The Chicago Do-It-Yourself Messiah

Growing up, the first Sunday of December heralded in the holidays for my family. My parents packed me and my siblings in our rusty van and trekked up to northern Iowa. What was the attraction? A Messiah sing-along. Eventually I grew old enough to sing (rather than just watch) and it became my favorite holiday tradition. I remember how thrilled I was when Mom bought me my very own score. After leaving home, I made use of that score by finding a sing-along here and there (Abravanel Hall in SLC, Harvard campus in Boston), but it's been years since I've been to one. Attending the one in Chicago was my #1 priority this year. Turns out it almost didn't happen due to funding difficulties. The organizers managed to pull it off though, and Mom and Dad came to town to join in the fun.
I didn't know The Messiah debuted in Dublin, Ireland! Even more reason to love it. Our conductor said it is the most performed piece of music in the world. He also told a story about how Handel was known for having a short temper. Handel confronted a man who was having difficulty with one of the solos saying, "You said you could read at sight!" to which the man replied, "I can, just not at first sight."

The conductor Stanley Sperber was fantastic! Apparently he flies from Israel just for this event every year. He was wonderfully humorous, ribbing the tenor section as is only fitting. With just 10 minutes of rehearsal time, he was incredibly patient with the amateur audience. Out here they call it the "do-it-yourself" rather than "sing-along" and rather than end with the Hallelujah chorus, they also do all of Part III minus one song. Initially I was disappointed because the Hallelujah chorus is such a fantastic finish. That feeling was short-lived because after the conductor, soloists and orchestra took their bows, everyone returned and we all sang it as an encore. The soloists joined in this time and even from my balcony seat, I could see the conductor smiling as wide as the Grinch after his heart grew 3 times.

(Credit: Lisa Fielding/WBBM Newsradio/CBS)

The woman seated next to my mom closed her score and sang Hallelujah from memory, which I found incredibly touching. Even in the the heart of a city as diverse as Chicago, it was magnificent to proclaim my faith in the "King of Kings, Forever and ever!" and "Lord of Lords, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" alongside others. My heart wrapped itself around the music of my Savior and I very nearly started bawling I was so moved. As every one's voice swelled fortissimo with utter rejoicing, it felt like the roof would blow off the theater. Rarely do we get the chance to feel so at one with complete strangers but this was one such occasion. This is a holiday tradition I need to cement!

(the janitor with the yellow caution sign is my favorite!)