“Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
The iconic swelling chorus of German composer George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” has been sung throughout the world for more than 282 years. And on Tuesday night, it will ring out once again, as Columbus Sings Messiah presents the work to the community for its 22nd year.
Columbus Sings Messiah founder James Allen said the group’s annual presentation of the “Messiah” will be at 7 p.m. at Annunciation Catholic Church. The presentation will include roughly an hour of selections from the iconic piece, breathing life into a beloved tradition.
“When you think of the people who have come together for 20 years to sing, because they love to sing ‘Messiah,’ plus the people who come to listen to the ‘Messiah,’ is it not important to the community?” Allen asked.
Columbus Sings Messiah is a group of singers from all over the region that has gathered annually to perform Handel’s masterpiece since 2001, Allen said, only ever missing two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have singers come from Macon, from Aberdeen, from Starkville, from Alabama,” Allen said.
While the group included 100 singers from the beginning, it has grown to include about 125 each year. Musicians playing trumpets, strings, and Allen playing the organ, form an orchestra that accompanies the singers to bring the “Messiah” to life.
Together, the group will rehearse the “Messiah” on Monday night. The next night, they will perform the work together for a waiting crowd, which typically includes about 600 people, Allen said.
Phillip Stockton, associate director of choral studies at Mississippi State University, will be conducting the choir during this year’s presentation for his third year. He called Handel’s composition “monumental.” He also said conducting this particular group of singers through Handel’s oratorio is “one of the highlights of my year.”
“I have admired this organization for a long time and have been connected to it for years,” Stockton said. “And to get the opportunity to get to lead such a wonderful group of singers and orchestra and soloists, it’s absolutely one of my favorite things to do.”
While many performances of the “Messiah” include larger groups of musicians, Stockton said he has been intentional about keeping the piece more “intimate,” like it would have initially been performed when it debuted.
Columbus Sings Messiah will take its listeners through some of the highlights of the masterpiece, Stockton said, including his favorite piece, “For Unto Us, A Child is Born.”
“If you’re listening, the strings are supposed to emulate the sound of angels’ wings,” Stockton said. “And so, it’s almost the angels announcing that the Christ has been born to us. And it’s absolutely one of my favorite movements in this entire work.”
The presentation will culminate in the iconic “Hallelujah” chorus, Allen said.
“The Hallelujah chorus is not the last piece in the work, but we end it with the Hallelujah chorus because that’s the one piece that just about everybody knows about,” Allen said.
Many of the singers have been performing together since the group started in 2001, though there are always a few new faces each year, Allen said.
“It’s like conducting old friends, because that’s what they are, a lot,” Stockton said. “It’s so wonderful. I don’t always see some of the people that sing except when I see them in the Messiah.”
Besides members of the choir, Columbus Sings Messiah has many other longtime supporters. One of those supporters, Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation CEO Nancy Carpenter, said she has been helping with the group from the beginning. She primarily volunteers to help with fundraising and marketing, since the group is not connected to any larger organization.
Carpenter called it a “gift” to the community.
“It introduces everybody to the Christmas season and gets everybody anxious to hear the Hallelujah chorus,” Carpenter said.
While the event is ticketed, to help listeners ensure they get a seat, all Columbus Sings Messiah tickets are free, Allen said. Tickets are available at Annunciation Catholic Church, First Methodist Church, the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Tennessee Williams Home and Welcome Center.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
