Just about everybody has heard music from Handel's "Messiah." It's a perennial favorite that springs up every year at Christmastime. But not everybody knows about "A Soulful Celebration" of Handel's "Messiah," a gospel take on Handel's original masterpiece — a joyful, soulful adaptation of the music.
The polar opposite musical styles and philosophies may seem an unlikely marriage, but it's a happy one — so happy that the Grand Theatre Community Institute and the Salt Lake Community College are putting on their second-annual "Community Celebration of Handel's Messiah" next weekend.
The production includes selections from both the classical and soulful versions of Handel's "Messiah," and will be performed by the SLCC Student Concert Choir, the Odyssey Chorale, a community-based choir and the Community Gospel Choir. Two orchestras — one traditional baroque and one a jazz combo — will accompany the singers.
"You're talking about singing the same song, two different styles," explained B. Murphy, who is conducting the Community Gospel Choir. "Take, for instance, 'I Know That My Redeemer Lives.' You'll have an accomplished soprano opera singer stand up and sing 'I Know That My Redeemer Liveth,' and then, right on the heels of that, have an individual come and sing it with the gospel (style).
"It will be the same song. Handel's Messiah is already written and composed. We're not changing the songs or the words."
Rather than trying to perform complete versions of both "Messiahs," selections from each and have been put together, according to Lyle Archibald, SLCC's director of choral activities. Some of the better-known parts, such as "For Unto Us a Child Is Born," will be presented twice — once in each style, and the concert will culminate with everyone coming together for the Hallelujah Chorus.
"I've heard people explain it by saying it's like having the remote and flipping back and forth between Fox and PBS," Archibald said.
Both Archibald and Murphy stressed that the more important aspect of the production is the sense of community that it builds between otherwise disparate groups. "We have people that come from the Baptist church, from the Catholic church, from the LDS Church, we have Hispanic and black and Pacific Islanders and whites," said Murphy. "It's what community celebration is all about."
He added that he typically ends a rehearsal by telling everyone to hug at least two people they didn't come with. "You'd be surprised at the bonds that have been forged."
The production even brings together seemingly opposite musical approaches, Archibald said. "(Murphy) is probably the strongest aural learner I've ever encountered. He doesn't read music, he doesn't want to read music, but he can sit there and listen to something and sing whatever part you want."
Archibald contrasted that with the typical Western approach to music. "We sit down and make sure everything is written down. We grab our pencil at every moment, and get exactly what's been asked for. Learning and putting both of those things together by both of us has been an exciting process."
Murphy agreed. "I think the purest essence of our community celebration of 'Messiah' is not so much in the actual performance itself, as it is in the rehearsals and watching the whole thing come together."
And the result? "The first time we did it last year," said Archibald, "we probably had 400 people or so in there the first night. The next morning, the phone rang off the hook in the box office, and for the next three nights it was just about as many people as you could get in." By Monday, the last night, there were more than 500 people who walked up to the door, hoping to get in.
Murphy summed up his take on the response with a laugh. "I dare anybody in the audience to sit still."
If you go
What: Community Celebration of Handel's Messiah
When: Thursday through Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Salt Lake Community College South Campus' Grand Theatre, 1575 S. State
How much: $8-$18.50
Phone: 957-3322
E-MAIL: rcline@desnews.com