Review: 'A Celebration of Handel'

The Philharmonia Choir of Cape Town
Conductor: Antoinette Blyth
Camerata Tinta Baroca
Soloist: Magdalene Minnaar (Soprano)

Featuring
Occasional Oratoria Overture
The Coronation Anthems
Concerto Grosso
Selected Soprano Arias
Excerpts from Messiah

Last night was my final night singing with the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir, we ended the season off with a tribute to Handel, what with it being the 250th anniversary of his death this year. The material for the repertoire for the evenings performance was all very accessible stuff, mostly well-known Oratorio pieces and then the soprano arias, and because of this the show was almost sold out.

All in all the pieces were performed well, but there were a few things that stood out to put a bit of a sour taste in our mouths. First, when starting the Coronation anthems, the orchestra and the choir were mixed up as to which anthem they would be starting with, and so the orchestra proceded to start playing a different movement from which the choir was singing, and the piece had to be stopped and restarted. So then for the rest of the movement the choir was unsettled and distracted. Another thing was the staging. After the intermission the Camerata Tinta Barocca required a different stage setting for the Concerto Grosso, only to require a major stage shift immediately afterwards. This disrupted the flow of the concert and only added to the unsettled atmosphere.

But, that being said, the music for the evening went very well. The Camera Tinta Barocca was in fine form, Magdalene Minnaar was phenomenal (I had to constantly remind myself of the perils of falling in love with divas) and the choir also performed well (I thought the 1st baritone from the soloist choir during 'My Heart is Inditing' was exceptional). So, distractions aside, the music went very well. While the choir was a bit too unfamiliar with the 'Coronation Anthems' they made up for it with the better known 'Zadok the Priest' and excerpts from the 'Messiah'. The excerpts from 'Messiah' were the final pieces for the evening, a wise move in saving the most well-known, accessible pieces for last. And the final piece of the evening was the 'Hallelujah Chorus', which traditionally has the audience standing for the performance, and so with that being the ending of the show, we had a guaranteed standing ovation.

It was a memorable performance, I was very glad to be able to sing with such a talented choir that holds high standards for itself. Considering at the beginning of the year I was quite sure I would not be able to sing this year at all, I was glad to have this chance with the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir.