Merry Christmas from &Piano! We’re delighted to be able to offer you two surprise gifts in the next few days, to help lift spirits and spread a bit of Christmas cheer during a very difficult challenging time.
Music is a huge part of Christmas, nowhere more so than Huddersfield and around Kirklees, with so many musical offerings from the many local choirs, orchestras and brass artists, and the wonderful Huddersfield Town Hall is at its most busiest, with a different concert every evening. One of the major highlights in Kirklees’ Christmas musical calendar, are the world-famous Huddersfield Choral’s performances of Handel’s Messiah – who have performed the piece annually since 1864.
Written by George Frederic Handel in 1741, it’s tells the story of Jesus, first with the Christmas story, then his crucifixion and ending with his resurrection. Handel turns an already amazing story into an epic blockbuster trilogy through powerful and sublime music.
The most famous piece from the Messiah is the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus, when Jesus is proclaimed as the ‘King of Kings’ and ‘Lord of Lords’ after his crucifixion on Earth, and then right after this big, jubilant piece, comes a dramatic change in mood. A smaller group of instruments and one singer, who sings ‘I Know That My Redeemer Liveth’. It’s one of the most moving parts of the work, and you don’t need to be religious to appreciate that it is a profoundly hopeful song for our time – that despite all the hardship and suffering, better days are on their way.
And so, with this being the first time the Huddersfield Choral have been unable to perform this piece in over 150 years, this is our homage to a major Yorkshire Christmas tradition, filmed in the place that the choir always perform in – the wonderful Huddersfield Town Hall.
#AndPiano #Huddersfield #HuddersfieldTownHall #Handel #Messiah
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