What does traditional Christmas music mean to you?  To my kids these days, it’s “Elmo Wants a Hippopotamus for Christmas” and “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”; to my husband it’s the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack; if you’re even vaguely adjacent to the classical music world, it’s Handel’s Messiah.  It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve heard (or performed) it in years past – if it’s December, it’s time.

I’ve come to really appreciate this towering chestnut over the last decade or so, since I started singing it with the San Francisco Symphony.  Growing up, I only knew the Hallelujah chorus (and the screamy version, at that); it turns out, there’s a LOT more to the oratorio (where “a lot” varies heavily by how many cuts the director makes).

And it’s a good thing I’ve made friends with this one – this year, I’m doing four Messiah performances.  One was a last-minute invitation to join Epiphany’s a few weeks ago; events #2-4 are coming up this weekend.

The one I’m most excited about is Blessed Sacrament’s coming up this Friday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 PM, in which I am the alto soloist!

It’s been an absolute blast working on the two solos (including one I recorded this summer) and one duet planned for this trimmed-down performance (if you prefer the full, unabridged Messiah, keep reading…).  I’m familiar with melodies and spicy melismas from having listened to them every year in the choir; it’s been such a rewarding challenge to dig into them directly – to figure out where to breathe in the middle of all those notes; whether, when, and how to ornament; and how to appear casually effortless as the mental swan-legs are madly paddling.  I’m pretty happy with where I’ve gotten.  Come hear me on Friday [tix]!

The very next two days (Saturday Dec. 16 & Sunday Dec. 17), I’ll be singing in the choir with Harmonia's Messiah (tickets remain for the Saturday show at First Free Methodist).  This is always a fun one – it’s presented in its entirety, which makes it long (3+ hours, if memory serves) but rewarding.  There are dueling harpsichords – at least, that’s what it always looks like to me when they’re arranged in battle formation, tossing off licks in an escalating tiff of continuo wits.  The soloists are always amazing.  If you prefer a matinee over an evening show, and/or the full unabridged veggie burger to a slimmed-down platter of canapés, this is your show.

Finally, some quick notes on the recent and the upcoming:

• I performed two concerts with the new Evergreen Ensemble last month, on a program called “Grief and Gratitude.”  The medium-sized group (24 singers or so) is full of beautiful voices; November’s program centered around an almost-unknown mass by a WWII-era composer named Marcel Tyberg for organ and choir.  The full recording of the concert is available here, for the curious.  Evergreen will have two more programs this season, coming up in February and May.

• I’m headed to Estonia in early January with the Mägi Ensemble!  This is a Baltic women’s ensemble, and they’ve been trying to mount this tour for years but have been previously thwarted by Covid.  I’m excited to join them on this journey of pieces by the eponymous Ester Mägi, Arvo Pärt, and many other contemporary Baltic composers.  In related news, I have purchased a large down coat. 🥶

Finally, I’ve got all the Christmas coming up.  Blessed Sacrament is doing All The Masses(™) around Christmas Eve/Day, so in addition to your regularly-scheduled Sundays, there will be plenty of times to come hear Christmas carols and other timely sacred music.  I’m singing on most of them. :)

On that note, I’m going to go work on some Messiah arias.  Thanks for reading this far, hope to see you soon (Friday!), and Merry All The Things,

-nh