Tafelmusik’s conductor Ivor Taurens says that wearing a period costume the Sing-Along Messiah is a good icebreaker to relax the audience.Sian Richards
Performed on period instruments by the orchestra and sung by a choir of 23 singers, Tafelmusik's historically informed Messiah has impressed Toronto audiences since 1981. We spoke to conductor Ivars Taurins about presenting Handel's hallelujah-happy masterpiece.
Tafelmusik isn't the only ensemble to offer an annual Messiah. Would you say that yours, which is a complete version of the oratorio with a leaner arrangement, is the one Handel himself would approve of?
Oh, no. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I have any authority about what Handel might prefer. What we're attempting to do is to recreate something that Handel would be more familiar with. Trying to compare it with whatever the Toronto Symphony Orchestra does, for example, it really depends from season to season who is coming to direct them.
Do you have a problem with the TSO billing its show as Toronto's best Messiah?
I refuse to go there. My answer, when it comes to who is best or what is more relevant is this: If you take two painters and put them in a field and tell them to paint a specific tree, they're going to paint it the way they see it. They're taking that tree and they're realizing it, with their tools and in the way they feel that works. I feel the same way about any musical interpretation or recreation.
You've presented Messiah at a few different venues in town. Any preferences?
Moving Messiah from Trinity-St. Paul's was partly a matter of practicality. The acoustics there, with the renovations, are just fabulous. We're almost saying to ourselves that we'd love to be doing Messiah there again. But with 720 seats, you end up doing more performances. We do four at Koerner Hall, but I remember when we used to do five at Trinity-St. Paul's, and then a sing-along Messiah on top of that at Massey Hall.
What's the magic of the sing-along version at Massey?
The whole idea of doing the sing-along is that for the regular concertgoer, who may have a choral background, it is the be-all and end-all for them. The opportunity for them to sing together with a world-class professional orchestra, choir and soloists is really the impetus of this group experience.
Part of the sing-along experience involves you dressing up in a period costume, complete with a wig, as a Handelian character. What does that add to the experience?
In creating this Handel persona, I did a lot of research about the man, about his friends and his anecdotes. Along with that I throw in a little bit of Joel Grey from Cabaret. For an audience, singing in front of a "maestro" can be intimidating.
So, I've found over the years that my Handel is a kind of icebreaker, in terms of anybody's qualms about singing out. So even though he's a crusty character and he'll yell at the tenors that they're dragging, it's all in good fun. With the exuberance the singers bring, which comes with the possibility that they can actually raise the roof at Massey Hall singing the hallelujah chorus, it becomes an extremely positive and joyous occasion.
You would have to think that Handel could not disapprove of that.
No, not at all. [Laughs] You know, I get asked I if get tired of doing Messiah, after all these years. But one never gets tired of great art. You can't. There's always something to discover. There's always something that will hit you when you least expect it.
Tafelmusik performs Handel's Messiah Dec. 17 to 20, 7:30 p.m. $49 to $119. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W., 416-408-0208 or performance.rcmusic.ca. Tafelmusik presents its Sing-Along Messiah Dec. 21, 2 p.m., $29 to $47, Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St., 416-872-4255 or masseyhall.com.
Brad Wheeler