ABS to Stream Xmas Handel at Grace

Jeffrey Thomas conducting Messiah in Grace Cathedral (courtesy of ABS)

The annual performance of George Frideric Handel’s HWV 56 oratorio Messiah for the holiday season, presented by Jeffrey Thomas conducting the American Bach Soloists (ABS) will be given a YouTube premiere this month. The video will be taken from a Blu-ray disc based on recordings made at Grace Cathedral in December of 2014. The vocal soloists will be soprano Mary Wilson, countertenor Eric Jurenas, tenor Kyle Stegall, and baritone Jesse Blumberg. Video direction was by Frank Zamacona, working with stage direction by Philip Daley. The audio was recorded by Chris Landen.

This offering has been conceived with home viewing in mind, even allowing for participation in the privacy of the living room. YouTube apps have been created for both multimedia televisions and for cable providers such as xfinity. As a result, members of the virtual audience need not contend with the limitations of a computer screen.

The music itself will be available for download for both singers and instrumentalists. Singers may download a complete score with piano accompaniment or a score limited to the choruses with an orchestral reduction. (The former will be useful for those planning to rehearse.) Also available for download will be a full score with all instrumental parts, as well as specific parts for first violin, second violin, viola, and the bass line.

In addition, the use of YouTube as a medium allows for additional features:

• As with other live streams on YouTube, a real-time chat window will be available, through which viewers/listeners can express thoughts about the music, the performance, the video technique, and the experience of being part of One Great Community of music lovers. (A computer will be required for using the chat window.)
• While this will be a live feed, the pause button will be functional; and no content will be lost when the video resumes.
• After the live stream has completed, the video will be archived, allowing those not able to experience the initial stream to view the performance through the same URL at a later date and time.

The live stream will begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 19. A Web page has been created for the event. It includes a hyperlink to the YouTube Web page, along with all the other hyperlinks described above. There are additional YouTube hyperlinks, one about the art and architecture of Grace Cathedral and the other about the origins and evolution of HWV 56 and its performance. Finally, as befits any cyberspace document, the Web page concludes with an FAQ for those that may still have outstanding questions.