of talent for this event was Musical Director Gaye Nelson. Nelson had been busy for many weeks recruiting, selecting, coordinating, scheduling and rehearsing the countless elements needed to make this performance a success. Her well-known musical gifts lended ample credibility to the whole endeavor to attract some of the best and brightest in the community to the project. From the podium, Nelson conducted the work with familiarity and skill.

The fifteen piece string orchestra (with one flute) brought a dimension and color to the piece which simply can’t be provided with keyboard accompaniment alone. The soaring violin section and the addition of the baroque harpsichord did much to approach the sound of a Handel-era ensemble.

It should be recognized that local pianist, Connie Whitney, has been performing rich piano accompaniment to these types of annual performances for decades. She took her place again at the piano for this performance as well and provided a rock-solid stability which was especially felt in challenging passages when portions of the small orchestra might otherwise have faltered.

The volunteer vocal soloists were the stars of the evening. While sometimes a little rough around the edges, these solo performances were always high in emotion, spirit and sincerity.

Brent Taylor opened the evening on a hopeful note with the tenor recitative, “Comfort Ye My People”.

Bruce Lund ably captured the virtuosic energy of the bass air: “But Who May Abide The Day Of His Coming”.

Vicki Willard’s smooth alto voice spoke comfort to the audience in “O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings”.

Bruce Whitney performed two separate and quite challenging bass arias (“The People That Walked In Darkness” and “The Trumpet Shall Sound”) with the ample measure of stalwart strength that they required.

Laurie Flynn performed a series of recitatives telling the story of the angel heralding the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds in the field. She sang these passages in a mellow, even angelic, soprano voice that seemed limitless in its range and scope.

Erin Cornwall ably threw herself into the acrobatic melismas of the soprano aria “Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion”.

Kristine Leach captured the certainty of the soprano aria “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth” with an unfaltering voice of confidence and strength.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was a performance which began with Frank Weigel singing the recitative “Then Shall The Eyes of the Blind Be Opened” Wiegel’s smooth, rich and assuring bass sound was then put to good use in the first half of the aria “He Shall Feed His Flock Like A Shepherd”. Halfway through, however, the aria was taken over by alto Rachel Garcia who continued it with enchanting clarity and simplicity. This extraordinary duo performance from these two ordinary local residents was a welcome surprise and nothing short of a wonderful revelation.

The moderately sized chorus was more than ample to fill the room with the sounds and the message of this great score. A bit thin in forces in the tenor section, the group nevertheless blended well and communicated the message.

Like a diamond in the rough, this performance of Messiah had its share of sharp corners and jagged edges. But all this was to be expected. Perhaps less expected, though, was the great wealth of clear, luminous and beautiful moments that flowed like a pleasant night vision one by one from this humble community band of volunteer musicians. In the end, what this performance lacked in spit and polish it amply made up for in raw spirit, warm enthusiasm and profound faith.

We hope that the members of this group will continue their joyful work of generosity in sharing their musical gifts with the community frequently in the future.