Handel and Mozart at Advent
Two concerts to bring in the season of Advent in Eymet and Bergerac, led by distinguished choir director Dr. David Flood and with guest soloists and organist.
​Mozart’s spirited Mass in C major K.220 complements the epic journey from prophesy to revelation in our selections from Handel’s oratorio Messiah.
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Mozart’s mass setting K.220 combines sparkling melody and brevity, but was conceived as a missa solemnis for four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir and organ, which supplies figured bass throughout. The ‘Sparrow’ nickname reflects the repeated chirpy motif in the fast ‘Hosanna’ section of the Sanctus.
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Handel drafted his Messiah oratorio rapidly in the late summer of 1741 to a biblical compilation by literary collaborator Charles Jennens, before deciding to venture his next performing season in Dublin, rather than London.
Unusually unspecific about the singers or musicians Handel expected to work with for its first performance, Messiah demanded only trumpets and drums in addition to strings and keyboard continuo. This proved advantageous, as he brought very few singers with him and Dublin’s professional orchestral and choral resources were scarce at the time.
We perform a selection from Jennens’ compilation which takes the epic biblical and musical journey from prophesy to revelation.
