Handel's Messiah (Arr. Mozart)

## Presented by Bach Society of Qld Inc

Tickets: Handels Messiah

The Bach Society of Queensland has a long tradition of performing George Frideric Handel's wonderful oratorio recounting the narrative of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, Messiah. This year’s performance is a particularly special one for the Bach Society, marking the 50th annual performance of this work.

For this landmark performance, the Bach Society will be presenting the Mozart arrangement of Handel’s work. The Mozart arrangement was first performed in 1789. Reworking Handel’s characteristically baroque orchestration (deploying a small orchestra consisting of oboes, strings, and a basso continuo of harpsichord, cello, violin and bassoon), Mozart’s adaptation substantially increases the size of the orchestra and makes use of the instrumentation of the symphonic orchestra of his day, including, for example, parts for clarinet, French horn, trombone and flute.

Those who are familiar with Handel’s Messiah will immediately notice the fuller texture and the greater variety in tonal colour that this later orchestration by Mozart brings, along with some notable differences in the distribution of parts of the work between the different soloists and between soloists and choir. For those who are new to the work, the pathos of this re-telling of the story of stories – from joy to anguish, from consolation to despair – offers the possibility of an extraordinary new musical journey.

The annual performances of Messiah are a highlight of the year for the Bach Choir and they look forward to sharing this very special 50th anniversary performance.