Against the Grain, Not Your Usual 'Messiah'
/By Elsa Tranter
1/17/2021
Badly in need of uplifting, musically and otherwise, I was pleased when a Canadian friend recommended Against the Grain Theater’s production of Handel's Messiah (called Messiah/Complex), which is streaming free of charge for all those who need a boost. It did the job in a big way.
This small organization, the first such group to be artists-in- residence at the Canadian Opera Company, has put together a magnificent visual and aural production. It included 12 soloists, singing in 6 languages, several of them indigenous; 4 choirs; and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The performance was directed by Joel Ivany and Renellta Arluk and the conductor was Johannes Debus.
Each section of the "Messiah/Complex" was filmed in a different province of Canada and the scenery was magnificent, from the British Columbia coast to that of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, with mountains and prairies in between. There are scenes in churches, cathedrals, an ice skating rink, forests, plains, and urban centers. The mix of soloists, orchestra, chorus and landscape was ever changing. From the very beginning, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra tuning up in Koerning Hall, to the closing scene of a rehearsal of the Halifax Camerata singers in a small church, I was captivated.
The performance began with an explanation of its purpose and its dedication to the claims of indigenous peoples on the land and to recognizing the harm that has befallen them through colonization.
The twelve soloists were all excellent and passionate in their performances. They were a most diverse group of professional, semi-professional, and amateur singers and represented many tribal groups and nationalities—Canadians all. Some of the choirs sang with masks on—amazing what a good sound they got with that handicap. And some of them sang outside in public places, keeping an appropriate distance from one another. The orchestra handled the pandemic requirements with masks and plexiglass separations (for the wind instruments).
The technical challenges involved must have been daunting, but the whole performance came across quite seamlessly. Kudos to all involved.
The production is available for streaming from December 13 through January 31.
I watched it for free the first time and then was so impressed that I sent them some money and watched it twice more. The Canadians should be justifiably proud of their accomplishments.
A musical and textural note
By Truman Wang
This is essentially the 1754 London Foundling Hospital version of the Messiah (the version most often heard today). Two major deviations from the 1754 version: "But who may abide" is here sung by a baritone (usually an alto aria today though Handel wrote it for contralto Susannah Cibber in 1742 Dublin), and "Why do the nations" sung by a dramatic mezzo-soprano instead of the usual bass.
Parts I and II are heavily cut, removing most of the recitatives and choruses, while the short Part III is more or less presented complete, save for "O death where is thy sting" which in this film is replaced by a scene of walking through a graveyard. The soloists, all singing in their native tongues, can be divided into two camps: the Native Americans singing to a new non-Biblical text (God, Redeemer, Zion replaced by "Creator"); the non-Native Americans singing modified Jennen's text (e.g. "She was despised" sung by an Arabic contralto.) Most choruses are performed in a church or a concert hall, except for the Hallelujah chorus sung in a busy urban street.
The Messiah/Complex, therefore, attempts to unite all peoples and faiths - Christian, Catholic, Islamic and Native American - in a 78-minute musical and scenic journey.
Elsa Tranter is a Bostonian who has lived in Berkeley for over 40 years and has been an opera goer for most of those years. She worked as a graduate student adviser at UC Berkeley and still attends Cal Performances regularly. Her favorite composer is Wagner and her favorite opera is Tristan und Isolde.
Truman C. Wang is Editor-in-Chief of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, other Southern California publications, as well as the Hawaiian Chinese Daily. He studied Integrative Biology and Music at U.C. Berkeley.