Great Barrington — Save a two-year hiatus during the pandemic, local nonprofit Berkshire Bach Society has held its community singalong of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” to begin the Christmas season for more than 30 years.
The tradition continued with a performance featuring local residents and musicians at the First Congregational Church on Saturday, November 29. James Bagwell conducted the sing-along, which saw more than 100 attendees.
Handel (1685–1759) wrote “Messiah” in 1741, and it was first performed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1842.
According to Berkshire Bach’s website, the organization was founded in 1990 to preserve the cultural legacy of Baroque music for current and future audiences, including the music of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries.
Attendees began filling the church 45 minutes before the event started.
Organization volunteers Lauren Paul and Dona Burdick told The Berkshire Edge they have been attending the singalongs for many years. “We both come here because this brings together the community and it is fun,” Paul said. “I love the music because there is so much order and beauty in it.”
“I love the musical parts all coming together in an amazing way,” Burdick added.
Berkshire Bach Choral Director James Bagwell came back for his third year in a row to conduct this year’s sing-along. Bagwell has worked with the Concert Chorale of New York, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and many other orchestras. He is currently a professor of music at Bard College and director of Performance Studies in the Bard College Conservatory of Music.
“So, the approach on this is ‘sing everything,’” Bagwell told the audience of singers at the beginning of the event. “When you are not singing the soprano line, sing the alto line. I’m sure that there are tenor parts that the altos always like. Now is your chance. Sing it all, because you may not ever get the chance to sing it again.”
“I was just thinking as I was getting up here, almost every one of these choruses is based on dance,” Bagwell said. “The ‘Glory of the Lord’ part almost feels like a minuet and has dance-like elements. The ‘O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion’ part has kind of a swing quality to it. So, as you are singing these choruses, try not to think about how hard they are, but think of them in terms of the dance qualities they possess. Don’t get stuck in a bar. Maybe get stuck in a bar after this is over, but don’t get stuck in the middle of a measure. Think about how you move forward through the music, and think about forward motion as if you were dancing.”
“We never know what we are going to get in terms of singers,” Berkshire Bach Executive Director Terrill McDade told The Berkshire Edge before the performance. “But we are very fortunate to have James Bagwell as our choral director.”
McDade said Bagwell will be conducting performances for the organization in the spring as well.
For more information about Berkshire Bach, visit its website.
