Handel: Messiah

Messiah stands as one of the greatest, as well as most popular, of all choral works.

Written in just three weeks remarkably, and only a modest success when first performed in London in 1742, its popularity grew over the rest of Handel’s lifetime and beyond. That is due not just to its seasonal associations (Easter, as well as Christmas) but the sheer quality of the music.

It includes many powerful solos – from the poignant ‘He was despised’ to the dramatic ‘The trumpet shall sound’ – and, above all, the choruses of which the best-known, ‘Hallelujah’, remains one of the most famous pieces of music of all time.

This is art which speaks to the 21st as much as to the 18th century, and there is simply nothing like the experience of hearing it performed live by a full choir in Cadogan Hall’s remarkable acoustic and evocative setting.