Following a festival tradition, Orchestra Seattle and Seattle Chamber Singers will put on their annual holiday performances at the First Free Methodist Church on Queen Anne, on Dec. 7 and 22.
"We've performed there before," said George Shangrow, OSSCS musical director and conductor of the performances. "Our last two seasons ['06-'07 and '07-'08] we've played primarily at the church. This will be our third season playing again."
The first performance will be the traditional "Messiah" by Handel, an oratorio, which is a large musical composition modeled after the opera, complete with an orchestra, a choir and soloist. The orchestra and chorus have been playing this piece for more than three decades, since its first performance in 1973, which Shangrow was present for.
"We've been playing it every year since," Shangrow said. "The orchestra doesn't like it whenever I want to skip a year so we decide to just keep it."
Handel first wrote "Messiah" in 1741 and performed it the following year in Dublin, and it is his most famous composition. It follows the life of Jesus Christ in music and chorus. Sung in English, there are three different parts of the orchestration, each one depicting a different time during his life-birth, death and resurrection.
The orchestra will be using traditional instrumentation, including two harpsichords, one of which will be played by Shangrow-while simultaneously conducting; the other by Robert Kechley.
The second production, on Dec. 22, will feature a piece that's not often conducted. Johann Sebastian Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" was first performed in Leipzig, Germany, in 1734.
"It's a rare opportunity to hear it," Shangrow said. "It's also quite difficult. The last time it was performed in Seattle was five years ago, and we were the ones who produced it."
Bach conducted this piece when he was 50. It is not actually an oratorio, but a cantata, a vocal composition with instrumental accompaniment and usually more than one movement-in this case six parts. The difficulty of the performance, Shangrow noted, is the multi-instrumentalism used throughout the piece. For example, there are four oboists necessary for the production of the oratorio: two oboes d'amore-a slightly larger oboe with a more tranquil tone-as well as an oboe da caccia-a curved oboe with a lower pitch. "Luckily," Shangrow said, "the orchestra has such musicians who are able to play multiple instruments."
In addition to the variety of oboes, descant horns will be used; as a family of French horns, the descants have less plumbing (fewer tubes) and a higher register. The orchestra will also feature three trumpeters.
The orchestra decided that their performances would work best in the First Free Methodist Church due to its large capacity (800 to 1,000), splendid acoustics, and free parking on Sundays.
"We've been collaborating for a whole season with the church," Shangrow said. "Ron Haight, the music director, has been great to worth with."
The first performance begins at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 7; and the second, at 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 22. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $10 for kids ages 7-17.
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