Gisborne Choral Society is to perform Messiah at Holy Trinity Church on March 29. Rehearsals start at St Andrew's Church on Monday from 7.30pm. Photo / Gisborne Herald
Gisborne Choral Society is to perform Messiah at Holy Trinity Church on March 29. Rehearsals start at St Andrew's Church on Monday from 7.30pm. Photo / Gisborne Herald
Gisborne Choral Society is looking forward to marking its 60th anniversary this year with concerts celebrating the joy of choral singing and rehearsals beginning on Monday.
The work chosen to kick things off is the magnificent Messiah by George Handel.
But it will not be quite the nearly three-hour oratorioHandel presented to the world more than 200 years ago on April 13, 1742, in Dublin.
Musical director Gavin Maclean plans to make judicious cuts to the score to accommodate audiences of the 21st century while retaining the spirit of the work.
It is also to encourage singers who might be daunted by the prospect of launching into a public performance of this work after just eight weeks of rehearsal.
He aims for relaxed rehearsals, with choir members who are familiar with the work and who can support those who know it less well, or not at all.
Gisborne Choral Society's 60th anniversary year is tinged with sadness as the venue for so many of its performance, St Andrew's Church, is scheduled to close at the end of June.
A guest organist is confirmed and the possibility of a small orchestra is looking likely.
Former members of the choir are welcome to go along and some who now live out of town have already confirmed they will be taking part.
The performance will be in Holy Trinity Church on Palm Sunday, March 29.
In June, the Choral Society is planning a festival of choirs with contributions from various singing groups in the community.
Each will be invited to sing two or three items, and the event will end with all singers joining together to perform a mass item.
With the closure of St Andrew’s Church at the end of June, this concert will be the last opportunity for the Choral Society to perform in the church after many years of audience and singers alike enjoying the exceptional acoustics of the old building.
Towards the end of this 60th anniversary year, the Choral Society is looking at putting on Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, featuring the thumping and instantly recognisable chorus O Fortuna.
But first is Messiah. Rehearsals are open for new people to drop in to, and try joining in, with a view to singing along in the performance, between 7.30-9.30pm on Mondays at St Andrew’s Church, Cobden St.
