Montreal, Boston, Berlin, Paris, Úbeda, Espinho

Montreal: Messiah at the Maison symphonique

Ensemble Caprice, together with ArtChoral, performed at Montreal’s Maison symphonique — ahead of a concert in Quebec City — not only Messiah but also cantatas from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. A programme conceived as a winter diptych, bringing together Handel’s England and Bach’s Germany, and highlighting the spiritual and festive echoes between the two composers.

With Marianne Lambert, Florence Bourget, Emmanuel Hasler, William Kraushaar, the Ensemble Caprice et the ensemble ArtChoral.

Boston: Messiah at Jordan Hall

Boston Baroque gathered audiences at Jordan Hall for its annual and traditional Messiah. In the city, this Messiah has become an end-of-year ritual, and audiences readily perpetuate the tradition of standing during the Hallelujah chorus, a custom inherited from the London premiere of 1742.

With Amanda Forsythe, Paula Murrihy, Thomas Cooley, Roderick Williams, Boston Baroque and Filippo Ciabatti.

Berlin: Messiah at the Philharmonie

The orchestra of the Händelfestspiele Halle and the Philharmonischer Chor Berlin presented their version of Messiah at the Berlin Philharmonie. In a hall more commonly associated with the great symphonic repertoire, Handel’s oratorio took on an almost architectural dimension, shaped by the scale of the choir and the Philharmonie’s expansive acoustics.

With Serafina Starke, Benno Schachtner, Benedikt Kristjánsson, Krešimir Stražanac, the Händelfestspiele de Halle orchestra,the Philharmonischer Chor Berlin and Florian Benfer.

Paris: Messiah at Saint-Roch Church

The Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists opened their European tour of Messiah at Saint-Roch Church in Paris, before travelling on to Milan, Rome and London. In this vast church in the heart of Paris, the generous resonance of the nave heightened both the spiritual and theatrical dimensions of the oratorio, anchoring the work in a tradition that is as much liturgical as it is concert-based.

With Ana Vieira Leite, Dame Sarah Connolly, Andrew Staples, William Thomas, The Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists and Christophe Rousset.

Úbeda (Spain): A tribute to Scarlatti at the Úbeda y Baeza Festival

The Festival of Early Music of Úbeda y Baeza (FEMAUB), in Andalusia, paid tribute to Alessandro Scarlatti. The ensemble Al Ayre Español, under the direction of Eduardo López Banzo, presented the oratorio Il martirio di Santa Teodosi, a work published in Rome in 1684 under the patronage of Queen Christina of Sweden.

With Al Ayre Español and Eduardo López Banzo.

Espinho (Portugal): Conrad and Sadler honouring the legacy of Vicente Lusitano

As part of an Eeemerging+ residency, the duo Elias Conrad and Liane Sadler presented a concert at the Espinho auditorium, near Porto, revisiting Iberian and Italian Renaissance music and celebrating the legacy of Vicente Lusitano (c.1507 – c.1573). A composer whose family name is unknown — Lusitano simply indicating his Portuguese origin — he was a priest and a member of the papal chapel before converting to Protestantism in 1561.

With Elias Conrad and Liane Sadler.