Handel’s Messiah

“Burning and gladdening, vivid in both darkness and light,” Trinity’s Messiah is “the gold standard” (The New York Times).

Watch this year’s performance of Messiah, led by guest conductor Jane Glover, streamed live on YouTube on Friday, December 13, at 7pm.

In a season full of Messiah concerts, Trinity’s is unique — distinctly modern yet authentically performed on period instruments in a sacred and acoustically rich space. A cherished holiday tradition that has captivated audiences since it was first presented by the church in 1770, this is the most historic Messiah in New York City.

While most performances of Messiah use a quartet of opera singers for the solos, Trinity’s soloists step forward from the choir. The practice “allows the ensemble to show off the strengths of its roster” and creates the “feeling of an intimate, alternately sober and joyous communal rite,” according to The New York Times. 

George Frideric Handel began work on Messiah on August 22, 1741, and famously completed it 24 days later. In the 1730s he had abandoned Italian opera for oratorio in English; he had already completed several works in the genre and would compose several more. But in harnessing this particular burst of inspiration to create Messiah, Handel fashioned a work of art that would prove more enduring and beloved than anything else in his oeuvre.