‘Hallelujah,” It’s Time Once Again for ‘The Messiah’

‘Hallelujah,” It’s Time Once Again for ‘The Messiah’
“The Messiah,” by George Frideric Handel (shown in this 1736 painting by Thomas Hudson), has become a highlight of the holiday season. Image courtesy of Brittanica

You don’t have to love choral music or even classical music — or even Christmas — to love G.F. Handel’s “Messiah.” I would count myself as fairly uneducated when it comes to the glories of great music but even for me, “The Messiah” is a delight to listen to. Although much of the storyline (the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ) is not happy, it is in fact a joyful and uplifting musical experience, especially the famous “Hallelujah” chorus.

I begin singing “The Messiah” right after Thanksgiving — and I’m not the only person who loves to sing along (poorly) to the very complicated oratorio. I don’t know why but there are “Messiah” sing-alongs all over the world.

Traditionally, Berkshire Bach hosts a Messiah sing in Great Barrington, Mass., but COVID-19 seems to have canceled it.

In Kent, Conn., St. Andrew’s Music in the Nave will present “The Messiah” with James Sinclair conducting the Sherman Chamber Ensemble on Friday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Parish at 1 North Main.

Audience members can sing the choral parts. Bring your own score, or borrow one. Admission is $20; book your ticket at https://bit.ly/messiah10 and at the door. Student admission is free.

For more information, call 860-927-3486, email st.andrew.kent@snet.net, or go to www.standrewskentct.org/mitn.html.

In Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., about a 40-minute drive from Salisbury, Conn., Leon Bottstein will lead a non-sing-along “Messiah” performed by The Orchestra Now, soloists from the Bard Conservatory Graduate Vocal Arts Program, the Bard Festival Chorale and the Bard College Chamber Singers.

That concert will be on Saturday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m. You can attend in person (and not sing) or take part virtually (in which case, go ahead and sing along!).

Performances are in the Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater on the Bard College campus. Tickets start at $30 for in-person; it is “pay what you wish” for the virtual livestream. To purchase or reserve tickets, go to www.fishercenter.bard.edu, call 845-758-7900 (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or email boxoffice@bard.edu.

Latest News

Classifieds - December 4, 2025

Help Wanted

CARE GIVER NEEDED: Part Time. Sharon. 407-620-7777.

SNOW PLOWER NEEDED: Sharon Mountain. 407-620-7777.

Keep ReadingShow less
Legal Notices - December 4, 2025

LEGAL NOTICE

TOWN OF CANAAN/FALLS VILLAGE

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Les Flashs d’Anne’: friendship, fire and photographs
‘Les Flashs d’Anne’: friendship, fire and photographs
‘Les Flashs d’Anne’: friendship, fire and photographs

Anne Day is a photographer who lives in Salisbury. In November 2025, a small book titled “Les Flashs d’Anne: Friendship Among the Ashes with Hervé Guibert,” written by Day and edited by Jordan Weitzman, was published by Magic Hour Press.

The book features photographs salvaged from the fire that destroyed her home in 2013. A chronicle of loss, this collection of stories and charred images quietly reveals the story of her close friendship with Hervé Guibert (1955-1991), the French journalist, writer and photographer, and the adventures they shared on assignments for French daily newspaper Le Monde. The book’s title refers to an epoymous article Guibert wrote about Day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nurit Koppel brings one-woman show to Stissing Center
Writer and performer Nurit Koppel
Provided

In 1983, writer and performer Nurit Koppel met comedian Richard Lewis in a bodega on Eighth Avenue in New York City, and they became instant best friends. The story of their extraordinary bond, the love affair that blossomed from it, and the winding roads their lives took are the basis of “Apologies Necessary,” the deeply personal and sharply funny one-woman show that Koppel will perform in an intimate staged reading at Stissing Center for Arts and Culture in Pine Plains on Dec. 14.

The show humorously reflects on friendship, fame and forgiveness, and recalls a memorable encounter with Lewis’ best friend — yes, that Larry David ­— who pops up to offer his signature commentary on everything from babies on planes to cookie brands and sports obsessions.

Keep ReadingShow less