When the English Concert performs Handel's Messiah in the stunning Coventry Cathedral, it's a match made in heaven: since their founding in 1972, the ensemble has raised the standard for Baroque performance on period instruments, winning major awards for their breathtaking recordings of religious music—including several widely lauded interpretations of Messiah. The ensemble and their extraordinary choir are joined by the great John Nelson in his English Concert debut, alongside star soloists Lucy Crowe, Alex Potter, Michael Spyres, and Matthew Brook, for an unmissable performance—the perfect way to begin your holiday season or to experience a moment of pure magic at any time of year.

Perhaps the best-known oratorio ever composed, Handel's Messiah was written in just over three weeks in late summer 1741 and premiered to rapturous reception in Dublin the following year. Known especially for its ecstatic "Hallelujah" Chorus, during which the whole audience traditionally stands, and gorgeous arias like "He was despised," Messiah is a towering monument of sacred and vocal music, as dramatic as a fully staged opera and as musically fulfilling as the grandest symphonic works.

Photo © Jamie Gray

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