Those who look to Handel’s majestic “Messiah” as their holiday staple were in for a real treat Saturday night, when the Rhode Island Philharmonic teamed with the Providence Singers for a memorable performance of this timeless classic at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence.
And the pleasant surprise of the night was how much the chorus, led by Christine Noel, outshone the soloists.
The singers far outnumbered the orchestra members, but Noel never let them overpower the instrumentalists and soloists.
Even in the popular “Hallelujah” chorus, the singers kept things light, crisp and transparent, sometimes bringing the levels down to a whisper, instead to clubbing the audience over the head with bombast. It was among the best “Hallelujah” choruses I’ve heard.
And in the final “Amen” there was this wonderful sense of bounce, of clean punctuation that couldn’t help but draw you into the music.
True, it would have been nice if there was more snap to the opening overture. But Noel was not so much into edge and blazing tempos, but rather a sense of elegance and musicality.
Soprano Margot Rood was the most captivating of the soloists, a singer with presence and projection, something that came through in a touching rendition of “I Know My Redeemer Liveth.”
And local baritone Nicholas Laroche added some stylish embellishments to the triumphant aria “The Trumpet Shall Sound.”
But alto Emily Marvosh had a hard time projecting over the orchestra, and just didn’t have the spark of Rood, the soprano.
As for the tenor, Matthew Anderson, there was plenty of sweetness to go around, but not a lot of passion.
The story of the creation of “Messiah” is a familiar one by now. Handel, who had been a big hit in London, seemed to have worn out his welcome in the early 1740s. But all that changed when he was asked to write a piece to benefit Dublin’s charities. And in a period of just 24 days, he produced “Messiah,” a hands-down masterpiece.
The score, which takes well over two hours to perform, chronicles the life of Christ, from the nativity to the passion and resurrection.
And even with an intermission, Noel managed to string together that powerful saga without losing its thrust and momentum.
Many conductors in recent times have gone for high-energy performances to sell this classic by pushing tempos adding embellishments. But again, Noel went more for a sense of lyricism, making points with delicacy and paying attention to details.