Handel’s Messiah @ SF Symphony
Dec 19th, 2010 by Ashley
SFS Chorus Director Ragnar Bohlin’s version of Messiah was fluid, smooth and ethereal. The chorus often meandered and eventually disappeared into the metaphorical heaven. I guess it’s a matter of preference. And sometimes freshness is called for. I personally like my Messiah profound and significant. Serious and articulate, like making a relevant statement. But overall the chorus was a delight (gave me chills from time to time, which is something I look for in a piece like this) and beautiful, moving music flowed from the small orchestra like streams gently and pleasantly washed over you. However, the solos were passable at best. Maybe it’s not a fair judgment coming all the way up from 2nd tier (next time I’m gonna be in the orchestra.) I didn’t get the full impact it was supposed to create. The soprano was the worst. It was as if she was trying to showcase what she could do rather than to deliver the music with its intended emotion. I was honestly quite disappointed (in her).
4 Responses to “Handel’s Messiah @ SF Symphony”
hey i went to Messiah performed by the philadelphia orchestra today! i was in the 3rd tier- didn’t get the impact i was hoping for, but it was good in general.
:D
was it an evening performance or matinee? I went to the matinee which proved to be a mistake. There were quite a few kids and people felt the need to cough, move around and talk(!!) during the performance. It left me wanting so I got home and put on my CD (conducted Sir Thomas Beechem with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.)
The conclusion my friend and I drew was that we got a more serious, music loving crowd during weekday nights than weekend matinees. I’ll definitely keep that in mind next time.
haha, i went to a matinee, but it wasn’t bad. lots of old people in the crowd.
我想西岸永遠比東岸糟… 所以我想搬到英國 QQ